Abstract. The objective of this study was to examine whether high concentrations of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and/or insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) would have a beneficial effect on bovine embryo development in vitro and to obtain normal calves by using an ovum pick up method and embryo culture in a chemically defined medium. When compared with controls, EGF (100 or 200 ng/ml) or IGF-I (50 or 100 ng/ml) significantly increased the rate of embryos that developed into blastocysts during an 8-day culture after the in vitro fertilization of oocytes obtained from ovaries from a slaughterhouse. IGF-I induced a dose-dependent increase in cell number in both the inner cell mass and the trophectoderm, whereas EGF stimulated proliferation only in the inner cell mass. A combination of EGF (100 ng/ml) and IGF-I (50 ng/ml) produced an additive effect, and embryos developed into blastocysts at a comparatively high rate (27.9%) compared with controls (12.0%). A similar rate of development was achieved using a combination of EGF and IGF-I in the culture of embryos following ovum pick up by ultrasound-guided transvaginal follicular aspiration and in vitro fertilization, and 5 blastocysts that developed after the culture were transferred into uteri; two embryos implanted, and normal calves were born. These results suggest that the combined use of EGF and IGF-I makes bovine embryo culture in a chemically defined medium a practical and useful procedure for producing blastocysts, and its application to embryo culture following ovum pick up and in vitro fertilization could be useful for producing normal calves. Key words: Bovine embryo, Chemically defined medium, Epidermal growth factor (EGF), Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), Ovum pick up (OPU) (J. Reprod. Dev. 58: [140][141][142][143][144][145][146] 2012) R ecently, a number of calves have been produced by the ovum pick up (OPU) method and in vitro culture (IVC) systems. Since the OPU method can be repeatedly applied to the same cow and can be used in pregnant [1] or problem cows in which embryos have not been obtained by uterine flushing after artificial insemination [2], this technology is effective for facilitating the improvement of domestic animals.An IVC system is necessary for the OPU method. Since successful pregnancy by transfer of embryos following the OPU method and in vitro fertilization has been confirmed [3], different protocols and medium conditions for oocyte maturation and embryo development have been tested [4][5][6][7]. However, there are some problems associated with the IVC system, such as a skewed sex ratio [8,9] or large offspring syndrome [10,11]. It has been suggested that factors in the culture medium such as serum used for embryo development may be involved in these problems. Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is widely employed as a supplement in the media used for culturing in vitro fertilized bovine embryos, but the subsequent rate of development of the fertilized oocytes to the blastocyst stage is known to vary among serum lots. There is thus a...
A 33-year-old woman experienced near-syncope at a hospital. Electrocardiography revealed an intermittent ventricular rhythm. The echocardiogram at admission indicated mild hypokinesis and severe diffuse hypokinesis with reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy on the following day. The patient experienced abdominal pain on the admission day, and computed tomography identified a large left adrenal mass. Her catecholamine levels increased remarkably on the third day. The wall motion improved on the twelfth day. The tumor was successfully resected and the patient was diagnosed with an ectopic pheochromocytoma. The ventricular rhythm with myocardial damage and hypotension induced by the reverse takotsubo cardiomyopathy masked the characteristic symptoms of pheochromocytoma.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea-hypopnea Syndrome Patients with Overweight andHypertension in a Japanese Workplace: Ken OKABAYASHI, et al. JR East Health Promotion Center, East Japan Railway Company-The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and overweight combined with hypertension and to examine whether OSAHS in conjunction with overweight and hypertension is associated with daytime sleepiness. In a Japanese workplace of 28,636 employees, 368 men (19-62 yr old), who were anxious regarding their OSAHS symptoms, underwent home pulse oximetry. Of these, 153 men subsequently underwent all-night polysomnography (PSG), and OSAHS was diagnosed in 149. We next classified these 149 men into the following groups:, and D [Overweight (+)/ Hypertension (+), n=47]. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used to evaluate daytime sleepiness and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was used to evaluate the severity of OSAHS. The averages of the ESS score and the AHI were compared in each group. Both the average ESS scores and the percentage of ESS scores ≥11 were not significantly different among the groups. The average AHI of group D was the highest among all of the groups and that of group C was significantly higher than those of groups A and B. In all the groups, the OSAHS patients with overweight and hypertension in this study had the highest AHI. The level of daytime sleepiness evaluated by the ESS in this study was almost the same in the OSAHS patients regardless of the degree of overweight or hypertension. These observations suggest that it is necessary to positively recommend PSG to men who are suspected of having OSAHS with overweight and hypertension, even if they do not have daytime sleepiness. Accumulating evidence has suggested that obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is not only a phenomenon of the cessation of breathing during sleep but also the cause of sleepiness during the day and various other physical disorders [1][2][3] . Moreover, neurocognitive sequelae, such as daytime sleepiness and impaired executive function, are important factors implicated in motor vehicle accidents and probably contribute to the loss of work-related productivity 4) . The true prevalence of OSAHS in Japan has not been established. A community-based study of sleep apnea in middle-aged Chinese men (30-60 yr old) residing in Hong Kong used full polysomnography (PSG) and demonstrated an estimated 4.1% prevalence of OSAHS 5) . Most population-based studies that have estimated the sexspecific prevalence indicate a greater risk of OSAHS in men than in women 6) . Thus, OSAHS is common in adult males and remains an important public health problem. However, many people with OSAHS remain undiagnosed and untreated because the symptoms of OSAHS, such as snoring and cessation of breathing, are not necessarily
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.