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Redox Balance in Animal Physiology: Health and Welfare

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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The redox balance is the basis of animal welfare and health. An imbalance towards the oxidative state, caused by a decrease in antioxidants’ defenses or by an increase in oxidants, could have harmful effects, such as generating tumors, reproductive problems, and stressful conditions, that would alter animal health and welfare. Therefore, new tools to evaluate the redox balance in animal matrices would be of great interest to prevent damage and preserve animal health.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to create a collection of useful methods for antioxidant and pro-oxidant assays. Manuscripts that include, but are not limited to, the following topics in different animal species and matrices will be accepted:

Studies to monitor animal health and welfare correlated to redox balance parameters.
Validation of analytical methods for antioxidant and pro-oxidant parameters.
Studies on the monitoring of redox balance parameters after nutritional supplements are used in animal feed.
Studies on the alteration of redox balance parameters in pathological conditions or following the contact of an animal with drugs or environmental toxicants.
Assays of antioxidant and pro-oxidant concentrations.
Assays of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and NOS).

Considering this, new methods or a collection of methods to assay the redox balance parameters would be helpful to the scientific community and would increase the already-existing literature related to this field.

We are interested in the following types of manuscripts: original research articles, review articles, case studies, and in vivo as well as in vitro studies.

Dr. Valeria Pasciu
Dr. Elena Baralla
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

antioxidant
oxidative stress
animal matrices
redox balance

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3938 KiB

Open AccessArticle

MiR-106a-5p by Targeting MAP3K2 Promotes Repair of Oxidative Stress Damage to the Intestinal Barrier in Prelaying Ducks

by Li Zhang, Xiang Luo, Rui Tang, Yan Wu, Zhenhua Liang, Jingbo Liu, Jinsong Pi and Hao Zhang

Animals 2024, 14(7), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14071037 - 28 Mar 2024

Viewed by 478

Abstract

Under caged stress conditions, severe disruptions in duck intestinal barrier function, which adversely affect economic performance, have been observed. MiRNAs play a crucial role in cellular processes, but the mechanisms underlying their involvement in repairing oxidative stress-induced damage to duck intestinal barriers have not been elucidated. We performed miRNA-seq and protein tandem mass tagging (TMT) sequencing and identified differentially expressed miRNAs and proteins in oxidative stress-treated ducks. Dual-luciferase reporter vector experiments, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting revealed the regulatory role of apla-miR-106a-5p/MAP3K2 in intestinal barrier damage repair. The results showed that oxidative stress led to shortened villi and deepened crypts, impairing intestinal immune function. Significant downregulation of apla-miR-106a-5p was revealed by miRNA-seq, and the inhibition of its expression not only enhanced cell viability but also improved intestinal barrier function. TMT protein sequencing revealed MAP3K2 upregulation in caged-stressed duck intestines, and software analysis confirmed MAP3K2 as the target gene of apla-miR-106a-5p. Dual-fluorescence reporter gene experiments demonstrated direct targeting of MAP3K2 by apla-miR-106a-5p. RT-qPCR showed no effect on MAP3K2 expression, while Western blot analysis indicated that MAP3K2 protein expression was suppressed. In summary, apla-miR-106a-5p targets MAP3K2, regulating gene expression at the transcriptional level and facilitating effective repair of intestinal barrier damage. This discovery provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of physiological damage in ducks under caged stress, offering valuable guidance for related research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Redox Balance in Animal Physiology: Health and Welfare)

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Review

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23 pages, 1185 KiB

Open AccessReview

An Overview on Assay Methods to Quantify ROS and Enzymatic Antioxidants in Erythrocytes and Spermatozoa of Small Domestic Ruminants

by Valeria Pasciu, Maria Nieddu, Francesca Daniela Sotgiu, Elena Baralla and Fiammetta Berlinguer

Animals 2023, 13(14), 2300; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13142300 - 13 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3043

Abstract

The present review aims to provide an overview of the assay methods for the quantification of ROS and principal enzymatic antioxidants as biomarkers of oxidative stress in erythrocytes and spermatozoa of small domestic ruminants. A complete literature search was carried out in PubMed, Scopus and the World Wide Web using relevant keywords and focusing on the last five years (2018–2023). Among spectrophotometry, fluorometry and chemiluminescence, the most widely used method for ROS assay is fluorometry, probably because it allows to simultaneously assay several ROS, using different probes, with greater economic advantages. Regarding intracellular antioxidant enzymes, recent literature reports only spectrophotometric methods, many of which use commercial kits. The use of a less sensitive but cheapest method is suitable because both erythrocytes and spermatozoa samples are highly concentrated in domestic ruminant species. All methods considered in this review have been found to be appropriate; in general, the differences are related to their costs and sensitivity. Quantification of ROS and enzymatic antioxidant activity in erythrocytes and spermatozoa may find application in the study of the welfare and health status of small domestic ruminants for monitoring livestock production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Redox Balance in Animal Physiology: Health and Welfare)

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