Reproduction Abstracts

Introduction: Movement of spermatozoa and the penetration of zona-pellucida depend on the energy produced in mitochondria. Major steps of cryopreservation can exert stress on sperm mitochondria membrane. Better post-thaw motility, viability and acrosome integrity of spermatozoa was observed when extended in trehalose in a previous study. Objective was to evaluate the effect of trehalose on mitochondria integrity of post-thawed boar spermatozoa.Materials ...

The cellular identity of germ cells, the only heritable lineage to the next generation, is distinct from those of somatic lineages. The somatic program is largely suppressed in male germ cells which retain unique cellular identity, passed on to the compacted sperm, and give rise to a totipotent zygote after fertilization. We recently demonstrated that a few thousand genes commonly expressed in somatic lineages and spermatogenesis-progenitor cells (termed somatic/progenitor gen...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is generally thought to be a genetic disease, which affects 5–10% of women of reproductive age (approximately 11–47 years old). Typically, PCOS is characterized by the formation of cysts on the ovaries and ovulatory failure. Characteristically PCOS results in high levels of androgens such as testosterone and insulin resistance within the blood. The ovaries of Kiss1 mutant mice have been shown to frequently form multiple cysts...

Introduction: Tamoxifen inducible Cre systems have been used to study development specific roles of genes in the testis as they allow tight temporal control of genetic manipulation. However, tamoxifen is an anti-estrogen that competitively binds estrogen receptors. Despite the antagonistic properties of tamoxifen, it also acts as a weak estrogen agonist, hence exerting estrogenic effects in a tissue and cell specific manner. Given the duality of tamoxifen function and the impo...

Introduction: ALF is a germ cell-specific counterpart of the large (α/β) subunit of general transcription factor TFIIA and has a vital role in the meiotic and post-meiotic development of male germ cells. We have found in vitro a variety of effects of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on different types of germ cells, including the induction of DNA strand breaks and apoptosis. We therefore examined its effect on the expression of genes such as AL...

Introduction: Aldrin and its derivative dieldrin belong to the group of chloroorganic pesticides, which due to their lipophilic properties and resistance to biodegradation are accumulated in tissues of animals and humans, and they can mimic the action of endogenous hormones.Materials and methods: Myometrial strips and endometrial, myometrial, granulosa, and luteal cells obtained from cows on days 8–12 of the estrous cycle, were incubated with aldrin...

Kisspeptin neuropeptides stimulate release of GnRH to maintain mammalian fertility. Kisspeptins are encoded by the Kiss1 gene and directly stimulate GnRH neurons via the G-protein coupled receptor54 (GPR54). Transgenic mice with inactivating mutations of Kiss1 or Gpr54 are sterile and have underdeveloped gonads (hypogonadism) and low GnRH levels caused by a failure to secrete GnRH. The aim of this study was to determine whether the sterility of mutan...

Introduction: The CDC reports that roughly one-third of USA adults suffer from metabolic syndrome. Amongst other health complications, metabolic syndrome is associated with subfertility and complications later in pregnancy. Successful implantation and pregnancy require the priming of both embryo and uterus during a short window of time called the ‘window of implantation’. At this time, hormones stimulate uterine stromal fibroblasts to differentiate into specialized s...

In recent years, advances in molecular biology and reproductive engineering make generation of knockout (KO) animals possible. KO animals are useful and powerful tools for agriculture as well as biomedical research. Zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) and transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) genome editing technology enables site directed engineering of the genome. The aim of the present study was to ZFN and TALEN system could work on editing genome of cultured porcin...

Introduction: Bi-directional communication between the oocyte and cumulus cells (CCs) is essential for the production of competent oocytes. Previous studies analyzed the relative transcript abundance in oocytes from small follicles (SF) and medium follicles (MF) to determinate the likely use of oocytes from SF in artificial reproductive techniques. The aim of this study was to examine the relative transcript abundance of CCs from cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) from SF an...