Non-coding RNAs, especially microRNAs (miRNAs), play an important role in skeletal muscle growth and development. miR-377 regulates many basic biological processes and plays a key role in tumor cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Nevertheless, the function of miR-377 during skeletal muscle development and how it regulates skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) remains unclear. In the present study, we proposed to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of miR-377 in the proliferation and differentiation of bovine primary SMSCs. Our results showed that miR-377 can significantly inhibit the proliferation of SMSCs. In addition, we found that miR-377 can reduce myotube formation and restrain skeletal myogenic differentiation. Moreover, the results obtained from the biosynthesis and dual luciferase experiments showed that FHL2 was the target gene of miR-377. We further probed the function of FHL2 in muscle development and found that FHL2 silencing significantly suppressed the proliferation and differentiation of SMSCS, which is contrary to the role of miR-377. Furthermore, FHL2 interacts with Dishevelled-2 (Dvl2) to enable Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, consequently regulating skeletal muscle development. miR-377 negatively regulates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by targeting FHL2-mediated Dvl2. Overall, these findings demonstrated that miR-377 regulates the bovine SMSCs proliferation and differentiation by targeting FHL2 and attenuating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis are important zoonotic diseases of animal origin, which can be transmitted by ticks to infect animals. However, there is limited information on the infection of piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis in Tan sheep in Ningxia, China. In order to understand the prevalence of piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis in Tan sheep in Ningxia, 150 blood samples of Tan sheep from farms in five urban areas of Ningxia were detected by PCR, and some positive samples were sequenced to establish a phylogenetic tree. PCR revealed that the prevalence of Anaplasma spp. in Tan sheep in Ningxia was 28.0%. The overall prevalence of Piroplasmids was 33.3%, of which Theileria spp. and Babesia spp. were 20.7% and 12.7%, respectively. Among the samples of different ages, the highest detection rates of Piroplasmids and Anaplasma spp. were found in Tan sheep aged 20–30 months, and the detection rate of Theileria spp., Babesia spp., and Anaplasma spp. were 25.4%, 23.6%, and 36.3%, respectively. In this study, one Theileria species was identified as Theileria uilenbergi, two Babesia species were identified as Babesia molasi and Babesia ovis, and two Anaplasma species were identified as Anaplasma ovis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and the dominant species were A. ovis and T. uilenbergi. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report detailing the infection rate and genotype of Piroplasmids and Anaplasma spp. in Tan sheep in Ningxia, China. The results of this study provide valuable data for understanding the epidemiology of tick‐borne disease in Tan sheep in Ningxia, China, and lay a theoretical foundation for the prevention and control of piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis in Tan sheep in Ningxia, northwest China.

Background: WhenTheileria annulatainfects host cells, it undertakes unlimited proliferation as tumor cells. Although the transformed cells will recover their limited reproductive characteristics and enter the apoptosis process after treatment with buparvaquone (BW720c), the metabolites and metabolic pathways involved are not clear.Methods: The transformed cells ofT. annulatawere used as experimental materials, and the buparvaquone treatment group and DMSO control group were used. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was undertaken of 36 cell samples based on the LC–QTOF platform in positive and negative ion modes. The metabolites of the cell samples after 72 h of drug treatment were analyzed, as were the different metabolites and metabolic pathways involved in the BW720c treatment. Finally, the differential metabolites and metabolic pathways in the transformed cells were found.Results: A total of 1425 metabolites were detected in the negative ion mode and 1298 metabolites were detected in the positive ion mode. After drug treatment for 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h, there were 56, 162, and 243 differential metabolites in negative ion mode, and 35, 121, and 177 differential metabolites in positive ion mode, respectively. These differential metabolites are mainly concentrated on various essential amino acids.Conclusion: BW720c treatment induces metabolic disturbances inT. annulata-infected cells by regulating the metabolism of leucine, arginine, andl-carnitine, and induces host cell apoptosis.Graphical

Animal growth traits are directly linked with the economics of livestock species. A somatostatin DNA vaccine has been developed to improve the growth of animals. However, the growth-promoting effect is still unsatisfying. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of a novel eukaryotic dual expression vaccine known as pIRES-S/CST14-S/2SS, which encodes the genes obtained by fusing somatostatin (SS) and cortistatin (CST) into hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). After transfection into GH3 cells with pIRES-S/CST14-S/2SS, green fluorescence signals were observed by fluorescence microscopy, suggesting the effective expression of CST and SS in GH3 cells using the IRES elements. Subsequently, both GH and PRL levels were found to be significantly lower in pIRES-S/CST14-S/2SS-treated cells as compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the antibody level, hormone secretion, and weight gain in the mice injected with novel recombinant plasmids were also evaluated. The anti-SS antibodies were detectable in all vaccine treated groups, resulting in significantly higher levels of GH secretion (p < 0.05). It is worth mentioning that pIRES-S/CST14-S/2SS (10 μg/100 μL) vaccinated mice exhibited a higher body weight gain in the second immunization period. This study increases the understanding of the relationship between somatostatin and cortistatin, and may help to develop an effective growth-promoting DNA vaccine in animals.