Maturation of pig oocytes in vitro in a medium with pyruvate

The aim of in vitro maturation oocyte systems is to produce oocytes of comparable quality to those derived in vivo. The present study was designed to examine the surface morphological changes of the cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) and nuclear maturation in a culture system containing pyruvate. Ovaries were obtained from a slaughterhouseand transported to the laboratory within 2 h at 35-39°C,and rinsed three times in 0.9 percent NaCl. The COCs were harvested from the ovaries and in vitro maturation was evaluated in San Marcos (SM) medium, a chemically defined culture system containing 22.3 mM sodium pyruvate. Oocytes were cultured in SM, SM + porcine follicular fluid (pFF) and in SM + pFF + gonadotropins (eCG and hCG) for 20-22 h and then without hormonal supplements for an additional 20-22 h. After culture, the degree of cumulus expansion and frequency of nuclear maturation were determined. Oocytes matured in SM (40.9 percent) and SM + pFF (42.9 percent) showed moderate cumulus expansion, whereas oocytes matured in SM + pFF + gonadotropins (54.6 percent) showed high cumulus expansion. The maturation rate of cultured oocytes, measured in function of the presence of the polar corpuscle, did not differ significantly between SM (40.9 ± 3.6 percent) and SM + pFF (42.9 ± 3.7 percent). These results indicate that pig oocytes can be successfully matured in a chemically definedmedium and suggest a possible bifunctional role of pyruvate as an energy substrate and as an antioxidant protecting oocytes against the stress of the in vitro environment.

Anti-inflammatory activity of sodium pyruvate--a physiological antioxidant.

The anti-inflammatory activity of sodium pyruvate was evaluated in acute and chronic models of inflammation in rats. Oral administration of sodium pyruvate at three different dose levels of 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight significantly inhibited the carrageenan induced acute paw edema in a dose dependent manner. The effect of 500 mg/kg sodium pyruvate was comparable to that of 12.5 mg/kg of standard diclofence. In Freund's adjuvant arthritis model, oral administration of sodium pyruvate at the submaximal dose of 250 mg/kg once daily upto one week before Freund's adjuvant injection and immediately by the same route on the 7th day of adjuvant injection significantly reduced the edema at 18 hours after the challenge. The treatment was continued for 14 days thereafter in two divided doses of 125 mg/kg in the morning and 125 mg/kg in the evening. Sodium pyruvate showed significant anti-inflammatory activity at the 14th day (chronic phase) also. To conclude, sodium pyruvate exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in both the models of inflammation which could be attributed to its antioxidant properties.

Virus papiloma humano: oncogénesis y avances terapéuticos / Human papillomavirus: oncogenesis and therapeutic advances

Los virus Papiloma Humano (HPV), abarcan más de cien subtipos de virus distintos. De ellos, muchos están involucrados en diversas patologías epiteliales benignas y malignas de piel y mucosas, como por ejemplo, el Carcinoma Espinocelular, la enfermedad de Bowen y numerosos tumores de la mucosa genitoanal. Los mecanismos patogénicos involucrados en la tumorogénosis, están en pleno conocimiento. La interacción de las proteínas virales E6 y E7, con las proteínas humanas P53 y la proteína del gen del retenoblastoma, juegan un rol fundamental. Esta revisión pretende poner al día, en cuanto a las lesiones asociadas al HPV, sus mecanismos patogénicos, y las nuevas terapias en desarrollo