scholarly journals Multiple follicle culture supports primary follicle growth through paracrine-acting signals

Reproduction ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Hornick ◽  
F E Duncan ◽  
L D Shea ◽  
T K Woodruff

In vitro follicle growth in alginate hydrogels is a unique and versatile method for studying ovarian and follicle biology that may also have implications for fertility preservation. Current culture systems support the development of isolated mouse follicles from the secondary stage onward. However, it has been a challenge to grow smaller follicles in vitro due to the dissociation of the oocyte from companion somatic cells. Recent work has demonstrated that coculturing primary follicles with mouse embryonic fibroblasts or ovarian stromal cells supports follicle survival and growth. In this study, we demonstrate that follicles themselves can exert a beneficial coculture effect. When primary follicles were cultured in groups of five or ten (multiple follicle culture), there was increased growth and survival. The multiple follicle culture approach maintained follicle integrity and resulted in the formation of antral stage follicles containing meiotically competent gametes. The growth and survival of primary follicles were highly number dependent, with the most significant enhancement observed when the largest number of follicles was grown together. Our data suggest that the follicle unit is necessary to produce the secreted factors responsible for the supportive effects of multiple follicle culture, as neither denuded oocytes, oocyte-secreted factors, nor granulosa cells alone were sufficient to support early follicle growth in vitro. Therefore, there may be signaling from both the oocyte and the follicle that enhances growth but requires both components in a feedback mechanism. This work is consistent with current in vivo models for follicle growth and thus advances the movement to recapitulate the ovarian environment in vitro.

Reproduction ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Nation ◽  
L Selwood

A model marsupial culture system has been developed whereby individual primary follicles, obtained from adult ovaries, can be grown in vitro to the antral stage and oocytes retrieved from these follicles can achieve nuclear maturation (metaphase II) in the presence of LH. Primary follicles isolated from adult Sminthopsis macroura ovaries were cultured individually in one of four systems: microdrops under oil, upright, inverted, or roller culture. After 6 days of culture, cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) were excised from early antral follicles and incubated for an additional 24 h to assess meiotic competence and the effects of LH and lithium on oocyte maturation. Histology and transmission electron microscopy established normal in vivo standards and verified oocyte and follicular integrity following culture. On day 6 of culture, follicle viability was significantly greater in the inverted system (73%) than in the other three systems (10–46%). The inverted system was the most effective in supporting development with follicles demonstrating progressive growth during culture and showing antral signs by day 4. Meiotic resumption during COC culture was facilitated by LH, but hindered by lithium. The ability to resume meiosis and progress to metaphase II was equivalent in oocytes retrieved following follicle culture and those matured in vivo. This study highlights the importance of oxygen and nutrient availability during marsupial follicle culture, and demonstrates for the first time that primary follicles isolated from adult mammalian ovaries can undergo normal growth and development in vitro, to produce mature, meiotically competent oocytes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 306 (8) ◽  
pp. E893-E903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yogeshwar Makanji ◽  
David Tagler ◽  
Jennifer Pahnke ◽  
Lonnie D. Shea ◽  
Teresa K. Woodruff

Oxygen tension is critical for follicle growth and metabolism, especially for early-stage follicles, where vascularity is limited. Its role and underlying mechanism in the in vitro activation and maturation of immature to ovulatory follicles is largely unknown. In this study, early secondary (110 μm) murine follicles were isolated and encapsulated in alginate hydrogels to replicate the in vivo environment of the growing/maturing follicle. Encapsulated follicles were cultured for 8 days at either 2.5 or 20% O2. Survival (2.6-fold) and growth (1.2-fold) were significantly higher for follicles cultured at 2.5% compared with 20% O2. Using a mouse hypoxia-signaling pathway qRT-PCR array and GeneGo Metacore analysis, we found that direct target genes of the hypoxia-activated HIF1-complex were significantly upregulated in follicles cultured for 8 days at 2.5% compared with 20% O2, including the carbohydrate transport and metabolism genes Slc2a3, Vegfa, Slc2a1, Edn1, Pgk1, Ldha, and Hmox1. Other upregulated genes included carbohydrate transporters ( Slc2a1, Slc2a3, and Slc16a3) and enzymes essential for glycolysis ( Pgk1, Hmox1, Hk2, Gpi1, Pfkl, Pfkp, Aldoa, Gapdh, Pgam1, Eno1, Pkm2, and Ldha). For follicles cultured at 2.5% O2, a 7.2-fold upregulation of Vegfa correlated to an 18-fold increase in VEGFA levels, and a 3.2-fold upregulation of Ldha correlated to a 4.8-fold increase in lactate levels. Both VEGFA and lactate levels were significantly higher in follicles cultured at 2.5% compared with 20% O2. Therefore, enhanced hypoxia-mediated glycolysis is essential for growth and survival of early secondary follicles and provides vital insights into improving in vitro culture conditions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 431 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Connolly ◽  
M. T. Kane ◽  
L. R. Quinlan ◽  
P. Dockery ◽  
A. C. Hynes

Ovarian follicle culture is useful for elucidation of factors involved in the regulation of follicular function. We examined the effects of gas phase oxygen concentration, an oil overlay, serum type and medium supplementation with FSH, insulin–transferrin–selenium (ITS) and I-ascorbic acid on cultured preantral mouse follicle growth in a spherical, non-attached follicle culture system. Follicle growth in 5% oxygen was significantly (PPP>0.05) affected by an oil overlay, ITS supplementation or serum type. Culture in medium with 5% mouse serum, 1 IU mL–1 FSH, 25 μgmL–1 l-ascorbic acid and 20% oxygen without an oil overlay supported the growth of follicles to a maximum diameter of 380 μm in 6 days. Compared with mature preovulatory mouse follicles in vivo that often have diameters >500 μm within the same time frame, in vitro-grown follicles clearly exhibit limited growth. Thus, adequate oxygenation is an essential factor in the process of optimising follicle growth.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Connolly ◽  
M. T. Kane ◽  
L. R. Quinlan ◽  
P. Dockery ◽  
A. C. Hynes

Ovarian follicle culture is useful for elucidation of factors involved in the regulation of follicular function. We examined the effects of gas phase oxygen concentration, an oil overlay, serum type and medium supplementation with FSH, insulin–transferrin–selenium (ITS) and l-ascorbic acid on cultured preantral mouse follicle growth in a spherical, non-attached follicle culture system. Follicle growth in 5% oxygen was significantly (P < 0.01) inferior to growth in 20% oxygen in terms of follicle diameter. This was likely due to hypoxia, as evidenced by significantly (P < 0.05) increased follicle secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a marker of cell hypoxia. Follicular growth was not (P > 0.05) affected by an oil overlay, ITS supplementation or serum type. Culture in medium with 5% mouse serum, 1 IU mL–1 FSH, 25 μg mL–1 l-ascorbic acid and 20% oxygen without an oil overlay supported the growth of follicles to a maximum diameter of 380 μm in 6 days. Compared with mature preovulatory mouse follicles in vivo that often have diameters >500 μm within the same time frame, in vitro-grown follicles clearly exhibit limited growth. Thus, adequate oxygenation is an essential factor in the process of optimising follicle growth.


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1158-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yorino Sato ◽  
Yuan Cheng ◽  
Kazuhiro Kawamura ◽  
Seido Takae ◽  
Aaron J.W. Hsueh

Abstract C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) encoded by the NPPC (Natriuretic Peptide Precursor C) gene expressed in ovarian granulosa cells inhibits oocyte maturation by activating the natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR)B (NPRB) in cumulus cells. RT-PCR analyses indicated increased NPPC and NPRB expression during ovarian development and follicle growth, associated with increases in ovarian CNP peptides in mice. In cultured somatic cells from infantile ovaries and granulosa cells from prepubertal animals, treatment with CNP stimulated cGMP production. Also, treatment of cultured preantral follicles with CNP stimulated follicle growth whereas treatment of cultured ovarian explants from infantile mice with CNP, similar to FSH, increased ovarian weight gain that was associated with the development of primary and early secondary follicles to the late secondary stage. Of interest, treatment with FSH increased levels of NPPC, but not NPRB, transcripts in ovarian explants. In vivo studies further indicated that daily injections of infantile mice with CNP for 4 d promoted ovarian growth, allowing successful ovulation induction by gonadotropins. In prepubertal mice, CNP treatment alone also promoted early antral follicle growth to the preovulatory stage, leading to efficient ovulation induction by LH/human chorionic gonadotropin. Mature oocytes retrieved after CNP treatment could be fertilized in vitro and developed into blastocysts, allowing the delivery of viable offspring. Thus, CNP secreted by growing follicles is capable of stimulating preantral and antral follicle growth. In place of FSH, CNP treatment could provide an alternative therapy for female infertility.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Gill-Sharma

In the last 20 years, a pituitary-hypothalamus tissue culture system with intact neural and portal connections has been developed in our lab and used to understand the feedback mechanisms that regulate the secretions of adenohypophyseal hormones and fertility of male rats. In the last decade, several in vivo rat models have also been developed in our lab with a view to substantiate the in vitro findings, in order to delineate the role of pituitary hormones in the regulation of fertility of male rats. These studies have relied on both surgical and pharmacological interventions to modulate the secretions of gonadotropins and testosterone. The interrelationship between the circadian release of reproductive hormones has also been ascertained in normal men. Our studies suggest that testosterone regulates the secretion of prolactin through a long feedback mechanism, which appears to have been conserved from rats to humans. These studies have filled in a major lacuna pertaining to the role of prolactin in male reproductive physiology by demonstrating the interdependence between testosterone and prolactin. Systemic levels of prolactin play a deterministic role in the mechanism of chromatin condensation during spermiogenesis.


1991 ◽  
Vol 331 (1261) ◽  
pp. 259-262

In the developing vertebrate nervous system the survival of neurons becomes dependent on the supply of a neurotrophic factor from their targets when their axons reach these targets. To determine how the onset of neurotrophic factor dependency is coordinated with the arrival of axons in the target field, we have studied the growth and survival of four populations of cranial sensory neurons whose axons have markedly different distances to grow to reach their targets. Axonal growth rate both in vivo and in vitro is related to target distance; neurons with more distant targets grow faster. The onset trophic factor dependency in culture is also related to target distance; neurons with more distant targets survive longer before becoming trophic factor dependent. These data suggest that programmes of growth and survival in early neurons play an important role in coordinating the timing of trophic interactions in the developing nervous system.


Parasite ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Wang ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Chuanshan Zhang ◽  
Baoping Guo ◽  
Qin Wei ◽  
...  

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a cosmopolitan parasitic disease caused by infection with the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato. Thioredoxin peroxidase (TPx) may play an essential role in the antioxidant defence system of E. granulosus s.l. as neither catalase nor glutathione peroxidase activities have been detected in the parasite. However, it is not known whether TPx affects the survival and growth of E. granulosus s.l. during development. In this study, three fragments of siRNA specific for EgTPx (siRNA-1/2/3) were designed and transfected into protoscoleces of E. granulosus sensu stricto by electroporation. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting analysis showed that siRNA-3 significantly reduced the expression of EgTPx. Coincidentally, knockdown of EgTPx expression in protoscoleces with siRNA-3 significantly reduced the viability of the parasite under oxidative stress induced by 0.6 mM H2O2. In vitro culture studies showed that protoscoleces treated with siRNA-3 reduced pre-microcyst formation. In vivo experiments showed that injecting mice intraperitoneally with protoscoleces treated with siRNA-3 resulted in a significant reduction in the number, size and weight of CE cysts compared with those of control animals. Silencing of EgTPx led to the impairment of growth of E. granulosus s.s. both in vitro and in vivo, indicating that EgTPx is an important factor for protoscoleces survival and plays an important role in the antioxidant defence against the host during development.


2000 ◽  
Vol 279 (5) ◽  
pp. H2241-H2248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Saito ◽  
Cam Patterson ◽  
Zhaoyong Hu ◽  
Marschall S. Runge ◽  
Ulka Tipnis ◽  
...  

Interleukin (IL)-6 reportedly has negative inotropic and hypertrophic effects on the heart. Here, we describe endotoxin-induced IL-6 in the heart that has not previously been well characterized. An intraperitoneal injection of a bacterial lipopolysaccharide into C57BL/6 mice induced IL-6 mRNA in the heart more strongly than in any other tissue examined. Induction of mRNA for two proinflammatory cytokines, IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, occurred rapidly before the induction of IL-6 mRNA and protein. Although stimulation of isolated rat neonatal myocardial cells with IL-1β or TNF-α induced IL-6 mRNA in vitro, nonmyocardial heart cells produced higher levels of IL-6 mRNA upon stimulation with IL-1β. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analyses localized the IL-6 expression primarily in nonmyocardial cells in vivo. Endotoxin-induced expression of cardiac IL-1β, TNF-α, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 was augmented in IL-6-deficient mice compared with control mice. Thus cardiac IL-6, expressed mainly by nonmyocardial cells via IL-1β action during endotoxemia, is likely to suppress expression of proinflammatory mediators and to regulate itself via a negative feedback mechanism.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Roseth Aass ◽  
Robin Mjelle ◽  
Martin H. Kastnes ◽  
Synne S. Tryggestad ◽  
Luca M. van den Brink ◽  
...  

AbstractIL-32 is a non-classical cytokine expressed in cancers, inflammatory diseases and infections. IL-32 can have both extracellular and intracellular functions, and its receptor is not identified. We here demonstrate that endogenously expressed, intracellular IL-32 binds to components of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and promotes oxidative phosphorylation. Knocking out IL-32 in malignant plasma cells significantly reduced survival and proliferation in vitro and in vivo. High throughput transcriptomic and MS-metabolomic profiling of IL-32 KO cells revealed that loss of IL-32 leads to profound perturbations in metabolic pathways, with accumulation of lipids, pyruvate precursors and citrate, indicative of reduced mitochondrial function. IL-32 is expressed in a subgroup of multiple myeloma patients with an inferior prognosis. Primary myeloma cells expressing IL-32 were characterized by a plasma cell gene signature associated with immune activation, proliferation and oxidative phosphorylation. We propose a novel concept for regulation of metabolism by an intracellular cytokine and identify IL-32 as an endogenous growth and survival factor for malignant plasma cells. IL-32 is a potential prognostic biomarker and a treatment target in multiple myeloma.


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