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A recent study showed that antlers have evolved a high rate of growth due to the expression of proto-oncogenes and that they have also evolved to express several tumour suppressor genes to control the risk of cancer. This may explain why deer antler velvet (DAV) extract shows anti-tumour activity. The fast growth of antler innervation through the velvet in close association to blood vessels provides a unique environment to study the fast but non-cancerous proliferation of heterogeneous cell populations. We set out to study the anti-cancer effect of DAV in glioblastoma (GB) cell lines in comparison with temozolomide, a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat high-grade brain tumours. Here we report, for the first time, that DAV extract from the tip, but not from mid-parts of the antler, exhibits an anti-tumour effect in GB cell lines (T98G and A172) while being non-toxic in non-cancerous cell lines (HEK293 and HACAT). In T98G cells, DAV treatment showed reduced proliferation (37.5%) and colony-formation capacity (84%), inhibited migration (39%), induced changes in cell cycle progression, and promoted apoptosis. The anticancer activity of DAV extract as demonstrated by these results may provide a new therapeutic strategy for GB treatment.

Deer venison is increasingly valued as a natural meat. This study examines the three main sources of venison: farmed venison from New Zealand (NZ), the world’s leading producer, and wild deer from Spain (SP), the second largest producer, which mainly supplies venison from traditional autumn–winter driven hunts (monteria), involving packs of dogs, and a smaller proportion culled through summer selective stalking. Meat from NZ contained more protein, lower shear force and lower n -6/ n -3 ratio ( P  < 0.01). Spanish meat had a greater content of total, essential and non-essential amino acids ( P  < 0.01). Meat from deer culled in winter had lower intramuscular fat and saturated fatty acids (FA) but higher polyunsaturated FA ( P  < 0.01) and pH ( P  < 0.001) than meat from summer stalked deer. Therefore, venison presents differences by country of origin for composition, FA and texture that are likely to affect its health characteristics. Anomalies observed in meat between the winter driven hunt and non-stressful summer stalking may be attributed to the level of death stress in the case of variables such as pH. However, the effect on fat and mineral composition seems to be seasonal, depending respectively on wild diet or cyclic osteoporosis in males.

Antlers are unique structures because they grow rapidly and are cast annually, representing an important energetic and mineral cost for deer. Variables related to the timing of antler growth, such as date of antler casting and length of growth period, therefore, should be affected by somatic resources and availability of food. We examined the effects of body and antler weight, age, and climatic variables, on antler casting date and the period of time antlers were grown as well as possible random effects of individual, year, cohort, and pedigree, based on 244 antlers in a population of 109 males of Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus) over a 17-year study from 1999 to 2016. Body weight affected casting date, with heavier males casting antlers earlier than lighter males. Antlers also grew faster and were cast earlier among older males than young males. Antler weight influenced casting date and the duration of the growth period: males with heavier antlers cast them earlier and grow them faster than males with light antlers. Nevertheless, age and antler weight interacted; as such, older males grew their antlers slower and delay casting date because they produce heavier antlers, in contrast to younger males, where those with the heaviest antlers grow them faster and cast first. The date of the end of antler growth also influenced casting date, so that antlers that took the longest to develop were cast later than those that finished growing early. We conclude that older and heavier males cast their antlers earlier and grow them faster than younger and lighter males, likely to correlate the subsequent antler growth with the spring peak in plant nutrients, but that this early development is limited physiologically by the size of the antlers.

Antlers are costly bone structures that grow every year. Thus, in addition to the genetic potential, its full potential size depends on the physiological state and food availability. Our aim was to examine antler characteristics related to genetic potential (burr perimeter) with final antler investment (antler weight) and how they relate with antler structural characteristics: beam length, circumference at mid and upper parts of the beam, and length of first (brow) and midbeam (third) tines. We measured 206 antlers from the University of Castilla-La Mancha experimental farm (UCLM) and from 203 top size antlers from Latvian International Antler Competition (LIAC). The results show that UCLM and LIAC had antlers of similar length (4.6% difference), but LIAC had 47% heavier antlers. The body growth explained that correlations of antler measurements with age were higher in males of 3 or more years, but much weaker in fully grown males (5 years or older). Weight reflected investment in antlers, as it showed the greatest correlation with all measurements, but length had weaker correlations. A large burr cross-section seems to reflect genetic potential, because it is necessary but not sufficient to grow large antlers. The results could be a useful tool for deer breeders.

This study describes the effects that Cu supplementation of late-gestating and lactating females (hinds) of Iberian red deer fed a balanced diet have on milk production, composition, and somatic cell count (SCC). Experimental hinds (n = 9) were subcutaneously injected every 42 days with Cu (0.83 mg Cu/kg body weight) from day 202 of gestation until the end of lactation (week 18). Control hinds (n = 8) were injected with a physiological saline solution with the same volume and at the same frequency as the experimental group. Copper supplementation decreased the SCC from 1.64 to 1.36 log 10/mL (p = 0.003) and modified the milk mineral profile. In particular, milk from hinds supplemented with Cu had more Ca (p = 0.02), Mg (p = 0.06), and K (p = 0.03) than milk from control hinds. However, Cu supplementation did not influence the Cu content of milk. Therefore, it can be concluded that Cu supplementation of hinds fed a balanced diet from late-gestation to the end of lactation could be a good strategy to reduce SCC and modify the mineral profile of milk increasing its Ca content.

Differential maternal allocation theory states that mothers will invest more heavily in the offspring sex that will secure higher reproductive output. Senescence theory is concerned with the gradual deterioration of physiological function with age. We analysed the offspring sex-dependent response of calf growth and milk traits to mother age in an Iberian population of captive red deer (Cervus elaphus) using a 22 year time series longitudinal data set. Previous studies revealed that there was little evidence for the differential allocation theory on milk traits and that most studies lacked proper control for confounding factors. Our results indicated that (i) calf growth was offspring male-biased, negatively affected by mother age and positively influenced by mother weight and parity, and (ii) there was no support for differential allocation offspring sex-dependence in milk traits (yield, energy density, fat, protein and lactose content). Our findings suggest that maternal allocation responds to offspring energy requirements, which are mainly driven by offspring body weight, and contingent on mother age and weight and previous maternal reproductive effort.

Las cuernas son estructuras únicas porque crecen rápidamente y desmogan cada año, representando así un coste importante para los ciervos. Por lo tanto, las variables relacionadas con la cronología de su crecimiento, tales como la fecha de desmogue o la duración del periodo de crecimiento, deberían verse afectadas por los recursos corporales del macho, así como por la cantidad de alimento disponible. Examinamos los efectos de la masa corporal y de las cuernas, la edad y las variables climáticas sobre la fecha de desmogue y la duración del crecimiento de las cuernas, así como los posibles efectos aleatorios del individuo, año, cohorte y pedigrí utilizando 244 cuernas en una población de 109 machos de ciervo ibérico (Cervus elaphus) a lo largo de 17 años de estudio desde 1999 hasta 2016. El peso corporal afectó a la fecha de desmogue, siendo los machos más pesados los que desmogan antes en relación a los más ligeros. Las cuernas también crecieron más rápido y fueron desmogadas antes entre los machos más viejos en comparación con los más jóvenes. El peso de la cuerna afectó a la fecha de desmogue y el periodo de crecimiento de la misma; machos con cuernas más pesadas desmogaron antes y las desarrollaron más rápido que machos con cuernas ligeras. En cualquier caso, la edad y peso de las cuernas interaccionaron y así, los machos de más edad ralentizan el crecimiento de las cuernas y retrasan la fecha de desmogue conforme desarrollan cuernas más pesadas, al contrario de los machos más jóvenes, los cuales desarrollan sus cuernas más rápido y desmogan antes cuanto más pesadas son las mismas. La fecha de final de crecimiento de las cuernas también afectó a la fecha de desmogue, de modo que los machos cuyas cuernas tardaron más tiempo en desarrollarse fueron los que más tarde desmogaron. Concluimos que los machos de más edad y más peso desmogan sus cuernas antes y las hacen crecer más rápido, posiblemente para correlacionar el crecimiento de la siguiente cuerna con el pico primaveral en nutrientes de las plantas, pero este desarrollo temprano está fisiológicamente limitado por el tamaño de la cuerna.