Influence of free and microencapsulated recombinant rabbit nerve growth factor with chitosan on rabbit sperm quality parameters.

β-nerve growth factor (βNGF) plays a crucial role in reproductive physiology and sperm quality. Enzymatic activity of seminal plasma and vaginal fluids reduces available βNGF and it has been demonstrated that chitosan microspheres could protect rrβNGF from degradation. This study examined the effects of microencapsulated rrbNGF with chitosan on rabbit sperm viability, motility and capacitation status.

Retinochoroidal Vascular Changes in Long-Term Type 1 Diabetic Patients Assessed by Optic Coherence Tomography Angiography.

To study retinal and choriocapillaris (CC) alterations using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in long-term type 1 diabetic (DM1) patients without diabetic retinopathy (DR). Seventy-eight eyes from 78 well-controlled DM1 patients diagnosed at least 15 years prior and 130 eyes of 130 healthy subjects were included in a cross-sectional descriptive study. Six eyes were excluded from the DM1 group.

Retinal Function in Long-Term Type 1 Diabetes without Retinopathy: Insights from Pattern Electroretinogram and Pattern Visual Evoked Potentials Assessments.

Background: To evaluate changes in pattern electroretinogram (pERG) and pattern visual evoked potentials (pVEP) in patients with long-lasting type 1 diabetes without diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: Prospective study involving 92 eyes divided into two groups. The diabetic group included 46 eyes of 23 patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM); the control group included 23 age-matched healthy subjects.

Electrophysiological findings in long-term type 1 diabetes patients without diabetic retinopathy using different ERG recording systems.

To assess full-field electroretinogram findings in long-term type 1 diabetes patients without diabetic retinopathy. Prospective study including 46 eyes of 23 patients with type 1 diabetes and 46 age-matched healthy eyes evaluated by the RETI-port/scan21 and the portable system RETeval following ISCEV guidelines. The average duration of diabetes was 28.

Improvement of oocyte competence and in vitro oocyte maturation with EGF and IGF-I in Guinea pig model.

In vitro maturation (IVM) system is an alternative method to superovulation protocols to obtain mature oocytes. Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) and Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) have been widely used in IVM medium in different species. Although the guinea pig is a valuable animal model for reproductive studies, IVM is rarely used.

Embryo survival and fertility differ in lines divergently selected for birth weight homogeneity in mice.

The selection of animals for lower environment sensitivity around the optimum trait value can also provide benefits in productivity and welfare. A divergent selection experiment for birth weight environmental variability in mice was successfully conducted over 17 generations. Animals from low variability selected line (L-line) were more robust by having a higher litter size and survival at weaning in a common breeding environment, than those from high variability line (H-line).

Acquisition of fertilization competence in guinea pig spermatozoa under different capacitation protocols.

Guinea pig in vitro fertilization (IVF) are poorly developed due to the limited accessibility to oocytes and the lack of an efficient method of sperm capacitation. Thus, we aimed to evaluate different capacitation protocols that we validated through sperm analysis and using heterologous (He) IVF with zona-intact bovine oocytes. Spermatozoa of guinea pigs were collected and processed separately by 4 different protocols: A) Spermatozoa were obtained by flushing the lumen of one cauda epididymis and incubated in a minimal culture medium (MCM); B) One epididymis was placed in a prewarmed of M2 medium and gently minced with fine scissors.

Female reproduction and the microbiota in mammals: Where are we?

While it is generally accepted that the mammalian vagina contains a site-specific microbiota that plays relevant roles in genital and reproductive health, the existence of an extra-vaginal microbiota in the female reproductive tract (i.e. follicular fluid, oviduct, endometrium, and placenta) is, at least, a matter of controversy.

Effects of feed restriction during pregnancy on maternal reproductive outcome, foetal hepatic IGF gene expression and offspring performance in the rabbit.

Primiparous female rabbits have high nutritional requirements and, while it is recommended that they are subjected to an extensive reproductive rhythm, this could lead to overweight, affecting reproductive outcomes. We hypothesised that restricting food intake during the less energetic period of gestation could improve reproductive outcome without impairing offspring viability. This study compares two groups of primiparous rabbit does in an extensive reproductive programme, one in which feed was restricted from Day 0 to Day 21 of gestation (R021), and another in which does were fed ad libitum (control) throughout pregnancy.

Gestation Food Restriction and Refeeding Compensate Maternal Energy Status and Alleviate Metabolic Consequences in Juvenile Offspring in a Rabbit Model.

Nutritional status during gestation can influence mother and offspring metabolism. Undernutrition in pregnancy affects women in both western and developing countries, and it is associated with a high prevalence of chronic diseases in later life. The present work was conducted in the rabbit model, as a longitudinal study, to examine the effect of food restriction during early and mid-gestation, and re-feeding ad libitum until the end of pregnancy on metabolic status and body reserves of mother and, its association with development and metabolism of fetuses and female offspring to the juvenile stage.

Physiological effects on rabbit sperm and reproductive response to recombinant rabbit beta nerve growth factor administered by intravaginal route in rabbit does.

Beta nerve growth factor (β-NGF) is present in the seminal plasma of some species, including rabbits, acting as an ovulation-inducing factor in camelids. Traditionally, GnRH analogues are used to induce ovulation by intramuscular route when artificial insemination (AI) is performed in rabbit does. A specific rabbit recombinant β-NGF (rrβ-NGF) produced in our laboratory was tested as an alternative method to conventional treatment with GnRH analogues to induce ovulation.

Role of nerve growth factor in the reproductive physiology of female rabbits: A review.

Rabbit does are reflex ovulators such that coitus is needed to release GnRH and elicit the LH surge that triggers the ovulation of mature oocytes. However, the mechanisms eliciting ovulation in this species remain unclear. One of the most promising recently discovered candidates with a role in female reproductive physiology is nerve growth factor beta (β-NGF).

Correction: Recombinant rabbit beta nerve growth factor production and its biological effects on sperm and ovulation in rabbits.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Models of Intrauterine growth restriction and fetal programming in rabbits.

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) affects approximately 10% of human pregnancies globally and has immediate and life-long consequences for offspring health. However, the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of IUGR and its association with later health and disease outcomes are poorly understood. To address these knowledge gaps, the use of experimental animals is critically important.

Recombinant rabbit beta nerve growth factor production and its biological effects on sperm and ovulation in rabbits.

In some induced-ovulating species, beta nerve growth factor (β-NGF) has important roles in ovulation, though data for rabbits are still inconclusive. In this study we first synthesized functional recombinant β-NGF from rabbit tissue (rrβ-NGF) to address the following objectives: 1) to compare rabbit β-NGF amino acid sequence with those of other induced- or spontaneous-ovulating species; 2) to assess the effects of rrβ-NGF on rabbit sperm viability and motility, and 3) to examine the in vivo ovulation inducing effect of rrβ-NGF added to the seminal dose in rabbit does. The NGF gene in rabbit prostate tissue was sequenced by Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends and annotated in GenBank (KX528686).

α-Tocopherol modifies the expression of genes related to oxidative stress and apoptosis during in vitro maturation and enhances the developmental competence of rabbit oocytes.

The developmental competence of invitro maturation (IVM) oocytes can be enhanced by antioxidant agents. The present study investigated, for the first time in the rabbit model, the effect of adding α-tocopherol (0, 100, 200 and 400µM) during IVM on putative transcripts involved in antioxidant defence (superoxide dismutase 2, mitochondrial (SOD2), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1), catalase (CAT)), cell cycle regulation and apoptosis cascade (apoptosis tumour protein 53 (TP53), caspase 3, apoptosis-related cysteine protease (CASP3)), cell cycle progression (cellular cycle V-Akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homologue 1 (AKT1)), cumulus expansion (gap junction protein, alpha 1, 43 kDa (GJA1) and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (prostaglandin G/H synthase and cyclo-oxygenase) (PTGS2)) and metabolism (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD)). Meiotic progression, mitochondrial reallocation, cumulus cell apoptosis and the developmental competence of oocytes after IVF were also assessed.

Improvements in the conception rate, milk composition and embryo quality of rabbit does after dietary enrichment with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

This work attempts to confirm the effect of an enriched diet with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) trying to mitigate the reproductive performances issues such as low conception rate of primiparous rabbits. A total of 127 does were fed ad libitum throughout their two first cycles with two diets with different fat sources: mixed fat in the control and salmon oil in the enriched one, with 3.19 g/100 g (n=63 does) and 28.

A diet supplemented with -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids influences the metabomscic and endocrine response of rabbit does and their offspring.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the productive, endocrine, and metabomscic responses as well as oxidative stress of rabbit does and their offspring when fed a diet supplemented with -3 PUFA during their first productive cycle. To this aim, a total of 105 rabbit does were fed ad mscibitum from d 60 to 172 of age 2 isoenergetic and isoproteic diets differing in fatty acid composition. The control diet ( = 52 does) contained 45.