Effects of calf thymus extract and L-carnitine on immunity and growth performance of broiler chickens

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Increasing the bird’s wealth and increasing the growth rate are among the goals of increasing the animal wealth so; we studied the effects of L-carnitine and calf thymus extract on growth performance and immunity in broiler chickens.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> Eighty broiler chicks were divided into four groups, each group included twenty chicks. Group 1, was negative control with no treatment of feed or water. Group 2, the regular drinking water was replaced by L-carnitine-infused water (1 gram per liter). Group 3, the regular drinking water was replaced by calf thymus extract- infused water (1 ml per liter). Group 4, the regular drinking water was replaced by both L-carnitine and calf thymus extract- infused water. This treatment was administered from day 1 to day 30 of the cycle. Body weight, feed intake and feed conversion were assessed. The hemogram, leuckogram, total protein, globulin, albumin, phagocytic activity, phagocytic index and interleukin 2 were measured. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The hemogram and leuckogram parameters recorded a significant increase in treated groups compared to non treated group. The final body weight for all treatments was nearly the same, but slightly higher with application of L-carnitine. Phagocytic activity, index, TP, globulin and IL2 were significantly increased in treated groups.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Both L-carnitine and thymus extract have significantly improved the general health condition, in addition, calf thymus extract improved not only the general body condition but also act has immunomodulatory effect which require more further studies.</p>

Isolation of thymus gland fractions and the determination of their biological activity

A calf thymus extract was prepared and fractionated into lipid and non-lipid fractions. The non-lipid fraction was isolated from the calf thymus extract using the Folch method. The components isolated from the non-lipid fraction were characterized by IR, NMR, biuret and HPLC method. The results of the analyses indicated the presence of peptides. The lipid fraction contained phospholipids, glycolipids and neutral lipids. The biological activity of both the isolated lipid and peptide fractions was determined by the in vivo hemolytic plaques method in Wistar rats with an involuted thymus. The peptide and phospholipid fractions of the thymus extract showed a significant increase of hemolytic plaques. The glycolipid and neutral lipid fraction failed to express a significant immunological response.

Rapid actin monomer–insensitive depolymerization of Listeria actin comet tails by cofilin, coronin, and Aip1

Actin filaments in cells depolymerize rapidly despite the presence of high concentrations of polymerizable G actin. Cofilin is recognized as a key regulator that promotes actin depolymerization. In this study, we show that although pure cofilin can disassemble Listeria monocytogenes actin comet tails, it cannot efficiently disassemble comet tails in the presence of polymerizable actin. Thymus extracts also rapidly disassemble comet tails, and this reaction is more efficient than pure cofilin when normalized to cofilin concentration. By biochemical fractionation, we identify Aip1 and coronin as two proteins present in thymus extract that facilitate the cofilin-mediated disassembly of Listeria comet tails. Together, coronin and Aip1 lower the amount of cofilin required to disassemble the comet tail and permit even low concentrations of cofilin to depolymerize actin in the presence of polymerizable G actin. The cooperative activities of cofilin, coronin, and Aip1 should provide a biochemical basis for understanding how actin filaments can grow in some places in the cell while shrinking in others.