Classical pathway activity C3c, C4 and C1-inhibitor protein reference intervals determination in EDTA plasma.

Introduction: Reference intervals (RIs) for complement assays in EDTA plasma samples have not previously been published. The objectives of the present study were to validate and/or determine RIs for classical pathway (CP50) activity and C3c, C4 and C1 inhibitor protein (C1INH) assays and to assess the need for age-specific RIs in EDTA plasma.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated a cohort of 387 patients attending our university hospital and known to be free of complement-modifying diseases.

Characterization of embryos derived from calf oocytes: kinetics of cleavage, cell allocation to inner cell mass, and trophectoderm and lipid metabolism.

Embryos derived from calf oocytes were compared with adult cow oocyte-derived embryos (1) by studying the kinetics of embryo development using time-lapse cinematography (2) by evaluating the ratio between inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) cells in blastocysts (3) by measuring the triglyceride content of the blastocysts. The rate of calf oocyte-derived embryos reaching the blastocyst stage was reduced (26 vs. 46% for adult derived embryos).

Embryo production by ovum pick up in unstimulated calves before and after puberty.

The possibility of producing embryos from oocytes repeatedly collected from unstimulated calves was tested, and results obtained before and after puberty were compared in the same animals. Ovum pick-up (OPU) coupled with in vitro embryo production was used on 2 sets of 7 and 9 calves, aged 7 to 10 m.o.