Culture protocols for horse embryos after ICSI: Effect of myo-inositol and time of media change.

In vitro production of horse embryos via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a useful clinical and research technique. Current rates of blastocyst production are typically sub-optimal, and few methods to increase the rate of equine blastocyst development have been reported. Factors that might improve blastocyst production in a horse embryo culture system were explored.

Effect of warming method on embryo quality in a simplified equine embryo vitrification system.

Equine embryo vitrification is still not a well-established technique in equine practice. Notably, little work has been done on the effect of the warming system on viability of vitrified embryos. Our goal was to evaluate the effect of warming without cryoprotectants on in vitro - produced (IVP) embryo viability in culture, quality assessment parameters, and pregnancy after transfer.

Effect of different shipping temperatures (∼22 °C vs. ∼7 °C) and holding media on blastocyst development after overnight holding of immature equine cumulus-oocyte complexes.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is an important tool for equine embryo production in both clinical and research settings. In clinical ICSI programs, immature equine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) are often collected at the mare's location and shipped to the ICSI laboratory. To simplify shipment and aid scheduling of subsequent procedures, COCs can be held overnight at room temperature (∼22 °C) before placement into maturation culture, with no detrimental effect on meiotic or developmental competence.

Triiodothyronine differentially modulates the LH and FSH synthesis and secretion in male rats.

Hypothyroidism and thyrotoxicosis produce adverse effects in male reproduction by unknown mechanisms. We investigated whether triiodothyronine (T3) modulates luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) synthesis/secretion, by inducing different thyroid states. In hypothyroidism, the content of Lhb and Fshb mRNAs was increased, while their association to ribosomes and the protein content were reduced and the serum LH and FSH concentrations were augmented and decreased, respectively.

Hyaluronan-binding system for sperm selection enhances pregnancy rates in ICSI cycles associated with male factor infertility.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to compare two procedures for sperm selection in ICSI cycles - conventional morphology sperm selection (ICSI-PVP) and chemical selection through Hyaluronan-treated petri dishes (PICSI), when male factor was associated.

Methods: The evaluated parameters were semen quality, fertilization and cleavage rates, chemical and clinical pregnancy rates, as well as abortion rate. Fifty-six ICSI cycles were included in this report, 19 cycles using PICSI and 37 using conventional ICSI.

Clinical relevance of diagnostic hysteroscopy with concurrent endometrial biopsy in the accurate assessment of intrauterine alterations.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective observational study was to evaluate the reliability of diagnostic hysteroscopy, routinely performed along with endometrial biopsy, by analyzing and comparing both hysteroscopic and histopathological outcomes in asymptomatic infertile patients, previously to their IVF cycle.

Methods: The study included 84 consecutive infertile patients who underwent diagnostic hysteroscopy followed by endometrial biopsy. Four-micrometer sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined microscopically.

Long-term type 1 diabetes alters the deposition of collagens and proteoglycans in the early pregnant myometrium of mice.

Introduction: We have previously shown that long-term type 1 diabetes affects the structural organization, contractile apparatus and extracellular matrix (ECM) of the myometrium during early pregnancy in mice.

Objective: This study aimed to identify which myometrial ECM components are affected by diabetes, including fibril-forming collagen types I, III and V, as well as proteoglycans, decorin, lumican, fibromodulin and biglycan.

Methods: Alloxan-induced type 1 diabetic female mice were divided into subgroups D1 and D2, formed by females that bred 90-100 and 100-110 days after diabetes induction, respectively.

Estradiol induces transcriptional and posttranscriptional modifications in versican expression in the mouse uterus.

We have previously shown the differential expression of versican in the mouse uterus under ovarian hormone influence. We also demonstrated there is not a direct correlation between mRNA levels and protein expression, suggesting posttranscriptional events, such as alteration in mRNA stability. This posttranscriptional effect may result in the elongation and stabilization of transcripts poly(A) tail.

Modulation of small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) expression in the mouse uterus by estradiol and progesterone.

Background: We have previously demonstrated that four members of the family of small leucine-rich-proteoglycans (SLRPs) of the extracellular matrix (ECM), named decorin, biglycan, lumican and fibromodulin, are deeply remodeled in mouse uterine tissues along the estrous cycle and early pregnancy. It is known that the combined action of estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) orchestrates the estrous cycle and prepares the endometrium for pregnancy, modulating synthesis, deposition and degradation of various molecules. Indeed, we showed that versican, another proteoglycan of the ECM, is under hormonal control in the uterine tissues.

Effects of long-term diabetes on the structure and cell proliferation of the myometrium in the early pregnancy of mice.

It is known that the development of diabetic complications in human pregnancy is directly related to the severity and the duration of this pathology. In this study, we developed a model of long-term type 1 diabetes to investigate its effects on the cytoarchitecture, extracellular matrix and cell proliferation during the first adaptation phase of the myometrium for pregnancy. A single dose of alloxan was used to induce diabetes in mice prior to pregnancy.

Hormone-regulated expression and distribution of versican in mouse uterine tissues.

Background: Remodeling of the extracellular matrix is one of the most striking features observed in the uterus during the estrous cycle and after hormone replacement. Versican (VER) is a hyaluronan-binding proteoglycan that undergoes RNA alternative splicing, generating four distinct isoforms. This study analyzed the synthesis and distribution of VER in mouse uterine tissues during the estrous cycle, in ovariectomized (OVX) animals and after 17beta-estradiol (E2) and medroxyprogesterone (MPA) treatments, either alone or in combination.

The estrous cycle modulates small leucine-rich proteoglycans expression in mouse uterine tissues.

In the pregnant mouse uterus, small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) are drastically remodeled within a few hours after fertilization, suggesting that ovarian hormone levels modulate their synthesis and degradation. In this study, we followed by immunoperoxidase approach, the presence of four members of the SLRP family (decorin, lumican, biglycan, and fibromodulin) in the uterine tissues along the estrous cycle of the mouse. All molecules except fibromodulin, which predominates in the myometrium, showed a striking modulation in their distribution in the endometrial stroma, following the rise in the level of estrogen.