Effect of recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor on testis tissue xenotransplants from prepubertal boys: a three-case study

Research question Does recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-165) improve the efficiency of human immature testis tissue (ITT) xenotransplantation? Design ITT fragments from three prepubertal boys were cultured for 5 days with VEGF-165 or without (control) before xenotransplantation into the testes of immunodeficient mice. Xenotransplants were recovered at 4 and 9 months after transplantation, and vascularization, seminiferous tubule integrity, number of spermatogonia and germ cell differentiation were evaluated by histology and immunohistochemistry. Results Transplants from donor 1 and donor 2 treated with VEGF demonstrated higher vascular surface (P = 0.004) and vessel density (P = 0.011) overall and contained more intact seminiferous tubules (P = 0.039) with time, compared with controls. The number of spermatogonia was increased over time (P < 0.001) irrespective of treatment and donor, whereas, for the VEGF-treated transplants, the increase was even higher over time (P = 0.020). At 9 months, spermatocytes were present in the xenotransplants, irrespective of treatment. No transplants could be recovered from donor 3, who had already received treatment with cyclosporine for aplastic anaemia before biopsy. Conclusions In-vitro pre-treatment of human prepubertal testis tissue with VEGF improved transplant vascularization in two out of three cases, resulting in improved seminiferous tubule integrity and spermatogonial survival during xenotransplantation. Although further studies are warranted, we suggest VEGF be considered as a factor for improving the efficiency of immature testis tissue transplantation in the future

Magnesium sulphate is it necessary to prevent eclampsia?

Background: Preeclampsia was reported to account for 15 % of all antenatal hospitalization for pregnancy complications. It causes maternal as well as fetal death by developing eclampsia Since the turn of the century, obstetrician have to decrease the incidence of eclampsia i.e hypertension complicated with seizures in pregnant women by treating them magnesium sulfate in preeclampsia. In our study we tried to find out Magnesium sulphate really helpful in prevention of eclampsia or not.Methods: This prospective study was carried out by the department of Pharmacology with the help from department of obstetrics and gynecology, in rural hospital and medical college i.e Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical sciences Sewagram, Wardha, Maharashtra, India during January 2007 to January 2008. A total of 100 subjects registered in inpatient department were included in this study. Patients were divided in to two group one group receiving nifedipine (calcium channel blockers) and other group receive combination of nifedipine and magnesium sulfate. We compared the delivery outcome of both the group.Results: Patients receiving nifedipine had good pregnancy outcome with less side effects than the patients receiving combination of nifedipine and magnesium sulphate.Conclusions: Magnesium sulphate is not necessary drug for prophylaxis of eclampsia

Relative oral bioavailability of three formulations of vitamin D3: An open-label, three-treatment study

Background: Supplementation of vitamin D2 or vitamin D3 is recommended for vitamin D deficiency. Weekly supplementation of 60,000 IU of vitamin D3 increases serum 25(OH) D to optimal values. Various marketed forms of vitamin D3 include tablets, capsule, granules and oral solution. The main objective of this study is to compare the relative bioavailability of vitamin D3 oral solution with vitamin D3 tablet and capsule.Methods: This is an open-label, randomized, single-dose, three-treatment study to compare the relative bioavailability of vitamin D3 oral solution with capsule and tablet. Subjects (n=70) were supplemented with single dose of one of these formulations and their blood sample were assessed for Cmax, AUC0-28d and Tmax.Results: The logarithmic transformed data of pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed for 90% Confidence Intervals (CI) using ANOVA. The mean (90% CI) values of vitamin D3 oral solution against tablet for the ratio of Cmax and AUC0-28d were 113.00 (105.32-121.23) and 105.54 (97.95-113.72) respectively. The mean (90% CI) values of vitamin D3 oral solution against capsule for the ratio of Cmax and AUC0-28d were 115.02 (106.38 - 124.37) and 112.33 (104.44 - 120.81) respectively. These values were within the bioequivalence range of 80-125%.Conclusions: It is concluded that vitamin D3 Oral Solution formulated with nanotechnology is bioequivalent to vitamin D3 tablet and capsule. However, oral solution of vitamin D3 shows higher Cmax and AUC when compared to tablet and capsule formulations

What is the best protocol to cryopreserve immature mouse testicular cell suspensions?

Research question From a clinical perspective, which parameters grant optimal cryopreservation of mouse testicular cell suspensions? Design We studied the effect of different cryopreservation rates, the addition of sugars, different vessels and the addition of an apoptotic inhibitor on the efficiency of testicular cell suspension cryopreservation. After thawing and warming, testicular cell suspensions were transplanted to recipient mice for further functional assay. After selecting the optimal cryopreservation procedure, a second experiment compared the transplantation efficiency between the selected freezing protocol and fresh testicular cell suspensions. Results Multiple- and single-step freezing did not differ significantly in terms of recovered viable cells (RVC) (33 ± 28% and 38 ± 25%). The addition of sucrose did not result in a higher RVC (33 ± 20%). Cells frozen in vials recovered better than those frozen in straws (52 ± 20% versus 33 ± 20%; P = 0.0049). The inclusion of an apoptosis inhibitor (z-VAD[Oe]-FMK) significantly increased the RVC after thawing (61 ± 18% versus 50 ± 17%; P = 0.0480). When comparing the optimal cryopreservation procedure with fresh testicular cell suspensions, a lower RVC (63 ± 11% versus 92 ± 4%; P < 0.0001) and number of donor-derived spermatogonial stem cell colonies per testis (34.04 ± 2.34 versus 16.78 ± 7.76; P = 0.0051) were observed. Conclusion Upon freeze–thawing or vitrification–warming, and assessment of donor-derived spermatogenesis after transplantation, Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 1.5M dimethyl-sulphoxide, 10% fetal calf serum and 60 µM of Z-VAD-(OMe)-FMK in vials at a freezing rate of −1°C/min was optimal

Fertility preservation in childhood cancer: Endocrine activity in prepubertal human testis xenografts exposed to a pubertal hormone environment

Survivors of childhood cancer are at risk for long-term treatment-induced health sequelae, including gonadotoxicity and iatrogenic infertility. At present, for prepubertal boys there are no viable clinical options to preserve future reproductive potential. We investigated the effect of a pubertal induction regimen with gonadotrophins on prepubertal human testis xenograft development. Human testis tissue was obtained from patients with cancer and non-malignant haematological disorders (n = 6; aged 1&ndash;14 years) who underwent testis tissue cryopreservation for fertility preservation. Fresh and frozen-thawed testis fragments were transplanted subcutaneously or intratesticularly into immunocompromised mice. Graft-bearing mice received injections of vehicle or exogenous gonadotrophins, human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG, 20 IU), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH, 12.5 IU) three times a week for 12 weeks. The gross morphology of vehicle and gonadotrophin-exposed grafts was similar for both transplantation sites. Exposure of prepubertal human testis tissue xenografts to exogenous gonadotrophins resulted in limited endocrine function of grafts, as demonstrated by the occasional expression of the steroidogenic cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (CYP11A1). Plasma testosterone concentrations (0.13 vs. 0.25 ng/mL; p = 0.594) and seminal vesicle weights (10.02 vs. 13.93 mg; p = 0.431) in gonadotrophin-exposed recipient mice were comparable to vehicle-exposed controls. Regardless of the transplantation site and treatment, initiation and maintenance of androgen receptor (AR) expression were observed in Sertoli cells, indicating commitment towards a more differentiated status. However, neither exogenous gonadotrophins (in castrated host mice) nor endogenous testosterone (in intact host mice) were sufficient to repress the expression of markers associated with immature Sertoli cells, such as anti-M&uuml;llerian hormone (AMH) and Ki67, or to induce the redistribution of junctional proteins (connexin 43, CX43; claudin 11, CLDN11) to areas adjacent to the basement membrane. Spermatogonia did not progress developmentally but remained the most advanced germ cell type in testis xenografts. Overall, these findings demonstrate that exogenous gonadotrophins promote partial activation and maturation of the somatic environment in prepubertal testis xenografts. However, alternative hormone regimens or additional factors for pubertal induction are required to complete the functional maturation of the spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) niche

Implementation Of Anonymous Vehicle Reporting And Communication System For Wrongly Parked Vehicle

Improper parking can cause several issues and problems, including Reduced Accessibility, Inconvenience for Other Drivers, Public Transportation Disruption, Environmental and Aesthetic Concerns, Public Perception, and Traffic Congestion. Addressing these issues typically calls for a combination of traffic management, public awareness campaigns, law enforcement, smart urban design, and community involvement to preserve the successful and safe usage of public spaces

Human and animal fertility studies in cystinosis reveal signs of obstructive azoospermia, an altered blood-testis barrier and a subtherapeutic effect of cysteamine in testis

Cystinosis is an inherited metabolic disorder caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the CTNS gene leading to lysosomal cystine accumulation. The disease primarily affects the kidneys followed by extra-renal organ involvement later in life. Azoospermia is one of the unclarified complications which are not improved by cysteamine, which is the only available disease-modifying treatment. We aimed at unraveling the origin of azoospermia in cysteamine-treated cystinosis by confirming or excluding an obstructive factor, and investigating the effect of cysteamine on fertility in the Ctns−/− mouse model compared with wild type. Azoospermia was present in the vast majority of infantile type cystinosis patients. While spermatogenesis was intact, an enlarged caput epididymis and reduced levels of seminal markers for obstruction neutral α-glucosidase (NAG) and extracellular matrix protein 1 (ECM1) pointed towards an epididymal obstruction. Histopathological examination in human and mouse testis revealed a disturbed blood-testis barrier characterized by an altered zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) protein expression. Animal studies ruled out a negative effect of cysteamine on fertility, but showed that cystine accumulation in the testis is irresponsive to regular cysteamine treatment. We conclude that the azoospermia in infantile cystinosis is due to an obstruction related to epididymal dysfunction, irrespective of the severity of an evolving primary hypogonadism. Regular cysteamine treatment does not affect fertility but has subtherapeutic effects on cystine accumulation in testis