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Effect of centrifugation on early embryonic development and parthenogenetic activation of bovine oocytes matured in vitro.

This study examined the fertilization, early developmental competence and capacity for parthenogenetic activation of bovine oocytes matured in vitro after centrifugation. Immature oocytes were cultured in tissue culture medium 199 supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 75 mIU mL(-1) FSH + LH at 5% CO2 to facilitate maturation. After culture for 24 or 30 h, the metaphase-II stage oocytes were centrifuged at 3000, 5000, 7000 or 10000g for 5 min before in vitro fertilization or parthenogenetic activation. Frozen-thawed bull semen was used for in vitro fertilization. For parthenogenetic activation, the oocytes were exposed to 20 microM calcium ionophore A23187 for 5 min at room temperature. Fertilization rates were not different between control and treatment groups (87.7% v. 74.6%, 73.4%, 75.9% and 76.4% respectively). Also, there were no differences in early embryonic development between control and treatment groups (rates of blastocyst formation were 21.1% v 20.2%, 28.8%, 31.2% and 24.1% respectively). When the oocytes were centrifuged at various speeds alone, the activation rate of oocytes was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the 10000g treatment group compared with control (10.8% v 0.0%). There were no differences in the activation rates of oocytes between control and treatment groups at speeds up to 7000g (70.9% v. 71.9%, 78.3% and 77.2% respectively) after centrifugation and stimulation with Ca(2+)-ionophore. However, the activation rate of oocytes was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the 10000g treatment group compared with control (70.9% v. 83.1%). In addition, the percentage of activated oocytes with diploid formation was significantly higher in the oocytes after centrifugation at 10000g and stimulation with calcium ionophore A23187 than in the control (18.4% v 7.1%). These results indicate that centrifugation of oocytes matured in vitro has no detrimental effect on fertilization and subsequent early embryonic development. They also indicate that the oocytes might be parthenogenetically activated after centrifugation and that high-speed centrifugation may induce activation of some oocytes. The results suggest that the optimal speed for centrifugation of bovine oocytes might be < or = 7000g to enhance the visibility of nuclear elements for further micromanipulation.

Animals↗

In vitro development of porcine parthenogenetic and cloned embryos: comparison of oocyte-activating techniques, various culture systems and nuclear transfer methods.

The present study compares the development of porcine embryos following several oocyte activation techniques and culture systems using in-vitro-matured porcine oocytes. Two different nuclear transfer techniques (electrofusion and nuclear injection) were also tested using adult somatic cell (nucleus) and enucleated cytoplasm. In Experiment 1, oocytes activated by electric pulse, electric pulse + 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP), or ionomycin + 6-DMAP showed higher pronuclear formation rates (P<0.01) than those in the other groups (negative control and ionomycin treatment). Of these three groups, oocytes activated by electric pulse + 6-DMAP showed greater developmental rate to the blastocyst stage and higher cell numbers in blastocysts than those activated by electric pulse or ionomycin + 6-DMAP (P<0.05). In Experiment 2, activated oocytes were grouped and cultured as follows: (i) NCSU-PVA for 6 days (PVA-PVA); (ii) NCSU-BSA for 6 days (BSA-BSA); (iii) NCSU-FBS for 6 days (FBS-FBS); (iv) NCSU-PVA for 4 days followed by NCSU-BSA for 2 days (PVA-BSA); (v) NCSU-PVA for 4 days followed by NCSU-FBS for 2 days (PVA-FBS); and (vi) NCSU-BSA for 4 days followed by NCSU-FBS for 2 days (BSA-FBS). Cleavage rates in all experimental groups were not significantly different, but the embryos cultured in PVA-BSA or BSA-BSA showed higher blastocyst formation rates than those in other groups (P<0.05). In Experiment 3, the pseudo-pronuclear formation rate tended to be higher in the electrofusion group than in piezo-driven nuclear injection group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.12). In addition, there was no significant difference between groups in cleavage, blastocyst formation, or the number of cells in blastocysts. The results indicate that porcine adult somatic cell nuclear transfer can be performed by the nuclear injection technique with a piezo-driven micromanipulator. In addition, activation by electrical pulse followed by 6-DMAP and in vitro culture in BSA-supplemented medium throughout the culture period was found to be the most efficient system for the production of porcine parthenogenetic embryos in vitro.

Animals↗

Birth of a cloned calf derived from a vitrified hand-made cloned embryo.

The hand-made cloning (HMC) technique describes a simplified nuclear transfer process without the need for micromanipulators. The technique involves manual bisection of zona-free oocytes, selection of cytoplasts by Hoechst staining and fusion of a single somatic cell and two cytoplasts. In this proof-of-principle experiment, the objective was to examine the developmental competence of HMC embryos following embryo transfer. Modifications to the original method include not selecting of matured oocytes and simultaneous fusion of cytoplasts and karyoplast. Blastocyst rates for embryos cultured in the glass oviduct system as singles (10.5%; 24/228) or in pairs (16.1%; 36/224) did not differ significantly. Fresh and vitrified-thawed blastocysts were transferred to 16 synchronised recipients (three to four embryos per recipient). Ultrasound examination on Days 35-45 showed an initial pregnancy rate of 43.8% (7/16) and a pregnancy rate >8 months of 12.5% (2/16). A male cloned calf (42 kg) derived from a vitrified HMC blastocyst was delivered by Caesarean section on Day 271. The birth and ongoing survival (15 months, 243 kg) of a healthy and apparently normal calf, combining both HMC and vitrification technologies, provides a 'proof of principle' of the technology and a promising alternative to traditional nuclear-transfer techniques.

Animals↗

Development and implementation of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the experimental steps that led to the development of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and its application in the human. ICSI has become the most successful micromanipulation procedure for treating male infertility. A total of 355 in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles utilizing ICSI are described; 180 couples were previously treated in 509 IVF cycles but achieved no fertilization and 175 couples could not be treated by IVF because of extremely poor semen parameters. Of the 3063 metaphase II (M II) oocytes retrieved, 2970 were injected with a survival rate of 93.6%, yielding 1917 bipronuclear zygotes (64.5%). In 148 patients, a foetal heart was evidenced by ultrasound; 11 of these patients miscarried between 7 and 13 weeks of gestation. The ongoing pregnancy rate was 38.6% (137/355) per retrieval and 40.5% (137/338) per embryo replacement. At the time of writing, there were 22 deliveries and one therapeutic abortion for a trisomy 21 chromosomal abnormality. In addition, 66 singleton, 37 twin, 10 triplet and 1 quadruplet pregnancies were ongoing. The concentration of motile spermatozoa in the ejaculate only slightly influenced the fertilization rate (P < 0.001) and the pregnancy outcome (P < 0.01). A preliminary injection procedure utilizing intracytoplasmic injection of isolated sperm heads was performed in 35 M II human oocytes with resultant fertilization and cleavage rates of 74% and 73% respectively. Skills in ICSI were acquired by injecting hamster and unfertilized human oocytes with human sperm. ICSI can be used to successfully treat couples who have failed IVF or who have too few spermatozoa for conventional in vitro insemination.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Clinical intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) results from Royal North Shore Hospital.

The technique of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was first introduced to the Royal North Shore Hospital in April 1993 as part of a controlled study of 100 patient cycles in which sibling oocytes were inseminated by either subzonal insemination (SUZI) or ICSI. This trial showed direct sperm injection to be superior in terms of fertilization. In that study, 58 embryo transfers of 101 ICSI-derived embryos resulted in 10 pregnancies. No miscarriages have occurred and a total of 10 fetal hearts (9.8% per embryo transferred) were detected on ultrasound. There have been 10 deliveries of 10 babies. Since the beginning of 1994, intracytoplasmic injection has been used exclusively for patients requiring micromanipulation to achieve fertilization. There have been 200 patient cycles with 1650 oocytes collected (8.8 oocytes per cycle). Of these oocytes, 1548 were mature (94%) and were subjected to ICSI, and normal fertilization occurred in 874 (56%) of the injected oocytes. The number of oocytes which cleaved and were suitable for fresh transfer or cryopreservation was 818 (94%). There have been 153 fresh embryo transfers of 326 embryos. Twenty-six pregnancies (17% per embryo transfer) have resulted, 22 of which proceeded to ultrasound examination in which 23 fetal hearts were detected (7% per embryo transferred). Three miscarriages have occurred, leaving 19 ongoing pregnancies. There have been 127 cryopreservation procedures involving 492 embryos. To date, there have been 47 embryo thaw cycles, and 93 of the 115 (81%) thawed embryos survived and were transferred. These 47 embryo transfers resulted in 10 pregnancies (21% per embryo transfer), one of which one has miscarried.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Australia↗

Mechanical tweezer action by self-tightening knots in surfactant nanotubes.

Entanglements and trefoil knots on surfactant nanotubes in the liquid phase were produced by a combination of network self-organization and micromanipulation. The resulting knots are self-tightening, and the tightening is driven by minimization of surface free energy of the surfactant membrane material. The formation of the knot and the steady-state knot at quasi-equilibrium can be directly followed and localized by using fluorescence microscopy. Knots on nanotubes can be used as nanoscale mechanical tweezers for trapping and manipulation of single nano- and micrometer-sized high-aspect ratio objects. Furthermore, we demonstrate that by controlling the surface tension, objects captured by a knot can be transported along given trajectories defined by the nanotube axes.

Fluorescence↗

Adhesion of single bacterial cells in the micronewton range.

The adhesion of bacteria to surfaces plays critical roles in the environment, disease, and industry. In aquatic environments, Caulobacter crescentus is one of the first colonizers of submerged surfaces. Using a micromanipulation technique, we measured the adhesion force of single C. crescentus cells attached to borosilicate substrates through their adhesive holdfast. The detachment forces measured for 14 cells ranged over 0.11 to 2.26 microN, averaging 0.59 +/- 0.62 microN. Based on the calculation of stress distribution with the finite element analysis method (dividing an object into small grids and calculating relevant parameters for all of the elements), the adhesion strength between the holdfast and the substrate is >68 N/mm(2) in the central region of contact. To our knowledge, this strength of adhesion is the strongest ever measured for biological adhesives.

Bacterial Adhesion↗

High-resolution video monitoring of hematopoietic stem cells cultured in single-cell arrays identifies new features of self-renewal.

To search for new indicators of self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), highly purified populations were isolated from adult mouse marrow, micromanipulated into a specially designed microscopic array, and cultured for 4 days in 300 ng/ml Steel factor, 20 ng/ml IL-11, and 1 ng/ml flt3-ligand. During this period, each cell and its progeny were imaged at 3-min intervals by using digital time-lapse photography. Individual clones were then harvested and assayed for HSCs in mice by using a 4-month multilineage repopulation endpoint (>1% contribution to lymphoid and myeloid lineages). In a first experiment, 6 of 14 initial cells (43%) and 17 of 61 clones (28%) had HSC activity, demonstrating that HSC self-renewal divisions had occurred in vitro. Characteristics associated with HSC activity included longer cell-cycle times and the absence of uropodia on a majority of cells within the clone during the final 12 h of culture. Combining these criteria maximized the distinction of clones with HSC activity from those without and identified a subset of 27 of the 61 clones. These 27 clones included all 17 clones that had HSC activity; a detection efficiency of 63% (2.26 times more frequently than in the original group). The utility of these characteristics for discriminating HSC-containing clones was confirmed in two independent experiments where all HSC-containing clones were identified at a similar 2- to 3-fold-greater efficiency. These studies illustrate the potential of this monitoring system to detect new features of proliferating HSCs that are predictive of self-renewal divisions.

Animals↗

Nanobacteria-like calcite single crystals at the surface of the Tataouine meteorite.

Nanobacteria-like objects evidenced at the surface of the orthopyroxenes of the Tataouine meteorite in South Tunisia have been studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopies. A method of micromanipulation has been developed to ensure that exactly the same objects were studied by both methods. We have shown that the nanobacteria-like objects are spatially correlated with filaments of microorganisms that colonized the surface of the meteoritic pyroxene during its 70 years of residence in the aridic Tataouine soil. Depressions of a few micrometers in depth are observed in the pyroxene below the carbonates, indicating preferential dissolution of the pyroxene and calcite precipitation at these locations. The nanobacteria-like small rods that constitute calcium carbonate rosettes are well crystallized calcite single crystals surrounded by a thin amorphous layer of carbonate composition that smoothes the crystal edges and induces rounded shapes. Those morphologies are unusual for calcite single crystals observed in natural samples. A survey of recent literature suggests that the intervention of organic compounds derived from biological activity is likely in their formation.

Bacteria↗

Force and kinetic barriers to unzipping of the DNA double helix.

A theory of the unzipping of double-stranded DNA is presented and is compared to recent micromanipulation experiments. It is shown that the interactions that stabilize the double helix and the elastic rigidity of single strands simply determine the sequence-dependent approximately 12-pN force threshold for DNA strand separation. Using a semimicroscopic model of the binding between nucleotide strands, we show that the greater rigidity of the strands when formed into double-stranded DNA, relative to that of isolated strands, gives rise to a potential barrier to unzipping. The effects of this barrier are derived analytically. The force to keep the extremities of the molecule at a fixed distance, the kinetic rates for strand unpairing at fixed applied force, and the rupture force as a function of loading rate are calculated. The dependence of the kinetics and of the rupture force on molecule length is also analyzed.

DNA↗

Single-molecule study of DNA unlinking by eukaryotic and prokaryotic type-II topoisomerases.

Type-II topoisomerases are responsible for untangling DNA during replication by removing supercoiled and interlinked DNA structures. Using a single-molecule micromanipulation setup, we follow the real-time decatenation of two mechanically braided DNA molecules by Drosophila melanogaster topoisomerase (Topo) II and Escherichia coli Topo IV. Although Topo II relaxes left-handed (L) and right-handed (R-) braids similarly at a rate of approximately 2.9 s-1, Topo IV has a marked preference for L-braids, which it relaxes completely and processively at a rate of approximately 2.4 s-1. However, Topo IV can unlink R-braids at about half that rate when they supercoil to form L-plectonemes. These results imply that the preferred substrate for unlinking by Topo IV has the symmetry of an L-crossing and shed new light on the decatenation of daughter strands during DNA replication, which are usually assumed to be linked in an R-braid.

Animals↗

Single-cell origin of mouse hemopoietic colonies expressing multiple lineages in variable combinations.

By using a micromanipulator, single cells from blast cell colonies were individually transferred to 35-mm culture dishes for secondary colony formation. When individual colonies appeared to be mature, they were examined for cellular composition by May-Grunwald-Giemsa staining and were replated for determination of unexpressed hemopoietic potentials. We describe here a total of 50 mixed hemopoietic colonies. Seven types of colonies consisting of cells in two different lineages were seen--i.e., neutrophil-macrophage, neutrophil-eosinophil, macrophage-eosinophil, macrophage-mast cell, macrophage-megakaryocyte, macrophage-erythrocyte, and erythrocyte-megakaryocyte. Six types of colonies revealed three cell lineages--i.e., neutrophil-macrophage-eosinophil, neutrophil-macrophage-mast cell, neutrophil-macrophage-erythrocyte, macrophage-mast cell-erythrocyte, neutrophil-macrophage-megakaryocyte, and neutrophil-erythrocyte-megakaryocyte lineages. In addition, multilineage colonies expressing terminal differentiation in varying combinations of more than three lineages were present. Replating studies confirmed that the progenitors for many of these colonies are terminally committed to differentiation only in the lineages disclosed by staining. This study, thus, provides a proof for the single-cell origin of mouse hemopoietic colonies expressing various combinations of cell lineages. It also supports the hypothesis that the differentiation of multipotential hemopoietic progenitors is through progressive and stochastic restriction in cell lineages.

Animals↗

Control of pollen hydration in Brassica requires continued protein synthesis, and glycosylation in necessary for intraspecific incompatibility.

Pollen hydration and self-incompatibility (SI) in Brassica have been studied by using a combination of in vivo video-microscopy and experiments with metabolic inhibitors. Experiments with cycloheximide confirm earlier observations that pollen hydration is regulated through protein synthesis. No protein or glycoprotein has positively been identified with this event; however, it is unlikely that the total pool of any particular glycoprotein is involved, but rather a newly synthesized or otherwise activated fraction. Micromanipulation of pollen on the stigmatic papillae suggests that access to this hydration regulation system is limited to members of the Brassicaceae: pollen grains of other species-even those possessing dry stigmas-fail to hydrate. It is proposed that an interaction between enzymes of the stigma surface and the superficial layer of the pollen grain coating creates continuity between the content of the papillar wall and the grain protoplast. Inhibition of protein synthesis also overcomes SI, and since the advent of regulated hydration and synthesis of the so-called S-gene glycoproteins coincide with the acquisition of the SI system, there is strong circumstantial evidence that the same molecular species is involved in both processes. Experiments with tunicamycin, which prevents glycosylation of glycoproteins, indicate that the glycosyl groups of the S-gene glycoprotein are required for the operation of the SI system but not for the regulation of hydration. Further experiments suggest that pollen is positively inhibited on incompatible papillae but that this inhibition is biostatic. Recovery from the effects of the SI system appears to involve the metabolism of an inhibitor by the pollen. SI in Brassica thus emerges as a sophisticated process under dynamic control in both the female and male partners. The evolutionary advantages of such a system are discussed.

Journal Article↗

Coexpression of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, gamma interferon, and interleukins 3 and 4 is random in murine alloreactive T-lymphocyte clones.

Lymphokine gene expression was examined in a panel of 116 short-term murine T-lymphocyte clones derived by single-cell micromanipulation from allogeneic mixed leukocyte cultures. About 30% of clonable T cells, including both CD4+ CD8- and CD4- CD8+ cells, could be expanded for assay at an average of 22 days after cloning. By RNA blot-hybridization analysis, most clones (85-96%) expressed detectable granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interleukin 3, and gamma interferon mRNAs, and 11% expressed interleukin 4 mRNA. Although no differences were noted between CD4+ and CD8+ clones in the combinations of lymphokines produced, CD4+ clones on average transcribed and secreted higher levels. When the frequencies of coexpression of any pair of lymphokine mRNAs were determined, all were found to correspond to the values predicted for random assortment of the individual frequencies. For example, among 13 interleukin 4-positive clones, 11 also transcribed gamma interferon, giving the frequency of double-positive clones expected for random association (9.6% versus 10.8%). Therefore, expression of the four lymphokine genes segregated independently among the clones and did not allow the division of T cells into subsets with distinct patterns of lymphokine synthesis.

Animals↗

Simultaneous recordings of force and sliding movement between a myosin-coated glass microneedle and actin cables in vitro.

To elucidate the molecular mechanism of muscle contraction resulting from the ATP-dependent actin-myosin interaction, we constructed an assay system with which both the force and the movement produced by the actin-myosin interaction in vitro can be simultaneously recorded and analyzed. The assay system consisted of the giant internodal cells of an alga, Nitellopsis obtusa, which contain well-organized arrays of actin filaments (actin cables) running along the cell long axis, and a glass microneedle (tip diameter, approximately 7 microns; elastic coefficient, approximately 40 pN/microns), which was coated with skeletal muscle myosin at the tip and extended from a micromanipulator at right angles with the actin cables. When the myosin-coated tip of the microneedle was brought into contact with the exposed surface of the actin cables, it exhibited ATP-dependent movement along the actin cables over a distance of 20-150 microns in 20-200 s (20-23 degrees C) and eventually stopped due to a balance between forces generated by the actin-myosin interaction (800-6000 pN) and by the bent microneedle. Since the load on the force-generating myosin molecules increased with the bending displacement of the microneedle (auxotonic condition), the relation between the load and the sliding velocity of the myosin heads past the actin cables was determined from the time course of the microneedle movement recorded with a video system. The shape of the force-velocity curve thus obtained was convex upwards, similar to that of the force-velocity curve of intact frog muscle fibers obtained under the auxotonic condition.

Actins↗

Enumeration of lymphokine mRNA-containing cells in vivo in a murine graft-versus-host reaction using the PCR.

A method of enumerating lymphokine mRNA-containing cells in vivo was developed by combining limiting dilution analysis with PCR amplification of cDNA. Single-hit kinetics revealed that the PCR-limiting dilution analysis could detect a single positive cell among greater than 40,000 negative cells. With this method, spleens and lymph nodes of mice undergoing an acute allogeneic graft-versus-host reaction were found to contain lymphokine mRNA-expressing cells at frequencies of 3% for interferon gamma, 0.05% for granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor, 0.002% for interleukin 3, and 0.03% for interleukin 4; these frequencies were 20- to 175-fold higher than in lymphoid tissues of normal mice. In contrast to their low frequencies of lymphokine mRNA-containing cells in vivo, graft-versus-host reaction populations restimulated in vitro for 24 hr with anti-CD3 antibody yielded frequencies ranging from 3% for interleukin 4 to nearly 70% for interferon gamma. Furthermore, lymphokine transcripts were also detected in single micromanipulated cells from these populations. Because frequencies of anti-CD3-inducible lymphokine mRNA-containing cells in normal mice were only 0.03-1%, it was concluded that lymphoid tissues of graft-versus-host reaction mice contained high frequencies of cells that had been primed for lymphokine synthesis. Only a small fraction of these cells, however, expressed lymphokine mRNAs at a given time point in vivo.

Animals↗

Clonal proliferation of murine lymphohemopoietic progenitors in culture.

We have used a two-step clonal culture system to unequivocally demonstrate that individual primitive lymphohemopoietic progenitor cells have the capacity for differentiation along either the myeloid or the B-lymphoid lineage. Highly enriched murine marrow cells were plated individually in culture by micromanipulation in the presence of pokeweed mitogen-stimulated spleen cell conditioned medium, erythropoietin, steel factor (SF), and interleukin (IL) 7. Forty-five percent of the single cells formed primary colonies expressing multiple hemopoietic lineages. When aliquots from individual colonies were replated in secondary methyl cellulose culture containing SF and IL-7, 41% of the primary colonies gave rise to lymphocyte colonies. Cells of the lymphocyte colonies were blast-like and B220+, sIg-, Mac-1-, Gr-1-, Ly-1-, L3T4-, Ly-2-, and CD3-. Thirty to 70% of the cells were Thy-1+. mu-chain mRNA was detected in most of the cells by in situ hybridization with an antisense RNA probe. When lymphocyte colonies derived from a single cell were pooled and individually injected into scid mice, donor-type IgM was measurable in the serum of mice and spleens contained donor-type B cells. We then carried out initial screening of growth factors to identify growth factors that might replace pokeweed mitogen-stimulated spleen cell conditioned medium in the primary culture. Combinations of two factors that included SF plus IL-6, IL-11, or granulocyte colony-stimulating factor were all effective in the primary culture in the maintenance of the B-lymphoid potential. Interestingly, IL-3 could neither replace nor act synergistically with SF to support the lymphoid potential of the primary cultures. Our observations demonstrate that many primitive progenitors previously believed to be myeloid-committed also possess B-lymphoid potential. This culture system should prove valuable for elucidation of the mechanisms regulating early stages of lymphohemopoiesis.

Animals↗

A potentially critical Hpa II site of the X chromosome-linked PGK1 gene is unmethylated prior to the onset of meiosis of human oogenic cells.

Hpa II site H8 is in the CpG-rich 5' untranslated region of the human X chromosome-linked gene for phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1). It is the only Hpa II site in the CpG "island" whose methylation pattern is perfectly correlated with transcriptional silence of this gene. We measured DNA methylation at site H8 in fetal oogonia and oocytes and found, using a quantitative assay based on the polymerase chain reaction, that purified germ cells isolated by micromanipulation were unmethylated in 47-day to 110-day fetuses, whereas ovaries depleted of germ cells and non-ovary tissues were methylated. We conclude that site H8 is unmethylated in germ cells prior to the onset of meiosis and reactivation of the X chromosome.

Base Sequence↗