scholarly journals In vitro maintenance of boar sperm viability by a soluble fraction obtained from oviductal apical plasma membrane preparations

Reproduction ◽  
2003 ◽  
pp. 509-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Fazeli ◽  
RM Elliott ◽  
AE Duncan ◽  
A Moore ◽  
PF Watson ◽  
...  

Oviductal apical plasma membrane fractions have been successfully used to provide an in vitro model to study the role of direct membrane contact in sperm-oviduct interactions. Apical plasma membrane preparations from pig oviductal tissues show a dose-response in their ability to maintain boar sperm viability in vitro. Membrane preparations obtained from other tissues (lung and duodenum) are incapable of maintaining boar sperm viability to the same extent as oviductal tissue. The present study examined the validity of two hypotheses that arise from current knowledge of sperm-oviduct interactions, namely, that (i) apical plasma membranes prepared from ampullar regions of the oviduct are less effective than those from isthmus regions, and (ii) sperm survival is more effective in apical plasma membrane preparations derived from follicular phase oviducts than those derived from luteal phase oviducts. Both hypotheses were proved false. The nature of the active component(s) in the oviductal apical plasma membrane fractions was further investigated. Heat treatment (100 degrees C for 20 min) diminished the capacity of membranes to support boar sperm viability. Furthermore, a soluble salt-extracted fraction obtained from oviductal apical plasma membrane preparations was biologically active and supported boar sperm viability in vitro. This may indicate that the active factor(s) responsible for the maintenance of boar sperm viability is not an integral part of oviductal membranes and is peripherally bound to these membranes.

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
N. Satake ◽  
A. K. Alhaider ◽  
W. V. Holt ◽  
P. F. Watson

In vitro production (IVP) of porcine embryos is currently suboptimal compared with IVP in species such as mice and cattle. In vitro fertilization (IVF) usually involves the co-culture of oocytes and spermatozoa in a medium droplet. Oocyte quality is the focus of many studies. In vivo, the quality of spermatozoa is as important as the oocyte, and females have many mechanisms to select the highest quality spermatozoa for their oocytes. Oviductal proteins have been shown to affect sperm motility of subpopulations within an ejaculate. The present study was carried out to investigate normal and polyspermic fertilization rates of spermatozoa exposed to oviductal epithelial apical plasma membrane (APM) proteins, a mixture of peripheral proteins extracted by 1 M NaCl from isolated oviductal apical plasma membranes, prior to co-culture with oocytes in IVF. Porcine oocytes were aspirated from ovaries and grade I quality oocytes (cumulus–oocyte complexes with a spherical shape, visible nucleus, even-density cytoplasm, and multiple layers of cumulus cells) were selected and matured for 48 h in TCM-199 supplemented with LH (0.5 �g mL-1), FSH (0.5 �g mL-1), and EGF (10 ng mL-1). Ejaculates were washed through a Percoll gradient to obtain a concentrated pellet. Spermatozoa were diluted in capacitation–fertilization medium in the presence or absence of APM proteins (100 �g mL-1), incubated for 10 min, and then co-cultured with oocytes for 6 h in modified Tween medium B with milk powder medium (Abeydeera and Day 1997 Theriogenology 48, 537–544) supplemented with BSA (0.4%) and sodium bicarbonate (5 mM). Presumptive zygotes were cultured in NCSU23 medium for a further 48 h. The oocytes/zygotes were then fixed and stained with propidium iodide for evaluation by confocal microscopy for fertilization and cleavage (n = 1235 oocytes). Fertilization rates were compared between treatments in a chi-squared test using the Mantel-Haenszel approach. The overall fertilization rate was significantly higher (78 vs. 86%) when spermatozoa were incubated in the presence of APM proteins (P < 0.05), and in the group of fertilized oocytes, polyspermic fertilization (47 vs. 21%) was significantly reduced when spermatozoa were exposed to APM proteins (P < 0.01). However, cleavage rates were not different. These results suggest that exposure of spermatozoa to APM proteins prior to IVF increases the fertilization rate and decreases the incidence of polyspermic penetration.


1983 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 607-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Herzog

Inside-out follicles prepared from pig thyroid glands were used for studies on endocytosis. endocytosis. In this in vitro system, only the apical plasma membranes of follicle cells were exposed to tracers added to the culture medium. Cationized ferritin (CF) bound to the apical plasma membrane and was transferred first to endosomes and to lysosomes (within 5 min). Later, after approximately 30 min, CF was also found in stacked Golgi cisternae. In addition, a small fraction of endocytic vesicles carrying CF particles became inserted into the lateral (at approximately 11 min) and the basal (at approximately 16 min) plasma membranes. Morphometric evaluation of CF adhering to the basolateral cell surfaces showed that the vesicular transport across thyroid follicle cells (transcytosis) was temperature-sensitive; it ceased at 15 degrees C but increased about ninefold in follicles stimulated with thyrotropin (TSH). Thyroglobulin-gold conjugates and [3H]thyroglobulin (synthesized in separate follicle preparations in the presence of [3H]leucine) were absorbed to the apical plasma membrane and detected mainly in lysosomes. A small fraction was also transported to the basolateral cell surfaces where the thyroglobulin preparations detached and accumulated in the newly formed central cavity. As in the case of CF, transcytosis of thyroglobulin depended on the stimulation of follicles with TSH. The observations showed that a transepithelial vesicular transport operates in thyroid follicle cells. This transport is regulated by TSH and includes the transfer of thyroglobulin from the apical to the basolateral plasma membranes. Transcytosis of thyroglobulin could explain the occurrence of intact thyroglobulin in the circulation of man and several mammalian species.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 3579
Author(s):  
Svetlana A. Popova ◽  
Evgenia V. Pavlova ◽  
Oksana G. Shevchenko ◽  
Irina Yu. Chukicheva ◽  
Aleksandr V. Kutchin

The pyrazoline ring is defined as a “privileged structure” in medicinal chemistry. A variety of pharmacological properties of pyrazolines is associated with the nature and position of various substituents, which is especially evident in diarylpyrazolines. Compounds with a chalcone fragment show a wide range of biological properties as well as high reactivity which is primarily due to the presence of an α, β-unsaturated carbonyl system. At the same time, bicyclic monoterpenoids deserve special attention as a source of a key structural block or as one of the pharmacophore components of biologically active molecules. A series of new diarylpyrazoline derivatives based on isobornylchalcones with different substitutes (MeO, Hal, NO2, N(Me)2) was synthesized. Antioxidant properties of the obtained compounds were comparatively evaluated using in vitro model Fe2+/ascorbate-initiated lipid peroxidation in the substrate containing brain lipids of laboratory mice. It was demonstrated that the combination of the electron-donating group in the para-position of ring B and OH-group in the ring A in the structure of chalcone fragment provides significant antioxidant activity of synthesized diarylpyrazoline derivatives.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 408 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Lloyd ◽  
R. M. A. Elliott ◽  
A. Fazeli ◽  
P. F. Watson ◽  
W. V. Holt

Following insemination, ram spermatozoa are transported to the isthmus region of the oviduct where they bind to the oviductal epithelial cells (OEC), remaining viable for several hours. The aim of the present study was to begin to decipher which component(s) of the ewe oviduct actively participates in maintaining the viability of ram spermatozoa. A series of experiments was conducted to investigate whether: (1) soluble OEC apical plasma membrane proteins (sAPM) isolated from ewes prolong survival of ram spermatozoa over an extended (48 h) coincubation period at 39°C; (2) a recombinant form of one of these oviductal proteins, namely heat shock 70 kDa protein 8 (HSPA8), prolongs survival of ram spermatozoa; and (3) pretreatment with HSPA8 antibody compromises the ability of sAPM to prolong the survival of ram spermatozoa. Both sAPM and recombinant HSPA8 had a beneficial effect on the viability of ram spermatozoa during coincubation, although both these effects were dose dependent. In contrast, pretreatment with HSPA8 antibody significantly negated the ability of sAPM to maintain the viability of ram spermatozoa. These findings suggest that HSPA8 is an active component of the ewe oviduct that participates in maintaining the viability of ram spermatozoa. This is a potentially valuable observation given that there is a great deal of room for improving existing diluents for storing fresh ram semen.


1987 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.M. Mogensen ◽  
J.B. Tucker

This report is concerned with the nucleation and organization of microtubule bundles that assemble after ‘conventional’ centrosomal microtubule-organizing centres have been lost. The microtubule bundles in question span the lengths of wing epidermal cells. Bundles extend between hemidesmosomes at the apical cuticle-secreting surfaces of cells and basal attachment desmosomes that unite the dorsal and ventral epidermal layers of developing wing blades. Furthermore, each bundle includes up to 1500 microtubules and most of the microtubules are composed of 15 protofilaments. Individual cells were serially cross-sectioned at an early stage of bundle assembly. The number of microtubule profiles/cell cross-section decreased progressively by up to 59% of the most apical values in section sequences cut from fairly apical to more basal levels in the cells. The apical ends of microtubules were associated with numerous small dense plaque-like sites (diameter 0.1-0.2 micron), which were specialized regions of plasma membranes at the apical surfaces of cells. Many of the microtubules near apical plaques were not well aligned with each other; they ‘radiated away’ from cell apices. This was in contrast to the situation at more basal levels where most microtubules were oriented parallel to the longitudinal axes of cells. These findings indicate that the relatively dispersed arrays of apical plasma membrane-associated plaques act as microtubule-nucleating sites to initiate basally directed elongation of bundle microtubules. Apical cell surfaces and their plaques seem to operate as microtubule-nucleating and -organizing regions that functionally replace the centrosomal microtubule-organizing centres lost earlier in cell differentiation.


Author(s):  
Zeinab El Rashed ◽  
Hala Khalife ◽  
Adriana Voci ◽  
Elena Grasselli ◽  
Laura Canesi ◽  
...  

Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is characterised by fat accumulation in hepatocytes in the form of triacyglycerols (TAGs) within cytosolic lipid droplets. Fucoidans (FUs) are biologically active polysaccharides usually isolated from brown marine algae, but recently identified also in terrestrial plants. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anti-oxidant and anti-steatotic effects of FUs purified from C. compressa, F. hermonis, and E. globulus. To this aim, we used a validated NAFLD in vitro model consisting of rat hepatoma FaO cells exposed to an oleate/palmitate mixture. Such a model is suitable for rapid investigation of direct effects of natural and artificial compounds, together with satisfying the strategy of 3Rs for laboratory use of animals. Our results indicated that all FUs display anti-oxidant and anti-steatotic activities. Steatotic FaO cells may be employed to further study the biological effects of FUs.


Blood ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Dainiak ◽  
CM Cohen

Abstract In order to examine the contribution of cell surface materials to erythroid burst-promoting activity (BPA), we separated media conditioned by a variety of human cell types into pellets and supernatants by centrifugation. When added to serum-restricted cultures of nonadherent human marrow cells, pellets contained about half of the total stimulatory activity. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy of the pellets revealed the presence of unilamellar membrane vesicles ranging from 0.10 to 0.40 microM in diameter. The amount of BPA in culture increased with added vesicle concentration in a saturable fashion. Preparation of leukocyte conditioned medium (LCM) from 125I-wheat germ agglutinin labeled cells and studies comparing the glycoprotein composition of vesicles with that of leukocyte plasma membranes suggest that LCM-derived vesicles are of plasma membrane origin. Moreover, partially purified leukocyte plasma membrane preparations also contained BPA. While disruption of vesicles by freezing/thawing and hypotonic lysis did not alter BPA, heat, trypsin, or pronase treatment removed greater than 65% of BPA, implying that vesicle surface rather than intravesicular molecules express BPA. Results of BPA assays performed in two-layer clots indicated that proximity to target cells is required for vesicle BPA expression. We conclude that membrane vesicles spontaneously shed from cell surfaces may be important regulators of erythroid burst proliferation in vitro.


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (2) ◽  
pp. F366-F369 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Brown ◽  
E. J. Sorscher ◽  
D. A. Ausiello ◽  
D. J. Benos

Amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels were localized in semithin frozen sections of rat renal medullary collecting ducts, using polyclonal antibodies directed against purified bovine kidney Na+ channel protein. The apical plasma membrane of collecting duct principal cells was heavily stained by indirect immunofluorescence, whereas intercalated cells were negative. Basolateral plasma membranes of both cell types were unstained, as were subapical vesicles in the cytoplasm of these cells. In the thick ascending limb of Henle, some scattered granular fluorescence was seen in the cytoplasm and close to the apical pole of epithelial cells, suggesting the presence of antigenic sites associated with some membrane domains in these cells. No staining was detected in thin limbs of Henle, or in proximal tubules in the outer medulla. These results show that amiloride-sensitive sodium channels are located predominantly on the apical plasma membrane of medullary collecting duct principal cells, the cells that are involved in Na+ homeostasis in this region of the kidney.


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