Simple Culture System for Bobwhite Quail and Japanese Quail Embryos from the Blastoderm Stage to Hatching using a Single Surrogate Eggshell

The ex vivo culture of avian embryos is a technique for the long-term culturing of embryos outside of their own shell and shell membrane. It allows easy access to the developing embryos and embryo manipulation. The two-step system is widely applied when the culture is performed after oviposition. Japanese quail as well as bobwhite quail are used as models for avian safety assessment as recommended by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. However, biological studies on the bobwhite quail have been more limited than those on the Japanese quail. We have developed a more simplified ex vivo culture protocol for the two species of quail embryos from the blastoderm stage through to hatching using a single surrogate eggshell. Hatchabilities of 31% and 27% were obtained in bobwhite quail and Japanese quail embryos, respectively. The simple system described in the present study is an easy and acceptable procedure.ArticleJOURNAL OF POULTRY SCIENCE. 51(2):202-205 (2014)journal articl

Culture System for Bobwhite Quail Embryos from the Blastoderm Stage to Hatching

Quail are divided phylogenetically into two groups, Old World quail and New World quail. Old World quail, such as the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), belong to the Phasianidae and distributed in the Palaearctic region (Europe, North Africa, and Asia), whereas New World quail, such as the bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus), belong to the Odontophoridae and are restricted to North and South America. Both the bobwhite quail and the Japanese quail are used as models for avian safety assessment as recommended by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. However, biological studies on the bobwhite quail have been limited compared with those on the Japanese quail. We have therefore now developed an ex vivo culture protocol for bobwhite quail embryos from the blastoderm stage through hatching. Of the various culture conditions examined in the present study, a good hatching rate (39%) was obtained when the embryos were cultured ex vivo in a two-step procedure. Unincubated embryos (with egg yolk) were first cultured inside the shell of a Japanese quail egg (11.5 to 13.0 g whole egg weight) together with chicken thin albumen for 63 to 65 h and were then transferred to the shell of a small-sized chicken egg (38 g whole egg weight) until hatching. This ex vivo culture system should provide to be widely applicable to the maintenance and generation of manipulated birds for basic and applied studies on the bobwhite quail.ArticleJOURNAL OF POULTRY SCIENCE. 50(2):155-158 (2013)journal articl

Menaquinone (vitamin K2) therapy for bronchial asthma. I. Mechanism of action menaquinone on allergic reactions.

The mechanism of action of the drug was investigated from various points of view. The findings may be summarized as follows: 1. In the experiments of the degranulation of mesenteric mast cells of rats, menaquinone proved to significantly inhibit the degranulation either in active or passive sensitization with the reagin-like antibody. 2. Menaquinone did not inhibit the formation of the reagin-like antibody. 3. In the experiements of the degranulation of basophilic granulocytes from patients of bronchial asthma, the rate of appearance of A form basophilic cells upon addition of the antihuman IgE goat serum was not markedly but significantly inhibited in the patients treated with menaquinone for long periods, as compared with that in the control, whereas the in vitro addition of menaquinone did not exert a significant inhibitory action.</p