Sperm deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation assessment in normozoospermic male partners of couples with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss: a prospective study.

Objective: To determine whether sperm DNA integrity in normozoospermic male partners plays a role in idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL).

Design: Prospective, cohort study.

Setting: Academic tertiary care center.

Single-cell analysis of circulating tumor cells identifies cumulative expression patterns of EMT-related genes in metastatic prostate cancer.

Background: Prostate tumors shed circulating tumor cells (CTCs) into the blood stream. Increased evidence shows that CTCs are often present in metastatic prostate cancer and can be alternative sources for disease profiling and prognostication. Here we postulate that CTCs expressing genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are strong predictors of metastatic prostate cancer.

Derivation and characterization of novel nonhuman primate embryonic stem cell lines from in vitro-fertilized baboon preimplantation embryos.

The development of nonhuman primate (NHP) embryonic stem cell (ESC) models holds great promise for cell-mediated treatment of debilitating diseases and to address numerous unanswered questions regarding the therapeutic efficacy of ESCs while supplanting ethical considerations involved with human studies. Here we report successful establishment and characterization of 3 novel baboon (Papio cynocephalus) ESC lines from the inner cell mass of intracytoplasmic sperm injection-derived blastocysts. Embryos were cultured in an improved baboon embryo in vitro culture protocol.

Ovarian stimulation, in vitro fertilization, and effects of culture conditions on baboon preimplantation embryo development.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of ovarian stimulation and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)-induced fertilization and efficacy of various culture systems on in vitro development of baboon embryos.

Design: In vitro study, animal model.

Setting: Research laboratory.

Trophoblast stem cells: models for investigating trophectoderm differentiation and placental development.

The placenta is an ephemeral organ containing diverse populations of trophoblasts that are all derived from the embryonic trophectoderm but have morphological, functional, and molecular diversity within and across species. In hemochorial placentation, these cells play especially important roles, interfacing with and modifying the cells of the maternal decidua. Within the rapidly growing placenta, it has been shown that there are trophoblast stem cells well characterized in the mouse and postulated but not well understood in primates.