PSA - Pathology

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory protein released by the body in response to infection and injury. Elevation of this serum protein has been linked to increased risks of heart disease through inflammation that is believed to play a key role in the hardening of arteries resulting in a heart attack or stroke. Consequently, CRP could serve as a genetic marker for an eminent cardiac event. Thus far, the poultry industry has experienced considerable loss due to turkey cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, the gross and microscopic lesions in tissue from cardiomyopathic turkeys, have been shown to be very similar to human cardiomyopathic heart tissue. Therefore investigation of those genes involved in turkey cardiomyopathy can lead to further insight of cardiovascular disease and thus benefit both the poultry industry and the human population. In this study, we attempted to identify a crp gene from turkeys that carry a genetic trait (unknown) that renders them susceptible to cardiomyopathy. The identification and expression of this gene as it relates to heart disease in these turkeys has not been investigated. The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to target this gene. Total RNA, extracted from frozen heart tissue (0.1g) of a cardiomyopathic turkey was used to generate turkey cDNA, and oligonucleotide primers were designed from a partial crp gene sequence derived from a chicken liver cDNA library to amplify the crp gene. The expected 504 bp RT-PCR product was successfully amplified. Identification and analysis of the gene that codes for CRP in turkeys will lend further insight into the etiology of turkey cardiomyopathy.