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Replacement value of betaine for DL-methionine in male broiler chicks.

The effect of DL-methionine and betaine supplementation on growth performance of 2,400 male broilers in the age period of 1 to 38 d, and on carcass composition of a subsample of 384 birds was examined. Three dose levels of DL-methionine (0, 0.05, and 0.10%) and two doses of betaine (0 and 0.04%) were supplemented in different combinations to methioninedeficient diets. Two types of diets were fed as starters and growers: either corn-soybean diets or practical diets typical for the Dutch broiler industry. All diets were fortified with 220 ppm choline in order to avoid a deficiency in methyl groups. Increasing DL-methionine supplementation significantly improved daily weight gain and feed conversion efficiency. Supplemental betaine did not affect bird growth. Betaine slightly improved feed conversion in diets without supplemental DL-methionine, but did not affect this parameter in diets with added DL-methionine. Breast meat yield was significantly increased by about 1.5 percentage points by the addition of 0.05% DL-methionine, whereas 0.04% betaine only tended to increase breast meat yield in the range of 0.3 to 0.6 percentage points. The type of diet did not have any effect on the responses obtained. In summary, there was no evidence for betaine to spare DL-methionine as an essential amino acid supplement in broiler diets.

Analysis of Variance↗

Lipotropic factors and oncogenesis.

The lipotropes (choline, methionine, folate, and vitamin B12) have a rich history, with many fluctuations in scientific effort and popularity, covering the past 6 decades. A thin thread of common interest in 1-carbon metabolism and a small band of dedicated individuals have kept this area of biology alive. Today, the lipotropes are enjoying a resurgence of interest and effort with promise for significant contributions to some of our most serious chronic diseases. Between 1920, when Banting and Best initiated a work that led to the discovery of insulin, and 1982-83, when investigators working in 3 laboratories announced that lipotrope deficiency alone could result in liver cancer in rodents, many have used this model to study nutritional problems and, more recently, carcinogenesis. Lipotropes are important to lipid metabolism and to synthesis and maintenance of cellular membranes. When weanling rats were fed a diet low in lipotropes, within a few days the liver accumulated lipid, first in the centrilobular zone and later throughout the entire lobule and lobe. If the diet was continued for a longer period, the liver underwent fibrosis and cirrhosis with some rats ultimately developing hepatocellular carcinoma. Although lipotrope deficiency can result in liver cancer, all hepatocarcinogens tested thus far were enhanced in their activity by diets low in lipotropes. Important changes associated with lipotrope deficiency included membrane damage, decreased serum very low density lipoprotein and drug metabolizing enzymes, decreases in S-adenosylmethionine and in methylation of cytosine, increases in cellular peroxidation products and free radicals, decreased immunocompetence, and a markedly shortened lag time for chemical induction of liver cancer in animals. The overall effect of lipotrope deficiency is an increase in the susceptibility to cancer in animals; the exact mechanisms are unclear.

Animals↗

Iron and the brain: neurotransmitter receptors and magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Earlier studies show that in iron deficiency with anaemia and in latent iron deficiency neurotransmitters are altered. The changes induced in the fetal brain are irreversible on rehabilitation. The important alterations in glutamate metabolism in latent iron deficiency stimulated studies on gamma aminobutyric acid and glutaminate receptors. It was observed that binding of 3H-muscimol at pH 7.5 and 1 mg protein/assay increased significantly in synaptic vesicular membranes and under similar conditions 3H-glutamate binding showed reduction. Thus iron deficiency played a role in both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors. To elucidate the role of body iron status on the brain, anaemic children with thalassemia and iron deficiency were subjected to 'magnetic resonance spectroscopy' of globus pallidus, caudate and dentate nuclei and there was no change in iron content. The concentrations of creatinine and aspartate increased, with lowering of choline content. The findings were similar in thalassemia as well as iron deficiency anaemia, suggesting that in anaemia changes operate through reduced oxygen availability.

Anemia, Iron-Deficiency↗

Antagonism of hypervitaminosis A-induced anterior neural tube closure defects with a methyl-donor deficiency in murine whole-embryo culture.

The interaction of a dietary excess of vitamin A (retinoid) and deficiency of methyl-donor compounds was examined in murine early-organogenesis embryonic development. Female mice were fed one of six diets from the time of vaginal plug detection until gestational d 8.0, when embryos were removed and grown in whole embryo culture for 46 h, using serum from rats fed the same diet for 36 d as the culture medium. The six diets were either methyl-donor deficient (designated -FCM: devoid of folic acid, choline and supplemental L-methionine, but having methionine as a component of the protein portion of the diet) or methyl-donor sufficient (designated +FCM: containing folic acid, choline and L-methionine supplementation), in combination with one of three concentrations of retinyl palmitate (0.016, 0.416 or 4.016 g/kg diet). The high dose of retinyl palmitate induced a failure of anterior neuropore closure and hypoplasia of the visceral arches, both of which were significantly ameliorated by simultaneous administration of the methyl-donor-deficient diet. The primary acidic retinoid detected in the rat serum was 9,13-di-cis-retinoic acid, although we hypothesize that teratogenic retinoids were formed by embryonic biotransformation of the retinyl esters to toxic metabolites. Biochemical measurements of metabolites in relevant pathways were performed. We propose that the amelioration of these malformations may be used to determine biochemical pathways critical for retinoid teratogenesis.

Animals↗

Alterations in expression and methylation of specific genes in livers of rats fed a cancer promoting methyl-deficient diet.

We have reported earlier that hypomethylated DNA is rapidly induced in the livers of male Fischer rats fed an extremely methyl-deficient diet (MDD). The early effects of dietary methyl deficiency on the expression of several genes in the livers of such animals have now been investigated. Poly(A)+ RNA was isolated from the livers of rats fed MDD or a similar diet supplemented with adequate supplies of choline, methionine, folic acid and vitamin B12 (CSD) for periods ranging from 1 to 4 weeks. The levels of mRNAs for the c-myc and c-fos protooncogenes in livers of rats given either MDD or the liver carcinogen, 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF), were compared by Northern blot analysis with those in livers of animals given control diets. Both AAF and MDD induced significant elevations in levels of mRNAs specific for these two genes. After 1 week of MDD intake, large increases in the levels of c-myc and c-fos mRNAs and a smaller increase in the levels of c-Ha-ras mRNAs were observed. In contrast, there were marked decreases in the levels of mRNAs for epidermal growth factor receptor and for epidermal growth factor. These effects on mRNA accumulation persisted and were further enhanced during a 4 week period of MDD feeding. The appearance of hypomethylated DNA in the livers of these MDD-fed rats coincided with the observed changes in levels of mRNA for these genes associated with the regulation of cell growth. Increases in levels of mRNA for c-fos, c-Ha-ras and c-myc were correlated with loss of methylation at specific sites within these genes as early as 1 week after the start of MDD feeding. These combined observations are consistent with the hypothesis that methyl-deficient diets are cancer promoting and/or carcinogenic, at least in part, because they induce hypomethylation of DNA with concomitant alterations in the regulation of gene expression.

Animals↗

Lipid metabolism in fatty liver of lysine- and threonine-deficient rats.

Rats were fed a low protein diet deficient in and supplemented with lysine and threonine. Liver lipids contained more lecithin, sphingomyelin, and free fatty acids, and less amino phospholipids in the deficient rats. No variations in fatty acid composition of choline- and ethanolamine-containing phospholipids were found; only palmitic acid was increased in the serine-containing phospholipids of the deficient animals. The incorporation of acetate-(14)C into phospholipids, but not into other liver lipids, was lower in deficient rats. In the plasma of deficient rats the concentration of esterified fatty acids and phospholipids was lower, of free fatty acids higher, than in the controls. The fatty acid composition of depot fat differed from that of liver neutral fat both in deficient and supplemented animals. The results presented establish that multiple metabolic defects resulting from lysine and threonine deficiency accompany the fatty liver. The design of the experiments does not permit conclusions to be drawn regarding the causal relationship between the various alterations in lipid metabolism and the fatty liver.

Acetates↗

Precursor (amino acid): product (vitamin) interrelationship for growing chicks as illustrated by tryptophan-niacin and methionine-choline.

Experiments were conducted with crossbred chicks to examine the growth response to a vitamin when its precursor amino acid was in either deficient or adequate supply in the diet and vice versa. The tryptophan-niacin and methionine-choline interrelationships were thus examined. No growth responses to dietary niacin or choline were observed during severe tryptophan or methionine deficiency, respectively. However, when adequate levels of the precursor amino acids were present, marked gain and gain/feed responses to these vitamins occurred. In contrast, gain and feed efficiency responses to tryptophan or methionine occurred regardless of the chick's niacin or choline status, respectively.

Animals↗

Effect of cicloxilic acid on the liver damage produced by a choline-free, high-fat low-protein diet.

The effects of cis-2-hydroxy-2-phenylcyclohexanecarboxilic acid (cicloxilic acid) on the liver damage produced by a choline-free, high-fat low-protein diet (Handler's diet) were studied in rats. Treatment with cicloxilic acid significantly counteracted the increase in liver weight, hepatic lipids, serum transaminase and ornithine carbamoyl transferase activities, caused by the unbalanced and deficient diet. Histological examination of the liver showed a near-normal structure of the hepatic cells in the cicloxilic acid-treated animals. Other antihepatotoxic and choleretic drugs, with which cicloxilic acid was compared, showed either much less protective activity or none at all. Furthermore, while cicloxilic acid (which exhibits choleretic activity) did not alter the hepatic glycogen content, another choleretic drug, 1-phenyl-1-hydroxypentane (PC 1), caused marked depletion. It is concluded that the protective activity exerted by cicloxilic acid on the liver is separable from its choleretic activity.

Animals↗

A comparison of the response of woodchucks and rats to variations in dietary lipotrope and protein content.

Juvenile woodchucks and weanling Fisher F344 rats were fed purified diets with or without supplemental lipotropic factors (choline, methionine, folic acid and vitamin B-12). The diets contained 10 or 20% protein. Lower weight gain due to low protein was observed in both species, while lipotrope depletion resulted in lower gain in male rats only. Urinary excretion of formimino-glutamic acid was higher due to low lipotrope in both species, as was relative liver weight. In rats, lipotrope depletion resulted in hepatic fatty metamorphosis at both levels of dietary protein with the low protein diet resulting in more severe lesions. No liver lesions were observed in woodchucks fed low lipotropes at the higher level of dietary protein, but fatty metamorphosis was observed in those fed the lower protein diets. The lesion was more severe in the low lipotrope group. The woodchuck appears to be less sensitive than the rat to induction of fatty liver by lipotrope deficiency, although the lesion was induced by lowering dietary protein.

Animals↗

Effects of betaine and condensed molasses solubles on nitrogen balance and nutrient digestibility in piglets fed diets deficient in methionine and low in compatible osmolytes.

A balance experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of betaine monohydrate (BET) or betaine derived from condensed molasses solubles (CMS) as a substitute for methionine and choline on nitrogen (N) balance and total tract nutrient digestibility in weaned piglets. The experiment included four treatments with 32 barrows with an average initial body weight (BW) of 13.5 kg. The supplementation of DL-methionine and choline (positive control = PC) to the basal diet, which was deficient in methionine and low in compatible osmolytes in the form of betaine or its precursor choline (negative control = NC) resulted in a significant increase in N retention of 0.8 g/d. The substitution of DL-methionine and choline with BET or CMS did not affect N retention compared to the PC and the NC treatment either. Feeding the PC diet increased the digestibilities of organic matter, NDF, ADF, NFE, crude ash, Ca, P, methionine, tryptophan and cystine by 1.9%, 7.3%, 9.7%, 1.1%, 6.3%, 13.9%, 7.7%, 15.9%, 4.3% and 2.8%, respectively, and tended (p < 0.20) to increase the digestibilities of most other amino acids by 1.6-3.4%. Digestibility of CP, EE (HCl), Mg and Na was 3.1% (p=0.09), 5.1% (p=0.09), 5.1% (p= 0.06) and 3.3% (p= 0.17) higher, respectively, when compared to the NC treatment. BET and CMS supplementation increased most nutrient digestibilities in the same magnitude as for the PC treatment. In summary, the supplementation of betaine, originating from different sources, to a diet with low contents of compatible osmolytes increased in particular the fermentation of fibre and enhanced mineral absorption. The supplementation of the NC with DL-methionine was more efficient in improving N retention than the replacement of DL-methionine by betaine originating from BET or CMS.

Animal Feed↗

Efficacy of vitamin E, phosphatidyl choline, and pyruvate on buffering neuronal degeneration and oxidative stress in cultured cortical neurons and in central nervous tissue of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Oxidative stress is a pivotal factor in neuronal degeneration. However, vitamin E was only marginally effective in clinical trials. We examined whether or not a mixture of vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol), sodium pyruvate and phosphatidyl choline (PC), a mixture that promotes wound healing in non-neuronal systems, would provide neuroprotection beyond that observed with vitamin E alone. Combined treatment with these agents improved survival and neuritic spouting of murine embryonic cortical neurons in culture, and provided neuroprotection against oxidative damage following treatment with hydrogen peroxide. Dietary treatment with these three agents also compensated for the diminished oxidative buffering capacity of brains of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice, while vitamin E alone failed to do so. These data underscore the possibility that critical nutritional deficiencies may modulate the impact of genetic compromise on neurodegeneration.

Animals↗

Delay of copper-catalyzed oxidation of low density lipoprotein by in vitro enrichment with choline or ethanolamine plasmalogens.

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) isolated from human serum of different donors was enriched with plasmalogens and their diacyl analogs in order to investigate a possible effect of these phospholipids on the rate of lipid peroxidation in this lipoprotein. LDL was incubated with either vesicles of choline plasmalogen or phosphatidylcholine in presence of lipoprotein- deficient serum, or with liposomes of ethanolamine plasmalogen or phosphatidylethanolamine together with the non-specific phospholipid transfer protein isolated from beef liver. After re-isolation of LDL by ultracentrifugation, a dose-dependent incorporation of the exogenous phospholipids was obtained. Enrichment of LDL with choline plasmalogen resulted in a delay of the copper-catalyzed oxidation of LDL from five different donors. LDL from two donors was also enriched with diacylglycerophosphocholine which led to a delay of oxidation, but the protective effect was smaller than with choline plasmalogen. Enrichment of LDL from two additional donors with ethanolamine plasmalogen resulted in the strongest protection against oxidation, whereas, diacylglycerophospho-ethanolamine had little effect. The delay of the copper-catalyzed LDL oxidation may be due to a direct antioxidative action of the plasmalogens, which are partially degraded during the lag phase of oxidation, or to an indirect effect caused by alteration of the LDL surface in the presence of an excess of glycerophospholipids.

Antioxidants↗

Influence of monovalent cations on the Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum isolated from rabbit skeletal and dog cardiac muscles. An interpretation of transient-state kinetic data.

Transient-state kinetics of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the Ca2+-ATPase of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles from rabbit skeletal and dog cardiac muscles were studied in the presence of varying concentrations of monovalent and divalent cations. Monovalent cations affect the two types of sarcoplasmic reticulum differently. When the rabbit skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum was Ca2+ deficient, preincubation with K+ (as compared with preincubation with choline chloride) did not affect initial phosphorylation at various concentrations of Ca2+, added with ATP to phosphorylate the enzyme. This is in contrast to preincubation with K+ of the Ca2+-deficient dog cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum, which resulted in an increase in the phosphoenzyme level. When Ca2+ was bound to the rabbit skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum, K+ inhibited E - P formation; but under the same conditions, E - P formation of dog cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum was activated by K+ at 12 microM Ca2+ and inhibited at 0.33 and 1.3 microM Ca2+. Li+, Na+ and K+ also have different effects on E - P decomposition of skeletal and cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum. The latter responded less to these cations than the former. Studies with ADP revealed differences between the two types of sarcoplasmic reticulum. For rabbit skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum, 40% of the phosphoenzyme formed was 'ADP sensitive', and the decay of the remaining E - P was enhanced by K+ and ADP. Dog cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum yielded about 40--48% ADP-sensitive E - P, but the decomposition rate of the remaining E - P was close to the rate measured in the absence of ADP. Thus, these studies showed certain qualitative differences in the transformation and decomposition of phosphoenzymes between skeletal and cardiac muscle which may have bearing on physiological differences between the two muscle types.

Animals↗

Rat testicular lipids and dietary isomeric fatty acids in essential fatty acid deficiency.

Weanling rats were fed essential fatty acid-deficient diets, either completely fat-free, or with partially hydrogenated fish oil (PHFO, 28 wt %), or with fractions derived from PHFO containing primarily positional isomers of trans-eicosenoate (20:1, 3 wt %) or trans-docosenoate (22:1, 3 wt %). Control animals were fed a peanut oil-containing diet (28 wt %). After 5 or 15 weeks on the diet, the content of neutral and phosphorus-containing lipids in the testes was determined. The fatty acid distribution in major lipid classes was analyzed for animals fed the diets for 15 weeks. The testicular stage of maturation or degeneration was assessed by histology. The group fed PHFO exhibited signs of complete testicular degeneration, or lack of maturation, already after 5 weeks, whereas the animals on the diets with the very long chain monoenoic acids suffered severe degenerations only after 15 weeks. In the PHFO-fed rats, a sharp decline in the concentration of testicular triacylglycerols was observed. In all of the essential fatty acid-deficient groups, an increase in testicular sphingomyelin was observed. Cholesterol levels were fairly similar among all dietary groups. The total testicular fatty acids of the PHFO-fed animals contained somewhat more eicosadienoic acid than found in the other groups, and somewhat less (n-9)-acids. In all EFA-deficient groups, (n-6)-acids were lowered, in particular in triacylglycerols and phosphatidyl cholines. The PHFO group did not show a lower (n-6)-concentration than the other deficient groups, in spite of the more severe symptoms of deficiency. There was no evidence of a major accumulation of long chain isomeric fatty acids in the degenerated testes of the PHFO-, 20:1-, and 22:1-fed groups.

Animals↗

Epigenetic events and protection from colon cancer in New Zealand.

The incidence of colon cancer is high in many developed nations, especially New Zealand. Molecular understanding of the nature of colon cancer shows a disease whose well-characterized morphological progression is paralleled at the cellular level by increased numbers of gene or chromosome mutations, loss of heterozygosity, changed methylation patterns, and genomic instability. In the present study, we consider whether an imbalance of factors that affect DNA methylation patterns might explain at least part of the high colon cancer incidence in New Zealand. Folate is the major micronutrient whose intake impacts methylation, particularly through interaction with choline and methionine. Folate is generally somewhat deficient in the New Zealand diet, with the voluntary addition of folate to white flour not producing desired levels. Selenium affects methylation status in several ways and is recognized as being low in New Zealand soils and, therefore, diet. Zinc is also low in the diets of some New Zealand population groups, which can lead to hypomethylation. Several of the components of fruits and vegetables affect methylation patterns, and the average New Zealand intake, at two to three servings per day, is considerably below recommended amounts. Low dietary fiber, high tobacco use, and increasing rates of obesity are also likely New Zealand risk factors that may impact on methylation status. Dietary supplementation is not as common in New Zealand as in countries such as the United States, but may provide a way to raise the levels of nutrients and phytochemicals affecting methylation status, thereby enhancing colon cancer protection.

Alcohol Drinking↗

Specificity of the rat vesicular acetylcholine transporter.

The protein kinase A-deficient PC12 cell line PC12A123.7 lacks both choline acetyltransferase and the vesicular acetylcholine transporter. This cell line has been used to establish a stably transfected cell line expressing recombinant rat vesicular acetylcholine transporter that is appropriately trafficked to small synaptic vesicles. Acetylcholine is transported by the rat vesicular acetylcholine transporter at a maximal rate of 1.45 nmol acetylcholine/min/mg protein and exhibits a Km for transport of 2.5 mM. The transporter binds vesamicol with a Kd of 7.5 nM. The ability of structural analogs of acetylcholine to inhibit both acetylcholine uptake and vesamicol binding was measured. The results demonstrate that like Torpedo vesicular acetylcholine transporter, the mammalian transporter can bind a diverse group of acetylcholine analogs.

Acetylcholine↗