Zeitschriftenartikel zum Thema „Ovum Physiology“

It is well known that the mammalian uterine tube (UT) plays a crucial role in female fertility, where the most important events leading to successful fertilization and pre-implantation embryo development occur. The known functions of these small intra-abdominal organs are: an uptake and transport of oocytes; storage, transportation, and capacitation of spermatozoa, and finally fertilization and transport of the fertilized ovum and early embryo through the isthmus towards the uterotubal junction. The success of all these events depends on the interaction between the uterine tube epithelium (UTE) and gametes/embryo. Besides that, contemporary research revealed that the tubal epithelium provides essential nutritional support and the most suitable environment for early embryo development. Moreover, recent discoveries in molecular biology help understand the role of the epithelium at the cellular and molecular levels, highlighting the factors involved in regulating the UT signaling, that affects different steps in the fertilization process. According to the latest research, the extracellular vesicles, as a major component of tubal secretion, mediate the interaction between gametes/embryo and epithelium. This review aims to provide up-to-date knowledge on various aspects concerning tubal epithelium activity and its cross-talk with spermatozoa, oocytes and preimplantation embryo and how these interactions affect fertilization and early embryo development.

An in situ preparation for the combined vascular and luminal perfusion of the rabbit oviduct has been developed. Medium 199, gassed with 5% CO2 in O2 and supplemented with heparin, antibiotics, and 2.5% wt/vol dialyzed bovine serum albumin was infused into the ovarian artery at a rate of 1 ml/min. Krebs Ringer bicarbonate medium was recirculated through the lumen at a rate of 50 microliter/min. The ovary was perfused together with the oviduct, and the preparation is viable for up to 3 h. Equal concentrations of pyruvate, lactate, glucose, and sucrose added to the vascular medium were transported at different rates into the lumen, as was a physiological mixture of amino acids. A proportion of the lactate entering the lumen was synthesized within the oviduct from vascular glucose. When glucose and pyruvate were omitted from the vascular medium, their appearance and that of lactate in the lumen was barely detectable, suggesting that these oviduct fluid components are mainly derived from the blood. The oviduct maintained a steady transmural potential difference of 5.9 mV (lumen negative). With vascular perfusion alone, oviduct fluid entered the oviduct lumen at a rate of 16.8 microliter/h. In oviducts taken from rabbits 3 days postovulation, there was a general decrease in the vascular to lumen flux of all nutrients measured. Preliminary work has shown that the preparation may be used to study ovulation, ovum pickup and transport, and fertilization.

The study was conducted to characterize the follicular dynamics of purebred Boran (Bos indicus) and Boran * Holstein Friesian crossbred heifers during estrous cycles; for use in ovum pick up and in-vitro embryo production. Insight of reproductive physiology of cattle would help to understand and exploit the reproductive potential of elite animals for breed improvement. Follicular development, growth and atresia during estrous cycles were evaluated using a trans-rectal real-time B-mode ultrasound system for three consecutive estrus cycles. Luteal activity was evaluated by serum progesterone level. Follicular aspirations were done to investigate the potential of Boran cattle and their crosses for transvaginal oocyte production; using a vacuum pressure pump and Aloka SSD Prosound-2 ultrasound device. Boran heifers (n=15) manifested two (n = 6, 40%), three (n = 5, 33%), four (n= 3, 20%) and five (n=1, 6.7%) follicular waves. Crossbred heifers (n=14) showed one (n= 2, 14%), two (n= 6, 43%) and three (n= 6, 43%) follicular waves. Interovulatory interval was 21.1 ± 3.4 and 21.4 ± 2.7 days for Boran (n=45) and crossbred (n=42) heifers, respectively. The progesterone level in Boran and Crossbred heifers during diestrus was 9.5 ± 11.0 and 4.6 ± 8.8 ng/ml, respectively. The maximum diameter of the ovulatory follicle for crossbred heifers was higher (15.4 ± 1.6 mm) than the diameter of the Boran (14.0 ± 1.9 mm) heifers (p<0.005). Differences (p<0.005) were observed in the size of both right (26.6 ± 5.14 and 28.6 ± 5.1 mm) and left (21.7 ± 4.85 and 24.1 ± 5.07 mm) ovaries of Boran and Crossbred heifers, respectively. Difference (p<0.005) was also observed in follicular count of the right ovaries of Boran (4.84 ± 1.96) and Crossbred (5.13 ± 2.05) heifers. Oocyte recovery rate in once weekly collection scheme for Boran and their crossbred heifers was (n=19, 42.08%) and (n=17, 42.55%), respectively. The recovery rate for twice weekly collection scheme was (n=24, 34.53%) and (n=23, 40.44%) for Boran and crossbred heifers, respectively. Follicular dynamics in Boran heifers is characterized by a higher incidence of cycles with two, three and four waves, associated with a low persistence of the dominant follicles; and smaller size of ovulatory follicles and less intense heat signs from their crossbred counterpart. Boran heifers proved to have potential for comparable number of follicular population and ease of aspiration procedures that can be tapped for advancedreproductive techniques.
 Keywords: Estrus cycle; follicular wave; ovarian follicle; ovum pickup; ultrasound.

It has been known for more than a decade that in many mammalian species including man, spermatozoa once shed from the testis are immature, immotile and incapable of fertilizing the ovum. During their transit through the epididymis, they undergo various morphological and functional changes that confer on them the ability to ascend the female tract, to undergo an acrosome reaction, to penetrate the zona pellucida and to effect a successful fertilization. By the time spermatozoa have reached the cauda epididymidis, they are held in a quiescent state by factors in the epididymal fluid. The epididymis plays a vital role by creating a favourable fluid environment for sperm maturation and storage. The exact mechanisms underlying sperm maturation and storage are unclear and it appears that no single epididymal factor is held entirely responsible. In contrast, spermatozoa are directly bathed in the epididymal fluid; the fluidity of the microenvironmental has a direct effect on epididymal spermatozoa. The epididymal epithelium has been shown to transport electrolytes and water by processes involving ion pumps, ion carriers and ion channels. These components are under nervous, hormonal and paracrine control and are susceptible to interference by pharmacological agents. This paper reviews the physiology of electrolytes and fluid transport in the epididymis and describes how abnormal fluid transport across the epididymal duct could predispose towards epididymal obstruction, a condition that may occur in cystic fibrosis, Young's syndrome or other unexplained cases of male infertility.

Ayurveda the science of medicine deals with the aim of Swastha Sharir. The Rachna Sharir is the ayurveda term which mainly deals with the anatomical and physiological compositions of body. Sushrut samhita is one of those Ayurvedic classic which deals with human anatomy and physiology. It gives precise description of Garbha vruddhi and vikas kram in detail. The knowledge of Sharir starts from Garbha. The understanding of Garbha helps to manage healthy progeny. According to Ayurveda, the union of shukra (spermatozoa), shonita (ovum) and Atma (soul) inside the uterus is known as garbha (embryo). The fertilization between Shukra and Shonita produces zygote which further develops into fetus. The Ritu, Kshetra and Ambu etc. plays vital role in the proper development of fetus.. Different components originating fromFive Elements takes part in the formation, development of the garbha. The whole process of development of the foetus from two cells to mature foetus is called Garbhavakranti. Itincludes the basis of the earliest embryology which was known to the human being. In Ayurvedic texts the process of chronological development of the foetus is explained clearly. The understanding of Garbha developmenthelps to acquire necessary conditions which required for the better management of pregnancy. Extensive study and discussion is essential to understand ancient concept of Garbha vikas kram. Review of Ayurvedic text along with modern text will help to obtain knowledge regarding this. This study is an attempt to elaborate and compare both ancient and modern concept of foetal development. Keywords: Shukra, Shonit, Garbha, Garbhavakranti, Garbha vikas kram.

Abstract Investigation of cellular responses to thermal heat stress can lead to identifying novel targets of intervention to tackle the increasing fertility decline due to climate change-associated seasonal heat stress. We aimed to study the response of granulosa cells to seasonal thermal stress. Dry beef cows (n=11) were kept together during the study and subjected to synchronization and stimulation for follicular dynamics. Ovum pick-up (OPU) was conducted on all animals in the winter and summer. Once OPU-fluid settled, cumulus-oocyte-complexes (COCs) and granulosa cells were isolated form the OPU fluid and stored in a -80 freezer after snap freezing. In addition, blood samples and rectal temperature data were collected on each OPU. Environmental data were collected daily three weeks before each OPU using the Florida Automated Weather Network. Data was analyzed using the Glimmix procedure of SAS. Data are presented as mean ± standard error of the mean. RNA was extracted from five pools of granulosa cells followed by library preparation and sequencing (NovaSeq; Illumina). As expected, environmental conditions were contrasting: average air temperature (11.5°C vs. 27.5°C), average max air temperature (16.9°C vs. 33.7°C), relative humidity (83.5% vs. 82.3%), and temperature-humidity index (53.39 vs. 79.16) for winter and summer, respectively. Average rectal temperature was higher (P = 0.03) in summer (39.2 ± 0.2°C) than winter (38.8 ± 0.2°C). Of the total differentially expressed genes, granulosa cells during summer showed up and down regulation of 971 and 1038 transcripts, respectively compared to the winter season (Fold Change ≤ -2 or ≥ 2 and FDR p-value ≤ 0.05). Those upregulated transcripts are found to be involved in cell cycle and division, regulation of cell death, steroid biosynthesis, progesterone mediated oocyte maturation and oocyte meiosis pathways. In conclusion, exposure of cows to thermal stress can induce significant alteration in transcriptome of granulosa cells which may have negative impact on follicular physiology.

Alpacas as other camelids are induced ovulators and require an external stimulus-mounting by the male-for ovulation. NGF-β, protein present in the seminal plasma (SP) is reported as being responsible for stimulating ovulation. However, limited information exists on the effect of ovulation inducers in the new follicular wave emergence with application on protocols of superstimulation. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of two ovulation induced techniques and two different times on the interval to application of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) for the ovarian superstimulation for the recovery of COCs by ovum pick- up (OPU). Alpacas were evaluated by transrectal ultrasonography with an Aloka SSD 500 ultrasound and transducer (7.5MHz) to determine the presence of a dominant follicle=7mm. A 2×2 experimental design was used with adult female alpacas, 6 to 8 years old, which were assigned to one of the treatments when a dominant follicle=7mm was present. Alpacas were assigned randomly 1 of 2 groups (Day 0) in which follicular ovulation was induced by seminal plasma 1mL IM (SP, n=13; group 1) with application of 650IU of eCG at 36h (n=6) or 48h (n=7) post-application of SP, or by GnRH with 0.008mg of Buserelin IM (GnRH, n=10; group 2) with application of 650IU eCG at 36h (n=5) or 48h (n=5) post-application of GnRH. On Day 7, COCs were counted and the OPU procedure was performed in every group. Data were analysed using ANOVA. Results are presented in Table 1. In conclusion, both inducers of ovulation and both times of application of eCG were effective for producing follicles of 7mm and COCs acceptable for recovery in Alpacas. Table 1.Number of follicles=7mm (top) and number of COCs recovered (mean±s.e.m.) Outcome and group 36 h 48 h Total Follicles GnRH 6.8±1.93 13.4±4.34 10.10±2.50a SP 5.5±2.23 5.29±1.15 5.38±1.25b Total 6.09±1.44 8.67±2.18 7.43±1.33 COCs GnRH 5±0.97 3±1.26 4.33±0.74a SP 1±0.41 0.33±0.22 0.67±0.25b Total 3.29±0.67x 1.4±0.6y 2.5±0.53 a,bValues within columns with different letters differ significantly (P=0.05). x,yValues within columns with different letters differ significantly (P=0.05). This research funded by CIENCIACTIVA-CONCYTEC as part of the project title “Role of seminal plasma in reproductive physiology and application of biotechnologies in camelids” (149-2017).

The Zebu breeds (Bos indicus) are different from European breeds (Bos taurus) in some aspects of their reproductive physiology, including follicle recruitment, number of follicular waves, and oocyte ultrastructure. On the other hand, embryos produced in vivo and in vitro show morphological and developmental differences, which can be related to culture environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of breed (Gyr v. Holstein) within embryo production system (in vivo and in vitro), as well as effect of production systems within breeds on relative abundance of transcripts related to formation, survival, and subsequent development of blastocysts, such as those involved in water and small solutes transport (Aquaporins 3 and 11), blastocoel formation (Na+/K+-ATPase a1 and |52), and cellular stress response (Peroxiredoxin 1). For in vivo embryo production, donors were superstimulated with FSH and inseminated, and embryos were recovered 7 days after AI. For in vitro embryo production, oocytes recovered by ovum pickup were in vitro matured and fertilized and then cultured for 7 days in culture medium under 5% CO2 at 38.5°C. For each group, blastocysts (n = 15) distributed in 3 pools were used for RNA extraction (RNeasy MicroKit, Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA), followed by RNA amplification (Messageamp II amplification kit, Ambion-Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA) and reverse transcription (SuperScript III First-Stand Synthesis Supermix, Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA). The cDNA were submitted to real-time PCR, using the H2a gene as endogenous control, and analyzed by REST© software. To evaluate breed effect within the production systems, 2 comparisons were performed: (1) in vivo: Gyr v. Holstein and (2) in vitro: Gyr v. Holstein, considering Holstein data as 1.00. To evaluate production system effect within breeds, 2 comparisons were performed: (1) Gyr: in vivo v. in vitro and (2) Holstein: in vivo v. in vitro, considering in vivo produced embryo data as 1.00. The results are shown as mean ± SEM. For in vivo comparison between breeds, Aquaporin 3 (1.66 ± 0.77), Na+/K+-ATPase a1 (1.61 ± 0.56), and Peroxiredoxin 1 (1.61 ± 0.66) were up-regulated (P < 0.05) in Gyr embryos when compared with Holstein embryos, whereas for in vitro comparison, no differences (P > 0.05) were found. For comparisons between production systems within breeds, only Peroxiredoxin 1 (0.31 ± 0.39) was down-regulated (P < 0.01) in in vitro produced Gyr embryos when compared with in vivo counterparts. No differences (P > 0.05) were found between production systems for the Holstein breed. In conclusion, these data suggest that there is a difference on gene expression between Bos taurus and Bos indicus blastocysts, but such difference between breeds can be attenuated by the in vitro production system, indicating an embryo adaptation to the in vitro culture conditions. The data also suggest that the in vitro production system can influence the amount of transcripts in Gyr embryos. Other genes should be evaluated for a better understanding of these differences. Financial support was provided by CNPq and FAPEMIG.

Farm animals, an important component of agriculture in Asia and other countries of the world plays a pivotal role in agricultural economy in the form of meat, milk and drought power. This important animal resource needs to be genetically improved owing to considerable dependence of the state economy, food chain as well as the farmer’s security upon them. The limitation to genetic improvement imposed by inherent biological factors can be overcome by the use of reproductive bio-techniques which aim to manipulate reproduction - related events and/or structures to achieve pregnancy with the final aim of producing healthy offspring in the females. Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) manipulate structures and/or events related to ovulation, fertilization and embryo transfer. It corners around manipulation of female/male reproductive tract physiology, biochemistry, health and thereby longevity. Recently developed bio-techniques used for improving reproductive efficiency of farm animals include artificial insemination, gamete and embryo freezing, multiple ovulation and embryo transfer technologies, in vitro embryo production, ovum pick-up, cloning by nuclear transfer (NT) of embryonic and somatic cells, stem cell biology and transgenics. Use of these techniques could enable scientists and researchers to understand and overcome the key issues responsible for limiting full utilization of buffalo to improve the economy.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the advanced and miraculous process by which the egg is fertilized by the sperm outside the body or a coined as the In-vitro. The advanced clinical treatment for the In-vitro fertilization (IVF) infertility when previously; other methods of assisted reproductive technology had been failed. The first successful birth of the "test tube baby" name was, Louise Brown, was born in 25 July, 1978 in London as the result of the natural cycle In-vitro fertilization (IVF). Robert G. Edwards, the physiologist who was developed the treatment, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology Medicine in 2010. This procedure involves also monitoring and stimulating of woman's ovulatory process to remove the ovum or ova from the woman's ovaries and to let the sperms fertilize those eggs in artificial fluid medium in a laboratory. The fertilized egg or zygote is cultured for 2–6 days in an artificial growth medium and then, it is transferred to the mother's uterus with the intention of the establishing a successful pregnancy as to have the obvious benefit of boosting the odds of getting the pregnant. Especially, in the stressful and unhealthy urban life style In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is very helpful for women with blocked fallopian tubes or for men with have low sperm count and it led to conceiving of babies and in turn, their births with successful as well as expecting of survival rate which are the coined with a colloquial term "test tube babies."

Background: The fallopian tube functions as an anatomic and physiologic link between the ovary and the uterus in reproduction by ensuring efcient and orderly ovum transport and providing a proper environment in which fertilization occurs. Not much studies has been done about the lesions of fallopian tube and its relation to the lesions of uterus and ovaries Objectives: To study the various histopathological lesions of uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes. To correlate the possible relation of the lesions in the uterus and the ovaries to the changes in the fallopian tubes. Materials And Methods: This study was carried out in the department of Pathology, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, Manipur, India . A total of 80(Eighty) specimens of total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingoophorectomy from patients who underwent surgery in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital were obtained for study for a duration of 2 years starting from May 2015 to April 2017. Majority of cases were with a clinical Results: diagnosis of uterine broid followed by chronic cervicitis and DUB. The incidence of tubal lesion was 18.75% and tubes with normal ndings comprised 88.75%. It is well appreciated that the Conclusion conditions involving the fallopian tube are frequently non neoplastic pathologic conditions like ectopic pregnancy, acute and chronic salpingitis in contrast to the neoplastic conditions.