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Morphological Examination and Transcriptomic Profiling To Identify Prednisolone Treatment in Beef Cattle
Francesca T Cannizzo1, Sara Pegolo2, Paola Pregel1
1Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Torino , Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco (TO), Italy.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
|October 15, 2016
Summary
Illicit prednisolone (PDN) use in cattle can be detected by examining epididymal sperm counts and gene expression in blood. These methods offer a way to identify illegal growth promoter use in livestock.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Pharmacology
- Animal Science
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Corticosteroids like prednisolone (PDN) are illegally used as growth promoters in livestock despite being licensed only for therapy.
- PDN and its metabolites are difficult to detect in biological fluids using standard methods, necessitating alternative detection markers.
- Unlike dexamethasone, PDN does not cause observable histological changes in the thymus, making detection challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify morphological and biomolecular alterations in beef cattle experimentally treated with prednisolone (PDN).
- To establish reliable markers for detecting the illicit use of PDN as a growth promoter in livestock.
- To explore the utility of epididymal content and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for PDN detection.
Main Methods:
- Eight Italian Friesian beef cattle were administered PDN orally for 35 days; a control group received no treatment.
- Morphological and morphometric analyses were conducted on the epididymis and testis.
- Transcriptomic changes were investigated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), skeletal muscle, and testis using DNA microarray analysis.
Main Results:
- PDN treatment led to a significant decrease in sperm count in the epididymis, with some cases showing complete absence of spermatozoa.
- Down-regulation of serine/threonine kinase 11 (STK11) gene expression was observed in the testis of PDN-treated animals (p < 0.01).
- Significant differential gene expression was detected in PBMCs, skeletal muscle, and testis, indicating a clear transcriptomic signature of PDN exposure.
Conclusions:
- Histological examination of epididymal content shows promise as a screening marker for illicit PDN treatment in beef cattle.
- Transcriptomic analysis of PBMCs provides a viable in vivo method for monitoring PDN use during ranching.
- These findings offer potential methods to combat the illegal use of growth promoters in livestock production.
