Apoptosis in muscle-to-meat aging process: The omic witness

• Omic analysis of aging meat shows physiological impairment of muscle cells.
• Proteomic clues of apoptosis: ANXA2, PEBP, DJ1, HSPB6, ADK, cryαB, and 31 kDa actin fragment
• Metabolomic clues of apoptosis: key metabolites, nitrotyrosine, and taurine
• Phosphoproteomic clues of apoptosis: cryαB, HSPB6, myosin 2, and synaptopodin 2

Meat derives from a muscle that undergoes a great number of biochemical and physiological changes. The anoxic condition established from the moment of animal sacrifice forces muscle cells to a sort of reaction, resulting in methodical programmed cell death to avoid necrosis. The duality autophagy and/or apoptosis is at the center of the scientific debate about the biological processes driving the muscle to meat conversion. Here we report an omic time course overview carried on proteome, phosphoproteome and metabolome of Piedmontese longissimus thoracis muscle searching for clues helping us to extricate through the dilemma. The survey depicts a progressive physiological impairing and our evidences push towards the apoptotic behavior: the proteomic time course trend of annexin A2, RKIP, HSPB6, αB crystalline, adenylate kinase, DJ-1 and 31 kDa actin fragment; the 0–1 day increased phosphorylation of myosin 2 and synaptopodin and the metabolomic time course trend of key metabolic indicators, like GSH/GSSG ratio, taurine and nitrotyrosine. The employed techniques provide strong indications about the likely apoptotic behavior of aging meat in muscle-to-meat conversion process.Biological significanceOur work underlines compelling evidences of the apoptotic behavior of Piedmontese beef muscle cells undergoing the muscle-to-meat process, whereas no autophagic clues are inferred from this omic investigation.

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