Exploring polymorphisms of the bovine RARRES2 gene and their associations with growth traits

Genetic Markers of Insulin Resistance and Atherosclerosis in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by impaired insulin secretion on a background of insulin resistance (IR). IR and T2DM are associated with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). The mechanisms of IR and atherosclerosis are known to share similar genetic and environmental roots. Endothelial dysfunction (ED) detected at the earliest stages of IR might be the origin of atherosclerosis progression. ED influences the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and their encoding genes. The genes and their single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) act as potential genetic markers of IR and atherosclerosis. This review focuses on the link between IR, T2DM, atherosclerosis, CAD, and the potential genetic markers CHI3L1, CD36, LEPR, RETN, IL-18, RBP-4, and RARRES2 genes.

mRNA expression pattern and association study with growth traits of bovine vaspin gene

Visceral adipose tissue-derived serine protease inhibitor (vaspin) is an interesting novel adipocytokine with insulin-sensitizing effects. Some studies have suggested that vaspin could play an important role in the development of obesity and metabolic disorders. However, the tissue expression patterns in cattle and impact of vaspin gene variants on the growth traits has not been determined yet. Herein, we firstly investigated the tissue expression patterns of vaspin gene in new born and adult cattle. The results showed that vaspin was ubiquitously expressed in most tissues and strongly expressed in the heart, skeletal muscle and fat. Then, genetic variants within bovine vaspin gene were screened in 1235 individuals from five Chinese indigenous cattle breeds. Two novel mutations in coding region (NW_001494061: g.1124477 G>A and g.1118561 T>C) of bovine vaspin gene were identified using MspI PCR-RFLP and HhaI ACRS PCR-RFLP detection. Association analysis revealed both two mutations were significantly associated with bodyweight and chest girth at 24 months in cattle (P < 0.05). Therefore, the MspI and HhaI genetic variants of bovine vaspin gene were recommended as DNA markers related to growth traits through marker-assisted selection for genetics and breeding in cattle.