Cloning and expression profiling of muscle regulator ANKRD2 in domestic chicken Gallus gallus.

Striated muscle signaling protein and transcriptional regulator ANKRD2 participates in myogenesis, myogenic differentiation, muscle adaptation and stress response. It is preferentially expressed in slow, oxidative fibers of mammalian skeletal muscle. In this study, we report on characterization of chicken ANKRD2. The chicken ANKRD2 coding region contains 1002 bp and encodes a 334-amino acid protein which shares approximately 58% identity with human and mouse orthologs, mostly in the conserved region of ankyrin repeats. Comprehensive analysis of the ANKRD2 gene and protein expression in adult chicken demonstrated its predominant expression in red muscles of thigh and drumstick, compared to white muscle. It was not detected in heart and white pectoral muscle. Uneven expression of ANKRD2 in chicken skeletal muscles, observed by immunohistochemistry, was attributed to its selective expression in slow, oxidative, type I and fast, oxidative-glycolytic, type IIA myofibers. Association of chicken ANKRD2 with phenotypic differences between red and white muscles points to its potential role in the process of myofiber-type specification. In addition to expression in slow oxidative myofibers, as demonstrated for mammalian protein, chicken ANKRD2 was also detected in fast fibers with mixed oxidative and glycolytic metabolism. This finding suggests that ANKRD2 is responsive to metabolic differences between types of avian myofibers and orientates future studies towards investigation of its role in molecular mechanisms of myofiber-type-specific gene expression.

Antigenotoxic and antioxidant potential of medicinal mushrooms (Immune Assist) against DNA damage induced by free radicals-an in vitro study.

Immune Assist (IA) is produced from extract of six species of medical mushrooms: Agaricus blazei - Cordyceps sinensis - Grifola frondosa - Ganoderma lucidum - Coriolus versicolor - Lentinula edodes. The genoprotective potential of IA was evaluated for the first time. Significant antigenotoxic effects were detected in human peripheral blood cells against H2O2 induced DNA damage, in the pretreatment and in the posttreatment. The most efficient concentration of IA in pretreatment was 500 µg/mL, while in posttreatment it was the concentration of 250 µg/mL. Kinetics of attenuation of H2O2 induced DNA damage in posttreatment with the optimal concentration of IA showed significant decrease in the number of damaged cells at all time periods (15-60 min), reaching the greatest reduction after 15 and 45 min. Remarkable ·OH scavenging properties and moderate reducing power, together with the modest DPPH scavenging activity, could be responsible for the great attenuation of DNA damage after 15 min of exposure to IA, while reduction of DNA damage after 45 min could be the result in additional stimulation of the cell's repair machinery. Our results suggest that IA displayed antigenotoxic and antioxidant properties. A broader investigation of its profile in biological systems is needed.