Caspase activity in post mortem muscle and its relation to cattle handling practices

BACKGROUND: Animal handling practices are one of the factors majorly affecting animal metabolism prior to slaughter. This phenomenon increases the occurrence of meat quality defects such as dark cutting-beef, causing high economical losses in the meat industry. Under this framework, the assessment of apoptosis onset in post mortem muscle was proposed as a novel approach to reveal biochemical characteristics in several Spanish bovine breeds (Asturiana de los Valles, Retinta and Rubia Gallega) managed under different production systems (intensive versus semi-extensive) and transport/lairage conditions (mixing versus not mixing with unfamiliar animals). To do so, the activities of initiator caspase 9 and executioner caspases 3/7 were determined in Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle at three early post mortem times (2, 8, and 24 h). RESULTS: Breed effect and transport/lairage conditions were the most relevant factors that influenced both caspase activities over post mortem time, showing Rubia Gallega breed a completely different behavior compared to Asturiana de los Valles and Retinta breeds. Moreover, it is postulated that apoptosis cascade is initiated via the activation of caspase 9 under hypoxic or metabolic stress followed by the activation of executioner caspases 3/7. CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of apoptosis on post mortem muscle can be a novel approach to study the influence of animal handling on muscle metabolism and post mortem cell death and its consequences on meat quality traits.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Fuente-García, Claudia, Aldai, Noelia, Sentandreu, Enrique, Oliván, Mamen, Franco, Daniel, García-Torres, Susana, Barron, Luis Javier R., Sentandreu, Miguel Ángel
Other Authors:	CSIC - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA)
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	John Wiley & Sons 2021-05-03
Subjects:	Caspases, Cell death, Apoptosis, Animal management, Bos taurus, Meat quality,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/244405 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100007652
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