Molecular Characterization and Expression Analysis of Creatine Kinase Muscle (CK-M) Gene in Horse.
Abstract: Since ancient days, domestic horses have been closely associated with human civilization. Today, horse racing is an important industry. Various genes involved in energy production and muscle contraction are differentially regulated during a race. Among them, creatine kinase (CK) is well known for its regulation of energy preservation in animal cells. CK is an iso-enzyme, encoded by different genes and expressed in skeletal muscle, heart, brain and leucocytes. We confirmed that the expression of CK-M significantly increased in the blood after a 30 minute exercise period, while no considerable change was observed in skeletal muscle. Analysis of various tissues showed an ubiquitous expression of the CK-M gene in the horse; CK-M mRNA expression was predominant in the skeletal muscle and the cardiac muscle compared to other tissues. An evolutionary study by synonymous and non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism ratio of CK-M gene revealed a positive selection that was conserved in the horse. More studies are warranted in order to develop the expression of CK-M gene as a biomarker in blood of thoroughbred horses.
Publication Date: 2015-11-19 PubMed ID: 26580434PubMed Central: PMC4647075DOI: 10.5713/ajas.15.0468Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This study explores the molecular characteristics of the horse Creatine Kinase Muscle (CK-M) gene, its expression in different tissues, and its response to exercise. The findings suggest that the CK-M gene undergoes significant increase in the blood after exercise and could be utilized as a potential biomarker in blood of thoroughbred horses.
Research Objectives and Background
- The research aims to understand the role of the Creatine Kinase Muscle (CK-M) gene in horses, particularly how it responds to exercise. Understanding this could provide valuable insight into horse physiology and potentially help optimize the health and performance of racing horses.
- Creatine Kinase (CK) is an important enzyme known for its regulation of energy preservation in cells. It is encoded by different genes and gets expressed in skeletal muscle, heart, brain and leucocytes of animals.
Findings on CK-M Gene
- The study confirms that the expression of the CK-M gene significantly increases in the blood after a 30-minute exercise period. However, there’s no considerable change observed in the skeletal muscle.
- Upon analyzing various tissues, it was found that the CK-M gene is ubiquitously expressed in horses. Specifically, CK-M mRNA expression was dominant in the skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle, compared to other tissues.
Evolutionary Analysis of the CK-M Gene
- An evolutionary examination using the ratio of synonymous and non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism of the CK-M gene revealed a positive selection that was maintained in the horse.
- This suggests that there has been an adaptive significance of this gene in horses over time, which is likely contributing to specific equine traits, such as endurance or speed.
Future Research Outlook
- Present results point towards the potential of the CK-M gene to serve as a biomarker in the blood of thoroughbred horses. A biomarker could be significantly beneficial in monitoring the health and fitness of racing horses.
- However, thorough understanding and empirical support for this utility of the CK-M gene requires further studies.
Cite This Article
APA
Do KT, Cho HW, Badrinath N, Park JW, Choi JY, Chung YH, Lee HK, Song KD, Cho BW.
(2015).
Molecular Characterization and Expression Analysis of Creatine Kinase Muscle (CK-M) Gene in Horse.
Asian-Australas J Anim Sci, 28(12), 1680-1685.
https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.15.0468 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal Science, College of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Pusan National University, Miryang 627-702, Korea ; Department of Equine Sciences, Sorabol College, Gyeongju 780-711, Korea .
- Department of Animal Science, College of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Pusan National University, Miryang 627-702, Korea.
- Department of Animal Science, College of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Pusan National University, Miryang 627-702, Korea.
- Department of Animal Science, College of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Pusan National University, Miryang 627-702, Korea.
- Department of Animal Science, College of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Pusan National University, Miryang 627-702, Korea.
- BK21+, Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Korea .
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Korea .
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju 561-756, Korea .
- Department of Animal Science, College of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Pusan National University, Miryang 627-702, Korea.
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Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Dehghanian Reyhan V, Ghafouri F, Sadeghi M, Miraei-Ashtiani SR, Kastelic JP, Barkema HW, Shirali M. Integrated Comparative Transcriptome and circRNA-lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA Regulatory Network Analyses Identify Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Intramuscular Fat Content in Beef Cattle. Animals (Basel) 2023 Aug 11;13(16).
- Wang Z, Du W, Han M, He L, Zhang H, Hu J, Quan R. Association between creatine phosphokinase level within normal range and bone mineral density in adolescents. Medicine (Baltimore) 2023 Aug 11;102(32):e34724.
- Pan J, Purev C, Zhao H, Zhang Z, Wang F, Wendoule N, Qi G, Liu Y, Zhou H. Discovery of exercise-related genes and pathway analysis based on comparative genomes of Mongolian originated Abaga and Wushen horse. Open Life Sci 2022;17(1):1269-1281.
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