To solve the problem of immune incompatibility, nuclear transplantation has been envisaged as a means to produce cells or tissues for human autologous transplantation. Here we have derived embryonic stem cells by the ...To solve the problem of immune incompatibility, nuclear transplantation has been envisaged as a means to produce cells or tissues for human autologous transplantation. Here we have derived embryonic stem cells by the transfer of human somatic nuclei into rabbit oocytes. The number of blastocysts that developed from the fused nuclear transfer was comparable among nuclear donors at ages of 5, 42, 52 and 60 years, and nuclear transfer (NT) embryonic stem cells (ntES cells) were subsequently derived from each of the four age groups. These results suggest that human somatic nuclei can form ntES cells independent of the age of the donor. The derived ntES cells are human based on karyotype, isogenicity, in situ hybridization, PCR and immunocytochemistry with probes that distinguish between the various species. The ntES cells maintain the capability of sustained growth in an undifferentiated state, and form embryoid bodies, which, on further induction, give rise to cell types such as neuron and muscle, as well as mixed cell populations that express markers representative of all three germ layers. Thus, ntES cells derived from human somatic cells by NT to rabbit eggs retain phenotypes similar to those of conventional human ES cells, including the ability to undergo multilineage cellular differentiation.展开更多
One of the major causes of defective sperm function is oxidative stress, which not only disrupts the integrity of sperm DNA but also limits the fertilizing potential of these cells as a result of collateral damage to ...One of the major causes of defective sperm function is oxidative stress, which not only disrupts the integrity of sperm DNA but also limits the fertilizing potential of these cells as a result of collateral damage to proteins and lipids in the sperm plasma membrane. The origins of such oxidative stress appear to involve the sperm mitochondria, which have a tendency to generate high leve｜s of superoxide anion as a prelude to entering the intrinsic apoptotic cascade. Unfortunately, these cells have very little capacity to respond to such an attack because they only possess the first enzyme in the base excision repair （BER） pathway, 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 （OGG1）. The latter successfully creates an abasic site, but the spermatozoa cannot process the oxidative lesion further because they lack the downstream proteins （APE1, XRCC1） needed to complete the repair process. It is the responsibility of the oocyte to continue the BER pathway prior to initiation of S-phase of the first mitotic division. If a mistake is made by the oocyte at this stage of development, a mutation will be created that will be represented in every cell in the body. Such mechanisms may explain the increase in childhood cancers and other diseases observed in the offspring of males who have suffered oxidative stress in their germ line as a consequence of age, environmental or lifestyle factors. The high prevalence of oxidative DNA damage in the spermatozoa of male infertility patients may have implications for the health of children conceived in vitro and serves as a driver for current research into the origins of free radical generation in the germ line.展开更多
AIM: Hepatitis B is a worldwide public health problem. To explore the feasibility of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vertical transmission via oocytes, the presence and integration of HBV DNA in mouse oocytes were studied. ME...AIM: Hepatitis B is a worldwide public health problem. To explore the feasibility of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vertical transmission via oocytes, the presence and integration of HBV DNA in mouse oocytes were studied. METHODS: Genomic DNA was isolated and metaphases were prepared, respectively from mouse oocytes cocultured with pBR322-HBV DNA plasmids. PCR, Southern blot, dot hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed to explore the existence and integration of HBV DNA in oocytes.RESULTS: PCR detected positive bands in the tested samples, and then Southern blot revealed clear hybridization signals in PCR products. Final washing solutions were collected for dot hybridization and no signal for HBV DNA was observed, which excluded the possibility that contamination of washing solutions gave rise to positive results of PCR and Southern blot. FISH demonstrated that 36 of 1 000 metaphases presented positive signals. CONCLUSION: HBV DNA sequences are able to pass through the zona and oolemma to enter into oocytes and tointegrate into their chromosomes. HBV DNA sequences might be brought into embryo via oocytes as vectors when they are fertilized with normal spermatozoa.展开更多
Gynogenetic silver crucian carp, Carassius auratus gibelio, is an intriguing model system. In the present work, a systemic study has been initiated by introducing suppression subtractive hybridization technique into t...Gynogenetic silver crucian carp, Carassius auratus gibelio, is an intriguing model system. In the present work, a systemic study has been initiated by introducing suppression subtractive hybridization technique into this model system to identify the differentially expressed genes in oocytes between gynogenetic silver crucian carp and its closely related gonochoristic color crucian carp. Five differential cDNA fragments were identified from the preliminary screening, and two of them are ZP3 homologues. Moreover, the full length ZP3 cDNAs were cloned from their oocyte cDNA libraries. The length of ZP3 cDNAs were 1378 bp for gyno-carp and 1367 bp for gono-carp, and they can be translated into proteins with 435 amino acids. Obvious differences are not only in the composition of amino acids, but also in the number of potential O-linked oligosaccharide sites. In addition, gyno-carp ZP3 amino acid sequence has an unexpected higher identity value with common carp (83.5%) than that with the closely related gono-carp (74.7%). The unique homology may be originated from the ancient hybridization. Northern blot analysis confirmed that expression of the ZP3 gene occurred exclusively in the oocytes. Because O-linked oligosaccharides on ZP3 have been demonstrated to play very important roles in fertilization, it is suggested that the extra O-linked glycosylation sites may be related to the unique sperm-egg recognition mechanism in gynogenesis.展开更多
基金supported by grants from the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China(No.001CB5099)the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China(No.2001AA216121)+3 种基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.30040003)Projects of Shanghai Science&Technology Development Foundation(No.99DJ14002,00DJ14033,01DJ14003)the Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.KSCX-2-3-08)Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and by Shanghai Second Medical University
文摘To solve the problem of immune incompatibility, nuclear transplantation has been envisaged as a means to produce cells or tissues for human autologous transplantation. Here we have derived embryonic stem cells by the transfer of human somatic nuclei into rabbit oocytes. The number of blastocysts that developed from the fused nuclear transfer was comparable among nuclear donors at ages of 5, 42, 52 and 60 years, and nuclear transfer (NT) embryonic stem cells (ntES cells) were subsequently derived from each of the four age groups. These results suggest that human somatic nuclei can form ntES cells independent of the age of the donor. The derived ntES cells are human based on karyotype, isogenicity, in situ hybridization, PCR and immunocytochemistry with probes that distinguish between the various species. The ntES cells maintain the capability of sustained growth in an undifferentiated state, and form embryoid bodies, which, on further induction, give rise to cell types such as neuron and muscle, as well as mixed cell populations that express markers representative of all three germ layers. Thus, ntES cells derived from human somatic cells by NT to rabbit eggs retain phenotypes similar to those of conventional human ES cells, including the ability to undergo multilineage cellular differentiation.
文摘One of the major causes of defective sperm function is oxidative stress, which not only disrupts the integrity of sperm DNA but also limits the fertilizing potential of these cells as a result of collateral damage to proteins and lipids in the sperm plasma membrane. The origins of such oxidative stress appear to involve the sperm mitochondria, which have a tendency to generate high leve｜s of superoxide anion as a prelude to entering the intrinsic apoptotic cascade. Unfortunately, these cells have very little capacity to respond to such an attack because they only possess the first enzyme in the base excision repair （BER） pathway, 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 （OGG1）. The latter successfully creates an abasic site, but the spermatozoa cannot process the oxidative lesion further because they lack the downstream proteins （APE1, XRCC1） needed to complete the repair process. It is the responsibility of the oocyte to continue the BER pathway prior to initiation of S-phase of the first mitotic division. If a mistake is made by the oocyte at this stage of development, a mutation will be created that will be represented in every cell in the body. Such mechanisms may explain the increase in childhood cancers and other diseases observed in the offspring of males who have suffered oxidative stress in their germ line as a consequence of age, environmental or lifestyle factors. The high prevalence of oxidative DNA damage in the spermatozoa of male infertility patients may have implications for the health of children conceived in vitro and serves as a driver for current research into the origins of free radical generation in the germ line.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No. 39970374
文摘AIM: Hepatitis B is a worldwide public health problem. To explore the feasibility of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vertical transmission via oocytes, the presence and integration of HBV DNA in mouse oocytes were studied. METHODS: Genomic DNA was isolated and metaphases were prepared, respectively from mouse oocytes cocultured with pBR322-HBV DNA plasmids. PCR, Southern blot, dot hybridization and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed to explore the existence and integration of HBV DNA in oocytes.RESULTS: PCR detected positive bands in the tested samples, and then Southern blot revealed clear hybridization signals in PCR products. Final washing solutions were collected for dot hybridization and no signal for HBV DNA was observed, which excluded the possibility that contamination of washing solutions gave rise to positive results of PCR and Southern blot. FISH demonstrated that 36 of 1 000 metaphases presented positive signals. CONCLUSION: HBV DNA sequences are able to pass through the zona and oolemma to enter into oocytes and tointegrate into their chromosomes. HBV DNA sequences might be brought into embryo via oocytes as vectors when they are fertilized with normal spermatozoa.
文摘Gynogenetic silver crucian carp, Carassius auratus gibelio, is an intriguing model system. In the present work, a systemic study has been initiated by introducing suppression subtractive hybridization technique into this model system to identify the differentially expressed genes in oocytes between gynogenetic silver crucian carp and its closely related gonochoristic color crucian carp. Five differential cDNA fragments were identified from the preliminary screening, and two of them are ZP3 homologues. Moreover, the full length ZP3 cDNAs were cloned from their oocyte cDNA libraries. The length of ZP3 cDNAs were 1378 bp for gyno-carp and 1367 bp for gono-carp, and they can be translated into proteins with 435 amino acids. Obvious differences are not only in the composition of amino acids, but also in the number of potential O-linked oligosaccharide sites. In addition, gyno-carp ZP3 amino acid sequence has an unexpected higher identity value with common carp (83.5%) than that with the closely related gono-carp (74.7%). The unique homology may be originated from the ancient hybridization. Northern blot analysis confirmed that expression of the ZP3 gene occurred exclusively in the oocytes. Because O-linked oligosaccharides on ZP3 have been demonstrated to play very important roles in fertilization, it is suggested that the extra O-linked glycosylation sites may be related to the unique sperm-egg recognition mechanism in gynogenesis.
