The Potential of Nanotechnology in Medically Assisted Reproduction

Reproductive medicine is a field of science which searches for new alternatives not only to help couples achieve pregnancy and preserve fertility, but also to diagnose and treat diseases which can impair the normal operation of the reproductive tract. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a set of methodologies applied to cases related to infertility. Despite being highly practiced worldwide, ART presents some challenges, which still require special attention. Nanotechnology, as a tool for reproductive medicine, has been considered to help overcome some of those impairments. Over recent years, nanotechnology approaches applied to reproductive medicine have provided strategies to improve diagnosis and increase specificity and sensitivity. For in vitro embryo production, studies in non-human models have been used to deliver molecules to gametes and embryos. The exploration of nanotechnology for ART would bring great advances. In this way, experiments in non-human models to test the development and safety of new protocols using nanomaterials are very important for informing potential future employment in humans. This paper presents recent developments in nanotechnology regarding impairments still faced by ART: ovary stimulation, multiple pregnancy, and genetic disorders. New perspectives for further use of nanotechnology in reproductive medicine studies are also discussed

The Oncopig Cancer Model as a Complementary Tool for Phenotypic Drug Discovery

The screening of potential therapeutic compounds using phenotypic drug discovery (PDD) is being embraced once again by researchers and pharmaceutical companies as an approach to enhance the development of new effective therapeutics. Before the genomics and molecular biology era and the consecutive emergence of targeted-drug discovery approaches, PDD was the most common platform used for drug discovery. PDD, also known as phenotypic screening, consists of screening potential compounds in either in vitro cellular or in vivo animal models to identify compounds resulting in a desirable phenotypic change. Using this approach, the biological targets of the compounds are not taken into consideration. Suitable animal models are crucial for the continued validation and discovery of new drugs, as compounds displaying promising results in phenotypic in vitro cell-based and in vivo small animal model screenings often fail in clinical trials. Indeed, this is mainly a result of differential anatomy, physiology, metabolism, immunology, and genetics between humans and currently used pre-clinical small animal models. In contrast, pigs are more predictive of therapeutic treatment outcomes in humans than rodents. In addition, pigs provide an ideal platform to study cancer due to their similarities with humans at the anatomical, physiological, metabolic, and genetic levels. Here we provide a mini-review on the reemergence of PDD in drug development, highlighting the potential of porcine cancer models for improving pre-clinical drug discovery and testing. We also present precision medicine based genetically defined swine cancer models developed to date and their potential as biomedical models