Salvatore Velotto - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Salvatore Velotto

Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section a Animal Science, Dec 1, 2010

The research was carried out on 16 pigs of autochthonous (located breed of pig) genetic type Cint... more The research was carried out on 16 pigs of autochthonous (located breed of pig) genetic type Cinta Senese. The morphometric characteristics of the fibre types and their percentage were determined on Longissimus Dorsi (LD) and Psoas major (PM) muscles. The area, diameter, volume and thickness of adipocytes from internal and external layers of adipose tissue from pig backfat, shoulder, dorsal

Calpains are Ca2+-dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in many ... more Calpains are Ca2+-dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in many biological functions. Particularly, in skeletal muscle they are involved in meat tenderizing during post mortem storage. In this report we analyzed the presence and expression of μ- and m-calpains in two skeletal muscles of the Marchigiana cattle soon after slaughter, using immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, Western blotting analysis and Casein Zymography. Therefore, the presence and the activity of these proteases was investigated until 15th day post mortem during normal process of meat tenderizing. The results showed m- and μ-calpain immunosignals in the cytoplasm both along the Z disk/I band regions and in the form of intracellular stores. Moreover, the expression level of μ-calpain but not m-calpain decreased after 10 days of storage. Such a decrease in μ-calpain was accompanied by a gradual reduction of activity. On the contrary, m-calpain activity persisted up t...

Israel Journal of Veterinary Medicine

A description of the pelvic limb musculature of ostrich (Red Neck) is given. Muscle tissues were ... more A description of the pelvic limb musculature of ostrich (Red Neck) is given. Muscle tissues were obtained from muscle iliotibialis lateralis pars preacetabularis, muscle femorotibialis medius and muscle fibularis longus. The histochemical results revealed the presence of two types of fibres: slow-twitch fibres (type I) and fast-twitch intermediate fibres (type IIA). A higher incidence of type I compared to type IIA fibres in muscle iliotibialis lateralis pars preacetabularis and muscle femorotibialis medius was noticed. The immunohistochemical results revealed that in this species calpain/calpastatin system was localized in various parts of the muscles, although mu-calpain and m-calpain totally disappeared at 4 days post-mortem. Calpastatin and p-94 were present during all the period considered (0, 2 days, 4 days and 6 days post-mortem). In this study changes in enzymatic activities of mu and m-calpain were observed, particularly the activity of mu and m-calpain decrease rapidly dur...

Calpains are Ca 2+ -dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in man... more Calpains are Ca 2+ -dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in many biological functions. Particularly, in skeletal muscle they are involved in meat tenderizing during post mortem storage. In this report we analyzed the presence and expression of µ-and m-calpains in two skeletal muscles of the Marchigiana cattle soon after slaughter, using immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, Western blotting analysis and Casein Zymography. Therefore, the presence and the activity of these proteases was investigated until 15 th day post mortem during normal process of meat tenderizing. The results showed m-and µ-calpain immunosignals in the cytoplasm both along the Z disk/I band regions and in the form of intracellular stores. Moreover, the expression level of µ-calpain but not m-calpain decreased after 10 days of storage. Such a decrease in µ-calpain was accompanied by a gradual reduction of activity. On the contrary, m-calpain activity persisted up to 15 days of post mortem storage. Such data indicate that expression and activity of both µ-calpain and m-calpain analyzed in the Marchigiana cattle persist longer than reported in literature for other bovines and may be related to both the type of muscle and breed examined.

Italian journal of anatomy and embryology = Archivio italiano di anatomia ed embriologia

Three muscles were analyzed, Longissimus dorsi, Semimembranosus and Caput longum Tricipitis brach... more Three muscles were analyzed, Longissimus dorsi, Semimembranosus and Caput longum Tricipitis brachii taken from nine cow buffaloes, by examining the histochemical and morphometrical characteristics of different muscle fibres types and their distribution inside the examined muscles. Cross sectional area, perimeter, maximum and minimum diameter of about 200 fibres were measured for each muscle, and fast-twitch glycolytic fibres (FG), fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic fibres (FOG), slow-twitch oxidative fibres (SO) were histochemically differentiated. The data have been elaborated with the SPSS software. The variance analysis indicates that there are not significant differences about dimensions between FG and FOG fibres, while the average values of transversal section area and perimeter are greater than the oxidative fibres in all examined muscles. The Semimembranosus muscle in comparison to the Longissimus dorsi and to the Caput longum Tricipitis brachii muscles has muscle fibres with t...

Indian Journal of Animal Research, 2014

The research was aimed at identifying the key characteristics of muscle and fat tissues when comp... more The research was aimed at identifying the key characteristics of muscle and fat tissues when comparing two pig breeds: Black Sicilian pig and Landrace pig. In Psoas minor (Pm) and Psoas major (PM) muscles the morphometric characteristics of fibre types and their percentage were determined. The area of adipocytes from internal and external layer of adipose tissue was also determined. The results showed that slow twitch oxidative (SO) fibres were larger than fast twitch glycolytic (FG) and fast twitch oxidative glycolytic (FOG); Pm muscle was characterized by larger FG and SO fibres than PM; males had larger fibres than females in both muscles and breeds. Landrace pig has smaller adipocytes cells than Black Sicilian while Black Sicilian pig showed more essential fatty acids than Landrace. The results in favour of Black Sicilian pig show how conservation of animal biodiversity becomes important because of the high independent homeostatic capability exhibited by autochthonous genetic types for the management and control of the land.

Italian Journal of Animal Science, 2010

... species (Bubalus bubalis) Luigi Zicarelli1, Evelina Mariotti1, Serena Di Francesco1, Salvator... more ... species (Bubalus bubalis) Luigi Zicarelli1, Evelina Mariotti1, Serena Di Francesco1, Salvatore Velotto2, Marcello Rubessa1, Gianluca Neglia1 ... Galli C., Crotti, G., Notari, C., Turini, P., Duchi, R., Lazzari, G., 2000. Embryo production by ovum pick-up from live donors. ...

Italian Journal of Animal Science, 2010

... Bianca Gasparrini1, Serena Di Francesco1, Marcello Rubessa1, Salvatore Velotto2, Evelina Mari... more ... Bianca Gasparrini1, Serena Di Francesco1, Marcello Rubessa1, Salvatore Velotto2, Evelina Mariotti1, Marina De Blasi1 ... es (COCs) with a compact, non-atretic cumulus and a homogeneous cytoplasm were matured in vitro according to our standard procedures (Gaspar-...

European Journal of Histochemistry, 2013

Calpains are Ca 2+ -dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in man... more Calpains are Ca 2+ -dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in many biological functions. Particularly, in skeletal muscle they are involved in meat tenderizing during post mortem storage. In this report we analyzed the presence and expression of µ-and m-calpains in two skeletal muscles of the Marchigiana cattle soon after slaughter, using immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, Western blotting analysis and Casein Zymography. Therefore, the presence and the activity of these proteases was investigated until 15 th day post mortem during normal process of meat tenderizing. The results showed m-and µ-calpain immunosignals in the cytoplasm both along the Z disk/I band regions and in the form of intracellular stores. Moreover, the expression level of µ-calpain but not m-calpain decreased after 10 days of storage. Such a decrease in µ-calpain was accompanied by a gradual reduction of activity. On the contrary, m-calpain activity persisted up to 15 days of post mortem storage. Such data indicate that expression and activity of both µ-calpain and m-calpain analyzed in the Marchigiana cattle persist longer than reported in literature for other bovines and may be related to both the type of muscle and breed examined.

Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia: Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series C, 2004

A staining procedure used for simultaneously determining three different fibre types in single se... more A staining procedure used for simultaneously determining three different fibre types in single sections bovine, porcine or ovine skeletal muscle was modified for use with ostrich skeletal muscle. The muscle fibres of gastrocnemius pars externa, tibialis cranialis caput tibiale, tibialis cranialis caput femorale and fibularis longus tendo caudalis were studied. The histochemical results revealed the presence of three types of fibre only in the gastrocnemius pars externa muscle: fast-twitch glycolytic fibres (FG), fast-twitch oxidative glycolytic fibres (FOG) and slow-twitch oxidative fibres (SO), while in the other muscles the FG fibres were absent. The percentage distribution of fibres types showed a higher incidence of SO fibres compared to FOG fibres in tibialis cranialis caput femorale and tibialis cranialis caput tibiale muscles, while it was opposite in the case of the fibularis longus tendo caudalis muscle. In the gastrocnemius pars externa muscle the FG fibres outnumber the other fibres, followed by the SO and FOG fibres. The results of the analysis of variance show significant interaction between muscle x fibre type for every morphometric parameter evaluated. Differences about value of fibres area exists between tibialis cranialis caput femorale and fibularis longus tendo caudalis muscles. Both fibre types in tibialis cranialis caput tibiale muscle have mean values of transversal section area smaller than tibialis cranialis caput femorale. The other morphometric parameters show a similar trend. The gastrocnemius pars externa muscle presents similar dimensions of muscle fibres for the FG and FOG types, and significantly smaller for the SO type.

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2005

ABSTRACT The Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of age and sex on histochemical and mor... more ABSTRACT The Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of age and sex on histochemical and morphometric characteristics of muscle fibres (myocytes) in lambs born by single or twin birth. Forty lambs were fed mother's milk and slaughtered at 60 days; 40 weaned at 60 days and fed until 120 days with flakes (60%) and hay (40%) and then slaughtered. Muscle tissues were obtained from two muscles, namely m. psoas major and Caput longum m. tricipitis brachii of all lambs. The muscles were stained for myosin ATPase, and succinic dehydrogenase. For each fibre type, area, perimeter, maximum and minimum diameter were measured and slow-twitch oxidative fibres, fast-twitch glycolytic fibres, fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic fibres were histochemically differentiated. An image-analysing system was used. At 60 days, females had fibres larger than males while the opposite was observed at 120 days. Moreover, at 60 days, the lambs born by single birth had fibres larger than those born by twin birth, while the opposite was observed at 120 days. The fast-twitch glycolytic fibres had the largest size, followed by the slow-twitch oxidative and the fast-twitch oxidative glycolytic fibres. The dimensions of fibre types in Caput longum tricipitis brachii muscle were larger than in the psoas major muscle (P < 0.001). This study provides important data on basic characteristics of lamb muscles that, as intrinsic factors, may influence some aspects of meat production and quality.

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2010

The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of propolis on mortality of fish eggs due to myco... more The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of propolis on mortality of fish eggs due to mycosis, to study its efficacy on the fish growth rate and to analyze the histochemical and ultrastructural characteristics of muscle fibres. We evaluated the muscular development of fish in two different experimental conditions: traditional feeding and feeding with addition of propolis (groups A and B, respectively). The study was carried out on two species of teleosts bred in Italy, Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) and Salmo trutta (brown trout). The use of propolis reduced mortality of fish eggs. The muscles were stained for myosin ATPase and succinic dehydrogenase to evaluate fibre type. The area, maximum and minimum diameter for each fibre type in relation to the body length were measured. The animals fed propolis showed a more rapid muscular growth compared to control fed the standard diet. Fibres were larger in the Salmo trutta than in the Oncorhynchus mykiss in both groups. In fish of A group, myotomal muscle, the presence of giant fibres and index of environmental stress was noticed. This type of study is valuable in order to extend the use of propolis as an antifungal agent and a natural product that can improve fish farming.

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2010

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2010

... Salvatore Velotto, Claudia Vitale, Tommaso Stasi, Antonio Crasto Department of Soil, Plant, E... more ... Salvatore Velotto, Claudia Vitale, Tommaso Stasi, Antonio Crasto Department of Soil, Plant, Environmental and Animal Production Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture ... Acta Vet Brno 76: 163-170 Wojtysiak D, Migdal W 2007: The effect of genotype on muscle fibre characteristics of ...

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2007

Velotto S., E. Varricchio, M. R. Di Prisco, T. Stasi, A. Crasto: Skeletal Myocyte Types and Vascu... more Velotto S., E. Varricchio, M. R. Di Prisco, T. Stasi, A. Crasto: Skeletal Myocyte Types and Vascularity in the Black Sicilian Pig. Acta Vet Brno 2007, 76: 163-170.

Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A - Animal Science, 2010

The research was carried out on 16 pigs of autochthonous (located breed of pig) genetic type Cint... more The research was carried out on 16 pigs of autochthonous (located breed of pig) genetic type Cinta Senese. The morphometric characteristics of the fibre types and their percentage were determined on Longissimus Dorsi (LD) and Psoas major (PM) muscles. The area, diameter, volume and thickness of adipocytes from internal and external layers of adipose tissue from pig backfat, shoulder, dorsal

Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology, 2012

Aflatoxins are natural contaminants frequently found both in food and feed. Many of them exert im... more Aflatoxins are natural contaminants frequently found both in food and feed. Many of them exert immunomodulatory properties in mammals; therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate immune-effects of AFB1, AFB2, AFM1 and AFM2, alone and differently combined, in J774A.1 murine macrophages. MTT assay showed that AFB1, alone and combined with AFB2, possess antiproliferative activity only at the highest concentration; such effect was not shown by their hydroxylated metabolites, AFM1 and AFM2, respectively. However, the immunotoxic effects of the aflatoxins evaluated in the current study may be due to the inhibition of production of active oxygen metabolites such as NO. Cytofluorimetric assay in macrophages exposed to aflatoxins (10-100 μM) revealed that their cytoxicity is not related to apoptotic pathways. Nevertheless, a significant increase of the S phase cell population accompanied by a decrease in G0/G1 phase cell population was observed after AFB1 treatment. In conclus...

According to the fundamental economical implications and the significance of meat quality, there ... more According to the fundamental economical implications and the significance of meat quality, there has been a wider need to check, improve and assess the response of animals to the different breeding and feeding strategies based on their genetic potential. This is fundamental in order to reduce production costs, enhance the metabolic and nourishing efficiency and, as a consequence, the meat and derivatives production. The beginning of muscular differentiation involves the activation of genes which are kept dormant until the appearance of external inductive signals. Those signals merge on the function of myogenic regulating factors (MRF), MyoD, Myf5, MRF4, Miogenin, carrying a 'basic helix-loop-helix' transcription domain, able to bind specific DNA sequences. In satellite cells physiology, Pax7-gene plays an important role by inducing the cells self-renewal and representing one of the genes that influences the post-natal growth dynamic phase observed in swine. The study has been performed by operating on histochemical, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent as well as molecular biology techniques on Casertana and Duroc breed swine in order to understand their muscularity, stemming from the presence of muscular fibres with different metabolism, is influenced by the expression of some gene isoforms. The aim of this study is to assess the expression level of genes involved in the myogenic process and to establish a firm fundament on meat quality.

Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section a Animal Science, Dec 1, 2010

The research was carried out on 16 pigs of autochthonous (located breed of pig) genetic type Cint... more The research was carried out on 16 pigs of autochthonous (located breed of pig) genetic type Cinta Senese. The morphometric characteristics of the fibre types and their percentage were determined on Longissimus Dorsi (LD) and Psoas major (PM) muscles. The area, diameter, volume and thickness of adipocytes from internal and external layers of adipose tissue from pig backfat, shoulder, dorsal

Calpains are Ca2+-dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in many ... more Calpains are Ca2+-dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in many biological functions. Particularly, in skeletal muscle they are involved in meat tenderizing during post mortem storage. In this report we analyzed the presence and expression of μ- and m-calpains in two skeletal muscles of the Marchigiana cattle soon after slaughter, using immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, Western blotting analysis and Casein Zymography. Therefore, the presence and the activity of these proteases was investigated until 15th day post mortem during normal process of meat tenderizing. The results showed m- and μ-calpain immunosignals in the cytoplasm both along the Z disk/I band regions and in the form of intracellular stores. Moreover, the expression level of μ-calpain but not m-calpain decreased after 10 days of storage. Such a decrease in μ-calpain was accompanied by a gradual reduction of activity. On the contrary, m-calpain activity persisted up t...

Israel Journal of Veterinary Medicine

A description of the pelvic limb musculature of ostrich (Red Neck) is given. Muscle tissues were ... more A description of the pelvic limb musculature of ostrich (Red Neck) is given. Muscle tissues were obtained from muscle iliotibialis lateralis pars preacetabularis, muscle femorotibialis medius and muscle fibularis longus. The histochemical results revealed the presence of two types of fibres: slow-twitch fibres (type I) and fast-twitch intermediate fibres (type IIA). A higher incidence of type I compared to type IIA fibres in muscle iliotibialis lateralis pars preacetabularis and muscle femorotibialis medius was noticed. The immunohistochemical results revealed that in this species calpain/calpastatin system was localized in various parts of the muscles, although mu-calpain and m-calpain totally disappeared at 4 days post-mortem. Calpastatin and p-94 were present during all the period considered (0, 2 days, 4 days and 6 days post-mortem). In this study changes in enzymatic activities of mu and m-calpain were observed, particularly the activity of mu and m-calpain decrease rapidly dur...

Calpains are Ca 2+ -dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in man... more Calpains are Ca 2+ -dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in many biological functions. Particularly, in skeletal muscle they are involved in meat tenderizing during post mortem storage. In this report we analyzed the presence and expression of µ-and m-calpains in two skeletal muscles of the Marchigiana cattle soon after slaughter, using immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, Western blotting analysis and Casein Zymography. Therefore, the presence and the activity of these proteases was investigated until 15 th day post mortem during normal process of meat tenderizing. The results showed m-and µ-calpain immunosignals in the cytoplasm both along the Z disk/I band regions and in the form of intracellular stores. Moreover, the expression level of µ-calpain but not m-calpain decreased after 10 days of storage. Such a decrease in µ-calpain was accompanied by a gradual reduction of activity. On the contrary, m-calpain activity persisted up to 15 days of post mortem storage. Such data indicate that expression and activity of both µ-calpain and m-calpain analyzed in the Marchigiana cattle persist longer than reported in literature for other bovines and may be related to both the type of muscle and breed examined.

Italian journal of anatomy and embryology = Archivio italiano di anatomia ed embriologia

Three muscles were analyzed, Longissimus dorsi, Semimembranosus and Caput longum Tricipitis brach... more Three muscles were analyzed, Longissimus dorsi, Semimembranosus and Caput longum Tricipitis brachii taken from nine cow buffaloes, by examining the histochemical and morphometrical characteristics of different muscle fibres types and their distribution inside the examined muscles. Cross sectional area, perimeter, maximum and minimum diameter of about 200 fibres were measured for each muscle, and fast-twitch glycolytic fibres (FG), fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic fibres (FOG), slow-twitch oxidative fibres (SO) were histochemically differentiated. The data have been elaborated with the SPSS software. The variance analysis indicates that there are not significant differences about dimensions between FG and FOG fibres, while the average values of transversal section area and perimeter are greater than the oxidative fibres in all examined muscles. The Semimembranosus muscle in comparison to the Longissimus dorsi and to the Caput longum Tricipitis brachii muscles has muscle fibres with t...

Indian Journal of Animal Research, 2014

The research was aimed at identifying the key characteristics of muscle and fat tissues when comp... more The research was aimed at identifying the key characteristics of muscle and fat tissues when comparing two pig breeds: Black Sicilian pig and Landrace pig. In Psoas minor (Pm) and Psoas major (PM) muscles the morphometric characteristics of fibre types and their percentage were determined. The area of adipocytes from internal and external layer of adipose tissue was also determined. The results showed that slow twitch oxidative (SO) fibres were larger than fast twitch glycolytic (FG) and fast twitch oxidative glycolytic (FOG); Pm muscle was characterized by larger FG and SO fibres than PM; males had larger fibres than females in both muscles and breeds. Landrace pig has smaller adipocytes cells than Black Sicilian while Black Sicilian pig showed more essential fatty acids than Landrace. The results in favour of Black Sicilian pig show how conservation of animal biodiversity becomes important because of the high independent homeostatic capability exhibited by autochthonous genetic types for the management and control of the land.

Italian Journal of Animal Science, 2010

... species (Bubalus bubalis) Luigi Zicarelli1, Evelina Mariotti1, Serena Di Francesco1, Salvator... more ... species (Bubalus bubalis) Luigi Zicarelli1, Evelina Mariotti1, Serena Di Francesco1, Salvatore Velotto2, Marcello Rubessa1, Gianluca Neglia1 ... Galli C., Crotti, G., Notari, C., Turini, P., Duchi, R., Lazzari, G., 2000. Embryo production by ovum pick-up from live donors. ...

Italian Journal of Animal Science, 2010

... Bianca Gasparrini1, Serena Di Francesco1, Marcello Rubessa1, Salvatore Velotto2, Evelina Mari... more ... Bianca Gasparrini1, Serena Di Francesco1, Marcello Rubessa1, Salvatore Velotto2, Evelina Mariotti1, Marina De Blasi1 ... es (COCs) with a compact, non-atretic cumulus and a homogeneous cytoplasm were matured in vitro according to our standard procedures (Gaspar-...

European Journal of Histochemistry, 2013

Calpains are Ca 2+ -dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in man... more Calpains are Ca 2+ -dependent proteases able to cleave a large number of proteins involved in many biological functions. Particularly, in skeletal muscle they are involved in meat tenderizing during post mortem storage. In this report we analyzed the presence and expression of µ-and m-calpains in two skeletal muscles of the Marchigiana cattle soon after slaughter, using immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, Western blotting analysis and Casein Zymography. Therefore, the presence and the activity of these proteases was investigated until 15 th day post mortem during normal process of meat tenderizing. The results showed m-and µ-calpain immunosignals in the cytoplasm both along the Z disk/I band regions and in the form of intracellular stores. Moreover, the expression level of µ-calpain but not m-calpain decreased after 10 days of storage. Such a decrease in µ-calpain was accompanied by a gradual reduction of activity. On the contrary, m-calpain activity persisted up to 15 days of post mortem storage. Such data indicate that expression and activity of both µ-calpain and m-calpain analyzed in the Marchigiana cattle persist longer than reported in literature for other bovines and may be related to both the type of muscle and breed examined.

Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia: Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series C, 2004

A staining procedure used for simultaneously determining three different fibre types in single se... more A staining procedure used for simultaneously determining three different fibre types in single sections bovine, porcine or ovine skeletal muscle was modified for use with ostrich skeletal muscle. The muscle fibres of gastrocnemius pars externa, tibialis cranialis caput tibiale, tibialis cranialis caput femorale and fibularis longus tendo caudalis were studied. The histochemical results revealed the presence of three types of fibre only in the gastrocnemius pars externa muscle: fast-twitch glycolytic fibres (FG), fast-twitch oxidative glycolytic fibres (FOG) and slow-twitch oxidative fibres (SO), while in the other muscles the FG fibres were absent. The percentage distribution of fibres types showed a higher incidence of SO fibres compared to FOG fibres in tibialis cranialis caput femorale and tibialis cranialis caput tibiale muscles, while it was opposite in the case of the fibularis longus tendo caudalis muscle. In the gastrocnemius pars externa muscle the FG fibres outnumber the other fibres, followed by the SO and FOG fibres. The results of the analysis of variance show significant interaction between muscle x fibre type for every morphometric parameter evaluated. Differences about value of fibres area exists between tibialis cranialis caput femorale and fibularis longus tendo caudalis muscles. Both fibre types in tibialis cranialis caput tibiale muscle have mean values of transversal section area smaller than tibialis cranialis caput femorale. The other morphometric parameters show a similar trend. The gastrocnemius pars externa muscle presents similar dimensions of muscle fibres for the FG and FOG types, and significantly smaller for the SO type.

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2005

ABSTRACT The Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of age and sex on histochemical and mor... more ABSTRACT The Aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of age and sex on histochemical and morphometric characteristics of muscle fibres (myocytes) in lambs born by single or twin birth. Forty lambs were fed mother's milk and slaughtered at 60 days; 40 weaned at 60 days and fed until 120 days with flakes (60%) and hay (40%) and then slaughtered. Muscle tissues were obtained from two muscles, namely m. psoas major and Caput longum m. tricipitis brachii of all lambs. The muscles were stained for myosin ATPase, and succinic dehydrogenase. For each fibre type, area, perimeter, maximum and minimum diameter were measured and slow-twitch oxidative fibres, fast-twitch glycolytic fibres, fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic fibres were histochemically differentiated. An image-analysing system was used. At 60 days, females had fibres larger than males while the opposite was observed at 120 days. Moreover, at 60 days, the lambs born by single birth had fibres larger than those born by twin birth, while the opposite was observed at 120 days. The fast-twitch glycolytic fibres had the largest size, followed by the slow-twitch oxidative and the fast-twitch oxidative glycolytic fibres. The dimensions of fibre types in Caput longum tricipitis brachii muscle were larger than in the psoas major muscle (P < 0.001). This study provides important data on basic characteristics of lamb muscles that, as intrinsic factors, may influence some aspects of meat production and quality.

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2010

The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of propolis on mortality of fish eggs due to myco... more The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of propolis on mortality of fish eggs due to mycosis, to study its efficacy on the fish growth rate and to analyze the histochemical and ultrastructural characteristics of muscle fibres. We evaluated the muscular development of fish in two different experimental conditions: traditional feeding and feeding with addition of propolis (groups A and B, respectively). The study was carried out on two species of teleosts bred in Italy, Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) and Salmo trutta (brown trout). The use of propolis reduced mortality of fish eggs. The muscles were stained for myosin ATPase and succinic dehydrogenase to evaluate fibre type. The area, maximum and minimum diameter for each fibre type in relation to the body length were measured. The animals fed propolis showed a more rapid muscular growth compared to control fed the standard diet. Fibres were larger in the Salmo trutta than in the Oncorhynchus mykiss in both groups. In fish of A group, myotomal muscle, the presence of giant fibres and index of environmental stress was noticed. This type of study is valuable in order to extend the use of propolis as an antifungal agent and a natural product that can improve fish farming.

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2010

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2010

... Salvatore Velotto, Claudia Vitale, Tommaso Stasi, Antonio Crasto Department of Soil, Plant, E... more ... Salvatore Velotto, Claudia Vitale, Tommaso Stasi, Antonio Crasto Department of Soil, Plant, Environmental and Animal Production Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture ... Acta Vet Brno 76: 163-170 Wojtysiak D, Migdal W 2007: The effect of genotype on muscle fibre characteristics of ...

Acta Veterinaria Brno, 2007

Velotto S., E. Varricchio, M. R. Di Prisco, T. Stasi, A. Crasto: Skeletal Myocyte Types and Vascu... more Velotto S., E. Varricchio, M. R. Di Prisco, T. Stasi, A. Crasto: Skeletal Myocyte Types and Vascularity in the Black Sicilian Pig. Acta Vet Brno 2007, 76: 163-170.

Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A - Animal Science, 2010

The research was carried out on 16 pigs of autochthonous (located breed of pig) genetic type Cint... more The research was carried out on 16 pigs of autochthonous (located breed of pig) genetic type Cinta Senese. The morphometric characteristics of the fibre types and their percentage were determined on Longissimus Dorsi (LD) and Psoas major (PM) muscles. The area, diameter, volume and thickness of adipocytes from internal and external layers of adipose tissue from pig backfat, shoulder, dorsal

Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology, 2012

Aflatoxins are natural contaminants frequently found both in food and feed. Many of them exert im... more Aflatoxins are natural contaminants frequently found both in food and feed. Many of them exert immunomodulatory properties in mammals; therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate immune-effects of AFB1, AFB2, AFM1 and AFM2, alone and differently combined, in J774A.1 murine macrophages. MTT assay showed that AFB1, alone and combined with AFB2, possess antiproliferative activity only at the highest concentration; such effect was not shown by their hydroxylated metabolites, AFM1 and AFM2, respectively. However, the immunotoxic effects of the aflatoxins evaluated in the current study may be due to the inhibition of production of active oxygen metabolites such as NO. Cytofluorimetric assay in macrophages exposed to aflatoxins (10-100 μM) revealed that their cytoxicity is not related to apoptotic pathways. Nevertheless, a significant increase of the S phase cell population accompanied by a decrease in G0/G1 phase cell population was observed after AFB1 treatment. In conclus...

According to the fundamental economical implications and the significance of meat quality, there ... more According to the fundamental economical implications and the significance of meat quality, there has been a wider need to check, improve and assess the response of animals to the different breeding and feeding strategies based on their genetic potential. This is fundamental in order to reduce production costs, enhance the metabolic and nourishing efficiency and, as a consequence, the meat and derivatives production. The beginning of muscular differentiation involves the activation of genes which are kept dormant until the appearance of external inductive signals. Those signals merge on the function of myogenic regulating factors (MRF), MyoD, Myf5, MRF4, Miogenin, carrying a 'basic helix-loop-helix' transcription domain, able to bind specific DNA sequences. In satellite cells physiology, Pax7-gene plays an important role by inducing the cells self-renewal and representing one of the genes that influences the post-natal growth dynamic phase observed in swine. The study has been performed by operating on histochemical, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent as well as molecular biology techniques on Casertana and Duroc breed swine in order to understand their muscularity, stemming from the presence of muscular fibres with different metabolism, is influenced by the expression of some gene isoforms. The aim of this study is to assess the expression level of genes involved in the myogenic process and to establish a firm fundament on meat quality.