Publications by authors named "Xiao-gan Yang"

Article Synopsis
  • Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is crucial for keeping spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) from differentiating, with buffalo and mouse LIF having a 65.5% difference in protein sequences.* -
  • A new vector was created to produce buffalo LIF in CHO-K1 cells, resulting in a final concentration of 4.268 ng/mL in the culture medium.* -
  • The study found that a low dose of buffalo LIF can effectively sustain the growth of buffalo spermatogonia in culture, similar to a higher dose of mouse LIF, aiding future developments in buffalo SSC culture techniques.*
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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how the microenvironment in buffalo seminiferous tubules changes with age, impacting spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) and spermatogenesis, although the exact mechanisms are not yet fully understood.
  • RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) compared gene expression profiles between pre-pubertal (PUB) and adult (ADU) buffalo, identifying 17,299 genes, with 13,714 showing significant differences in expression levels.
  • The findings reveal that many genes related to SSC identity were upregulated in ADU, while genes essential for sperm differentiation were downregulated in PUB, shedding light on the developmental mechanisms of buffalo SSCs for future research.
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Currently, the systems for culturing buffalo spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are varied, and their effects are still inconclusive. In this study, we compared the effects of culture systems with undefined (foetal bovine serum) and defined (KnockOut Serum Replacement) materials on the culture of buffalo SSC-like cells. Significantly more DDX4- and UCHL1-positive cells (cultured for 2 days at passage 2) were observed in the defined materials culture system than in the undefined materials system ( < 0.

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The effects of acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) supplementation during IVM on subsequently vitrified buffalo oocytes were evaluated, followed by determination of the mitochondrial DNA copy number, measurement of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and identification of the lipid profile of oocyte membranes as markers of oocyte quality after vitrification. Supplementation with ALC during IVM significantly improved the rates of oocyte cleavage and morula and blastocyst formation, and increased MMP after vitrification compared with unsupplemented vitrified oocytes (P<0.05).

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Oocyte quality is one of the important factors in female fertility, in vitro maturation (IVM), and subsequent embryonic development. In the present study, we assessed whether acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC) supplementation during in vitro maturation of buffalo oocytes could improve oocyte quality and subsequent embryonic development. To determine the optimal level of ALC supplementation, we matured cumulus-oocyte complexes in maturation medium supplemented with 0, 2.

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Nanos2 belongs to the Nanos gene-coding family and is an important RNA-binding protein that has been shown to have essential roles in male germline stem cells development and self-renewal in mouse. However, little is known about Nanos2 in inchoate buffalo spermatogonia. Here, rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) was used to obtain the full-length buffalo Nanos2 sequence and bioinformatic analysis revealed a highly conserved Nanos2 sequence between buffalo and other mammalian species.

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Improving the quality of in vitro maturated buffalo oocytes is essential for embryo production. We report here the effects on microtubules and microfilaments in oocytes and embryo development that result from treating buffalo oocytes with the phosphodiesterase 3 (PDE3) inhibitor cilostamide. Addition of 20μM or 50μM cilostamide for 24h during in vitro maturation showed no differences in the percentage of oocytes arrested at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage.

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Melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) is a member of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors (RLRs) family and plays a pivotal role in the anti-viral innate immune response. As RIG-I is absent in chickens, MDA5 is hypothesized to be important in detecting viral nucleic acids in the cytoplasm. However, the molecular mechanism of the regulation of chicken MDA5 (chMDA5) expression has yet to be fully elucidated.

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Flow cytometry and Laser Tweezers Raman spectroscopy have been used to investigate Nili-Ravi buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) sperm from different samples (fresh, stained, sorted and frozen-thawed) of the flow-sorting process to optimize sperm sex sorting procedures. During the sorting and freezing-thawing processes, the two detection methods both indicated there were differences in mitochondrial activity and membrane integrity. Moreover, a dispersive-type NIR (Near Infrared Reflection) use of the Raman system resulted in the ability to detect a variety of sperm components, including relative DNA, lipid, carbohydrates and protein contents.

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Somatic cloning, also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), is a promising technology which has been expected to rapidly extend the population of elaborately selected breeding boars with superior production performance. Chinese Guike No. 1 pig breed is a novel swine specialized strain incorporated with the pedigree background of Duroc and Chinese Luchuan pig breeds, thus inherits an excellent production performance.

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The pig is an ideal source to provide organs because its organ size and physiology are similar to humans. However, an acute rejection will ensue after pig-to-human xenotransplantation. The α-1,3 galactosyltransferase gene knockout (GTKO) pigs were generated in recent years, and could solve the problem of hyperacute rejection.

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The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, involved in genetic recombination and sex-chromosome silencing during meiosis, plays critical roles in the specification of germ-line stem cells and the differentiation of gametes from gonocytes. Zygote-specific proteasome assembly chaperone (ZPAC) is expressed in the early mouse embryo, where it is important for progression of the mouse maternal-to-zygotic transition. The role of ZPAC during spermatogenesis in the adult gonads, however, remains unknown.

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To establish fibroblast cell lines from different tissues and to compare the biological characteristics of those cell lines, five fibroblast cell lines derived from Chinese swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) were selected for comparative assays. Cell style and survival rate (before cryogenic preservation and after recovery) were tested, and karyotype, patterns of isoenzymes of lactic dehydrogenase, malic dehydrogenase, and cell cycle were analyzed. These cell lines had a healthy morphology with a typical spindle shape, and assessment of cell style showed these cells to be very pure fibroblasts.

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Summary Reprogramming of DNA methylation in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos is incomplete, and aberrant DNA methylation patterns are related to the inefficiency of SCNT. To facilitate nuclear reprogramming, this study investigated the effect of treating Guangxi Bama minipig donor cells with trichostatin A (TSA), 5-aza-2'-deoxycytine (5-aza-dC), or combination of TSA and 5-aza-dC prior to nuclear transfer. Analyses showed that there were no major changes in cell-cycle status among all groups.

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Xenotransplantation is a rapidly expanding field of research, and cloned miniature pigs are considered to be good model animals for its development. Although many animal species have been cloned, the success rate is very low, especially in the pig. To optimize the protocols for somatic cell nuclear transfer in the Guangxi Bama minipig, the relationship between cell cycle synchronization and nuclear histone acetylation levels were investigated.

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Miniature pigs are valuable for research in xenotransplantation and as models for investigating human diseases. Although many mammalian species have been cloned, the success rates have been very low, especially in the pig. In the present study, an attempt was made to optimize somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) protocols for use in the production of the Guangxi Bama mini-pig.

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