Search results for "Andrology"

Pre-imaginal conditioning alters adult sex pheromone response in Drosophila

2018

https://peerj.com/articles/5585/#supplemental-information; International audience; Pheromones are chemical signals that induce innate responses in individuals of the same species that may vary with physiological and developmental state. In Drosophila melanogaster, the most intensively studied pheromone is 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA), which is synthezised in the male ejaculatory bulb and is transferred to the female during copulation. Among other effects, cVA inhibits male courtship of mated females. We found that male courtship inhibition depends on the amount of cVA and this effect is reduced in male flies derived from eggs covered with low to zero levels of cVA. This effect is not obser…

2017

Neuronal degeneration following traumatic brain injury (TBI) leads to intracellular accumulation of dysfunctional proteins and organelles. Autophagy may serve to facilitate degradation to overcome protein debris load and therefore be an important pro-survival factor. On the contrary, clearing may serve as pro-death factor by removal of essential or required proteins involved in pro-survival cascades. Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1/p62) is a main regulator of the autophagic pathway that directs ubiquinated cargoes to autophagosomes for degradation. We show that SQSTM1 protein levels are suppressed 24 h and by trend 5 days after trauma. In line with these data the expression of Sqstm1 mRNA is reduced…

Activin and inhibin A in predicting outcome of pregnancies of unknown location after ART

2018

Abstract The aim was to investigate the predictive value of a single serum determination of activin A and inhibin A for classifying pregnancies of unknown location (PUL) after IVF cycles in both own fresh and donated oocytes. A case–control study conducted in a University-affiliated IVF center. Pregnancy outcomes after own fresh oocytes included 12 failing PUL, 12 ectopic pregnancies (EP) and a control group of 24 singleton intrauterine pregnancies (IUP). The same scheme was followed for the oocyte donation recipients. Inhibin A, activin A, β-hCG and Progesterone (P) were determined. In the own fresh oocytes IVF, the AUC for predicting EP vs. f failing PUL were: Activin A: 0.458 and Inhibin…

Micro-RNA profile and proteins in peritoneal fluid from women with endometriosis: their relationship with sterility.

2018

Objective: To define the microRNA (miRNA) profile and its relationship with cytokines content in peritoneal fluid (PF) from endometriosis patients. Design: Case-control study. Setting: University hospital, research institute. Patient(s): One hundred twenty-six women with endometriosis (EPF) and 45 control women (CPF). Main Outcomes Measure(s): MiRNA arrays were prepared from six EPF and six CPF. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction validation of nine selected miRNAs (miR-29c-3p, -106b-3p, -130a-3p, -150-5p, -185-5p, -195-5p, -451a, -486-5p, and -1343-5p) was performed. Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), urokinase plasminogen acti…

Embryo multinucleation at the two-cell stage is an independent predictor of intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes.

2016

Objective To determine the prognostic impact of the nuclear status at the two-cell stage on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes. Design Retrospective study. Setting Hospital. Patient(s) Only ICSI cycles with time-lapse monitoring of transferred embryos with known implantation/delivery data from November 2012 to December 2014 were included. A total of 2,449 embryos were assessed for multinucleation rates at the two- and four-cell stage, and 608 transferred embryos were studied for ICSI outcomes. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Implantation rate (IR) and live birth rate (LBR) according to the number of multinucleated blastomeres at the two-cell stage: none (Without-…

Effect of oocyte vitrification on embryo quality: time-lapse analysis and morphokinetic evaluation.

2017

To analyze whether oocyte vitrification may affect subsequent embryo development from a morphokinetic standpoint by means of time-lapse imaging.Observational cohort study.University-affiliated private IVF center.Ovum donation cycles conducted with the use of vitrified (n = 631 cycles; n = 3,794 embryos) or fresh oocytes (n = 1,359 cycles; n = 9,935 embryos) over 2 years.None.Embryo development was analyzed in a time-lapse imaging incubator. The studied variables included time to 2 cells (t2), 3 cells (t3), 4 cells (t4), 5 cells (t5), morula (tM), and cavitated, early, and hatching blastocyst (tB, tEB, tHB) as well as 2nd cell cycle duration (cc2 = t3 - t2). All of the embryos were classifie…

Analysis of the morphological dynamics of blastocysts after vitrification/warming: defining new predictive variables of implantation

2017

Objective To describe the morphological dynamics of vitrified/warmed blastocysts and to identify quantitative morphological variables related to implantation. Subsequently, by using the most predictive parameters, to develop a hierarchical model by subdividing vitrified/warmed blastocysts into categories with different implantation potentials. Design Observational, retrospective, cohort study. Setting University-affiliated private IVF center. Patient(s) The study included 429 vitrified/warmed blastocysts with known implantation data, which were evaluated by time-lapse imaging. Blastocysts were routinely placed in EmbryoScope (Vitrolife) immediately after warming until transfer. Intervention…

Morphokinetic analysis and embryonic prediction for blastocyst formation through an integrated time-lapse system.

2015

Objective To describe the events associated with the blastocyst formation and implantation that occur in embryos during preimplantation development based on the largest sample size ever described with time-lapse monitoring. Design Observational, retrospective, single-center clinical study. Setting University-affiliated private IVF center. Patient(s) A total of 7,483 zygotes from 990 first treatments of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI; 627 of oocyte donor vs. 363 autologous oocyte cycles), of which 832 blastocysts were transferred. Intervention(s) No patient intervention. Embryos were cultured in a time-lapse monitoring system, and the embryos were transferred on day 5 after ICSI. Emb…

Theory about the Embryo Cryo‐Treatment

2017

Background To create hypothesis, which can give a logical explanation related to the benefits of freezing/thawing embryos. Cryopreservation is not only a technology used for storing embryos, but also a method of embryo treatment that can potentially improve the success rate in infertile couples. Methods From the analysis of multiple results in assisted reproductive technology, which have no satisfactory explanation to date, we found evidence to support a ‘therapeutic’ effect of the freezing/thawing of embryos on the process of recovery of the embryo and its subsequent implantation. Results Freezing/thawing is a way to activate the endogenous survival and repair responses in preimplantation …

Interactive effects of increased temperature and gadolinium pollution in Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos: a climate change perspective

2021

Gradual ocean warming and marine heatwaves represent major threats for marine organisms already facing other anthropogenic-derived hazards, such as chemical contamination in coastal areas. In this study, the combined effects of thermal stress and exposure to gadolinium (Gd), a metal used as a contrasting agent in medical imaging which enters the aquatic environment, were investigated in the embryos and larvae of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Embryos were exposed to six treatments of three temperatures (18 °C, 21 °C, 24 °C) and two Gd concentrations (control: 0 μM; treated: 20 μM). With respect to developmental progression, increased temperature accelerated development and achievemen…