Rat Liver Perfusion and Primary Hepatocytes Isolation: An Old Procedure Crucial for Cutting-Edge 3D Organoids Culture.

Primary hepatocytes are a commonly used tool for in vitro liver-related studies. However, the maintenance of these cells has always been a challenge due to the rapid loss of morphology, viability, and functionality in culture. A recent approach to long-term culture is the generation of three-dimensional (3D) organoids, an in vitro tool that can recapitulate tissues in a dish based on the marvelous ability of the liver to regenerate itself.

Morphological and Chemical Investigation of Ovarian Structures in a Bovine Model by Contrast-Enhanced X-ray Imaging and Microscopy.

An improved understanding of an ovary's structures is highly desirable to support advances in folliculogenesis knowledge and reproductive medicine, with particular attention to fertility preservation options for prepubertal girls with malignant tumors. Although currently the golden standard for structural analysis is provided by combining histological sections, staining, and visible 2D microscopic inspection, synchrotron radiation phase-contrast microtomography is becoming a new challenge for three-dimensional studies at micrometric resolution. To this aim, the proper use of contrast agents can improve the visualization of internal structures in ovary tissues, which normally present a low radiopacity.

Investigation on the change of spermatozoa flagellar beating forces before and after capacitation.

The swimming forces exerted by mammalian spermatozoa during the pathway to the ovary and during the interaction with the oocyte are thought to play a fundamental role in the fertilization of the egg. In particular, a process named capacitation is of key relevance for its success. Capacitation enables spermatozoa to undergo the acrosome reaction and to exhibit different motility called hyperactivation with a change in the sperm cell tail motion from symmetric to a more asymmetric beating, characterized by wider flagellar bending at lower frequencies.

Cyanidin 3-glucoside targets a hepatic bilirubin transporter in rats.

One of the organ-specific functions of the liver is the excretion of bilirubin into the bile. Membrane transport of bilirubin from the blood to the liver is not only an orphan function, because there is no link to the protein/gene units that perform this function, but also a poorly characterised function. The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacology of bilirubin uptake in the liver of the female Wistar rat to improve basic knowledge in this neglected area of liver physiology.

Atomic force spectroscopy-based essay to evaluate oocyte postovulatory aging.

Postovulatory aging is a process occurring in the mature (MII) oocyte leading the unfertilized ones to apoptosis. The optimal time window of fertility for different mammalian species after oocytes maturation depends on its timeliness: the higher the time elapsed from the accomplishment of the MII stage, the lower are the chances of fertilization and of development of a viable embryo. In the in vitro fertilization, the selection of competent oocytes for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is mostly made by the visual inspection of the MII oocyte morphology, which does not allow to determine the oocyte postovulatory age.