Improving the Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acid on the In Vitro Maturation of Oocytes

This research was conducted in order to determine the effects of omega-3 on oocyte in vitro maturation and the level of expression of tribbles (TRIB1, TRIB2 and TRIB3 genes) in cumulus cells. Eight-ten weeks old NMRI mice were super-ovulated using 7.5 IU pregnant mare’s serum gonadotropin (PMSG, Intraperitoneal) and they were killed after 44 hours and their ovaries were removed. The oocytes were used for in vitro maturation and the cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were released. Cumulus cells and oocytes were assigned into control, ethanol-treated and groups exposed to 10 and 100 μg/ml of omega-3. The cells were prepared to assess the maturation stage in order to evaluate the gene expression level. The data were statistically analyzed. Exposing oocytes to low dose (10 μg/ml) and high dose (100 μg/ml) of omega-3 resulted in a reduced rate of GV-stage oocytes, decreased MI-oocytes and increased MII-oocytes. The enhanced maturity of COCs was also detected in response to a high dose of omega-3 (100 μg/ml). Exposure of cumulus cells to omega-3 (10 and 100 μg/ml) induced TRIB2 and inhibited TRIB3 gene expression level; however, TRIB1 gene expression level increased and decreased in response to low (10 μg/ml) and high (100 μg/ml) concentrations of omega-3, respectively. The addition of omega-3 to the environment of oocytes or cumulus cells affected the maturation of oocytes and cumulus cells, which was followed by the differential expression of TRIB genes, suggesting that there was a role of fatty acid metabolism in the differentiation and maturation of cumulus cells

Cytotoxic assessment of silver nanoparticles in embryonic development and kidney tissue in pregnant mice

Background and Aim: Regarding the widespread use of silver nanoparticles in medecine and lack of a detailed study of toxicity effects of these particles on fetus, this study was carried out to investigate histopathological changes of the kidneys and also embryonic development following exposure to silver nanoparticles. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, thirty five female NMRI mice were randomly divided into five equal groups i.e. one control group and four experimental groups. The experimental groups intraperitoneally (IP) received silver nanoparticles at concentrations of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/ kg . .every other day. On the 17th day  of pregnancy, the mice were dissected and  their kidneys and embryos tissues were separated and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological examinations. .Finally, the obtained data was fed into SPSS software (V:16) using statistical tests including Kolmogrof-Smearnof, one-way variance analysis, Dante, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis and P<0.05 was taken as the significant level. Results: Histopathological assessment of kidney tissue following IP administration of silver nanoparticle indicated pathological changes including congestion, necrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, vacuolar degeneration compared to the control group. Our findings showed that silver nanoparticles during the gestation period affects fetal organogenesis, evolution of neural structure, liver lobulation and fetal growth retardation. Mean number of somites in groups receiving doses of 200 and 400 mg kg, . significantly reduced compared to the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The obtained results suggest that  passing of silver nanoparticles through placenta is possible and damage caused by the particles  could lead to the deformity or developmental retardation of the fetus

The Effect of Nano-Titanium Dioxide on Limb Bud Development of NMRI Mouse Embryo In Vivo

Objective: There is a wide application of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) in industry. These particles are used in various products, and they also has biological effects on cells and organs through direct contact. Materials and Methods: In this experimental research, the effect of TiO2 on chondrogenesis of forelimb buds of mice embryos was assessed in in vivo condition. Concentrations of 30, 150 and 500 mg/kg body weight (BW) TiO2 NPs (20 nm size) dissolved in distilled water were injected intraperitoneally to Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice on day 11.5 of gestation. On day 15, limb buds were amputated from the embryos and skeletogeneis of limb buds were studied. Results: TiO2 NPs caused the significant changes in chondrocytes in the following developmental stages: resting, proliferating, hypertrophy, degenerating, perichondrium and mesenchymal cells. Decreased number of mesenchymal cells and increased level of chondrocytes were observed after the injection of different concentrations of TiO2, which proves the unpredictable effects of TiO2 on limb buds. Conclusion: Results of the present study showed TiO2 NPs accelerated the chondrogenesis of limb buds, but further studies are recommended to predict TiO2 toxicity effects on organogenesis

Menstrual blood CD146 mesenchymal stem cells reduced fibrosis rate in the rat model of premature ovarian failure.

Here, the regenerative potential of menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MenSCs) was examined on restoration of premature ovarian failure (POF) ovaries in rats' POF model. Freshly isolated CD146+ MenSCs using magnetic-activated cell storing method were immediately injected into ovaries of POF rats. Four and eight weeks after cell administration, both ovarian tissues were sampled for histological examination and the expression of fibrosis-related genes. Serum samples were also prepared for hormonal analysis. At the endpoint, mating trials were performed to assess the fertility of POF rats following MenSC transplantation. Histopathological examination revealed the induction of POF after Ceftriaxone injection by increasing atretic follicles and abnormal morphologies. MenSCs transplantation increased the number of normal follicles and coincided with the reduction of follicular atresia. Biochemical analyses exhibited the reduction and increase of systemic follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and E2 respectively after MenSCs transplantation compared to the POF rats (P < .05). No significant differences in anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) blood levels were detected in this study between POF controls and MenSCs-treated rats. We noted moreover the transcriptional up-regulation of Smad 2, 4, and TGF-β1 in POF rats, and these values were decreased after MenSCs transplantation (P < .01). By contrast, the RNA expression of Smad 6 remained increased in both pre- and post-treatment with MenSCs groups (P < .05). Finally, we found an increase in neonate births in POF rats treated with MenSCs, and that this feature was associated with ovarian rejuvenation through amelioration of fibrosis. These data showed that MenSCs are promising cell lineage for the alleviation of POF in the rat model by controlling the fibrosis rate

Formation and activation induction of primordial follicles using granulosa and cumulus cells conditioned media : ATRABI et al.

Fertility preservation of prepubertal girls subjected to invasive cancer therapy necessitates defining protocols for activation of isolated primordial follicles. Granulosa (GCs) and cumulus cells (CCs) play pivotal role in oocyte development. Although GCs and CCs share some similarities, they differ in growth factors production. The current study was conducted to evaluate the effects of GCs, CCs and their conditioned media on mice primordial follicles activation. One-day-old mice ovaries were subjected to 6-day culture with base medium (BM), GC conditioned medium (GCCM), GC coculture (GCCC), CC conditioned medium (CCCM) or CC coculture (CCCC). Follicular growth and primordial to primary follicle transition was observed during 6-day culture, and follicular activation rate tended to be greater in GCCM than other groups (0.05 <P < 0.10). On Day 6, the expression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in GCCM group was lower than that in BM group (P = 0.020), the expression of phosphoinositide-3-kinase was higher in CCCC group than BM, GCCM and CCCM groups (P < 0.05), and the expression of connexin 37 was greater in the CCCM group as compared with BM, GCCC, and CCCC groups (P < 0.01). In conclusion, the current study showed that condition medium of GCs could enhance in vitro activation of primordial follicles, probably through downregulation of PTEN