Effect of myostatin gene mutation on erythrocyte osmotic fragility, hematological parameters and fatty acid composition of serum and erythrocyte membranes in piglets.

Fatty acid composition of serum and erythrocyte membrane, erythrocyte osmotic fragility and hematological parameters were estimated with the objective of determining effects of the gene mutation in one-week-old MSTN homozygous mutant (KO, MSTN), heterozygous mutant (MSTN) and wild type (WT, MSTN) piglets (n = 4 each). Erythrocyte osmotic fragility, complete blood count (CBC), and fatty acid composition of serum and erythrocyte membrane were determined by flow cytometric analysis, automated hematology analyzer system, and liquid chromatography, respectively. Mean of median corpuscular fragility (MCF) was lower (P < 0.05, 0.001) in KO than MSTN and WT piglets. KO piglets had decreased (P < 0.05) white blood cell (WBC) count, lymphocyte (LYM) count, platelet (PLT) count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), red cell distribution width-standard deviation (RDW-SD), red cell distribution width-coefficient volume (RDW-CV), plateletcrit (PCT), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), platelet-large cell ratio (P-LCR), and an increased red blood cell (RBC) count when compared with MSTN and WT piglets. The ratios of unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) to saturated fatty acid (SFA) concentrations in serum and erythrocyte membranes of MSTN KO piglets were 2-fold and 4-fold higher compared to WT piglets (P < 0.001), respectively. In conclusion, MSTN KO piglets had a decreased erythrocyte osmotic fragility, and altered hematological profile and fatty acid composition of serum and erythrocyte membranes, as characteristic phenotype.