Delivery of AP-2α siRNA into cultured bovine trophoblast cells by electroporation repressed key placenta-specific gene expression.

Binucleate trophoblast giant cells (BNC) characteristically appear early in gestation in the bovine placenta. They secret pivotal hormones and cytokines for feto-maternal communication, for example, expression of placental lactogens (CSH1), prolactin-related protein 1 (PRP1) and pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1 (PAG1) are necessary for pregnancy establishment in bovine. These genes transcription are regulated in a temporal and spatial manner, however, molecular mechanisms by which these gene transcriptions are regulated in this manner have not been firmly elucidated.

Regulation of fertilization in male rats by CatSper2 knockdown.

Interest in ion channels as drug targets for contraception has grown with the realization that certain ion channel subunits are located exclusively in sperm. Selective knockdown of ion channel subunits can lead to infertility without ill effects, and selective inhibitors and/or openers of these ion channels could interfere with sperm function. In this study, in vivo electroporation (EP) and rete testis microinjection-mediated plasmid DNA were adopted to silence CatSper2 expression, which is essential in sperm hyperactivation.

[Analysis of HSP70 mRNA level and association between linked microsatellite loci and heat tolerance traits in dairy cows].

The objective of this study was to investigate the variation of HSP70 mRNA level in dairy cows and relationships of its closely linked microsatellite loci with heat tolerance traits. Blood samples were collected from ten healthy Holstein cows with the same age and milking stage at different temperatures-humid-index (THI) (86.2, high temperature; 70.

Prediction of fetal sex by amplification of fetal DNA present in cow plasma.

The aim of the present study was to predict fetal sex at different time points of gestation in cattle by detecting the fetal SRY gene in cow plasma. Plasma DNA was extracted from the blood samples of 110 pregnant cows during the gestational period of 30 to 242 days. Nested PCR was employed to detect the fetal SRY, which the male fetus carries exclusively, in cow plasma.

[Analysis of the kinematic parameters of hyperactivated Guinea pig spermatozoa].

Objective: To evaluate the role of sperm kinematic parameters in the hyperactivation of Guinea pig spermatozoa, and to confirm the index of their hyperactivated motility.

Methods: Computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA) was used to describe the kinesis parameters of the Guinea pig spermatozoa incubated for 1, 3, 5 and 7 hours.

Results: The curvilinear velocity, average path velocity and amplitude of lateral head displacement were increased with time and reached the peak at 5 hours, while the straight linear velocity, linearity, straightness and beat cross frequency were gradually decreased with time and hit the bottom at 5 hours.