Mouse preantral follicle growth in 3D co-culture system using human menstrual blood mesenchymal stem cell.

Follicle culture provides a condition which can help investigators to evaluate various aspects of ovarian follicle growth and development and impact of different components and supplementations as well as presumably application of follicle culture approach in fertility preservation procedures. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs), particularly those isolated from menstrual blood has the potential to be used as a tool for improvement of fertility. In the current study, a 3D co-culture system with mice preantral follicles and human Menstrual Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MenSCs) using either collagen or alginate beads was designed to investigate whether this system allows better preantral follicles growth and development. Results showed that MenSCs increase the indices of follicular growth including survival rate, diameter, and antrum formation as well as the rate of in vitro maturation (IVM) in both collagen and alginates beads. Although statistically not significant, alginate was found to be superior in terms of supporting survival rate and antrum formation. Hormone assay demonstrated that the amount of secreted 17 ß-estradiol and progesterone in both 3D systems increased dramatically after 12 days, with the highest levels in system employing MenSCs. Data also demonstrated that relative expression of studied genes increased for Bmp15 and Gdf9 and decreased for Mater when follicles were cultured in the presence of MenSCs. Collectively, results of the present study showed that MenSCs could improve indices of follicular growth and maturation in vitro. Further studies are needed before a clinical application of MenSCs-induced IVM is considered.

Telomere Shortening in Blood Leukocytes of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by airflow limitation that is not completely reversible by administration of inhaled bronchodilators. Many studies propose that telomere length shortening might have occurred in COPD patients. We aimed to determine the telomere length in COPD patients and compare the results of non-smoking and smoking control subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In our case-control study, 84 clinically stable COPD patients were recruited on admission to Masih Daneshvari Hospital. Eighty-five healthy controls were also selected including 45 non-smokers and 40 smokers admitted for diseases other than COPD. Spirometry was done for all subjects. Telomere length was measured by quantitative real time PCR as described by Cawthon. The telomere repeat copy number (T) to single-gene copy number (S) ratio was calculated using the comparative Ct method. RESULTS: The mean ±SD of age was 64.33±10.04 years in patients and 65.06 ±10.02 years in controls (P=0.693). The mean ±SD of FEV1 was 1.62±0.75 L in patients, 2.84±0.54 L in smoker controls and 2.83±0.56 L in non-smoker controls; significant differences were detected in this regard between cases and controls (P<0.001). T/S ratio was significantly lower in COPD patients (0.61±0.08) than in the control subjects (0.69±0.09) (P<0.001). However, telomere length was shorter in the patients than in controls in each age group (P<0.001). Additionally, there were no statistically significant differences in telomere length between the smoker and non-smoker control subjects. Regarding the correlation between BMI and telomere length, there were no significant differences among the patients and control groups. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we found that telomere length in COPD patients was shorter than that in smoker and non-smoker controls, irrespective of age, sex, spirometric variables, BMI and history of cigarette smoking.

A randomized controlled trial of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist versus gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist in Iranian infertile couples: oocyte gene expression.

BACKGROUND: The main objective of the present work was to compare the effects of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) and GnRH antagonist (GnRH-ant) on the gene expression profiles of oocytes obtained from Iranian infertile couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHODS: Fifty infertile couples who underwent IVF between June 2012 and November 2013 at the Infertility Center of Tehran Women General Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, were included in this study. We included women that had undergone IVF treatment because of male factor, tubal factor, or unexplained infertility. The women randomly underwent controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with either the GnRH-a (n = 26) or the GnRH-ant (n = 24). We obtained 50 germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes donated by women in each group. After the sampling, pool of 50 GV oocytes for each group was separately analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). RESULT: The expression levels of Adenosine triphosphatase 6 (ATPase 6), Bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), and Neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) genes were significantly upregulated in the GnRH-ant group compared to the GnRH-a group, with the fold change of 3.990 (SD ± 1.325), 6.274 (SD ± 1.542), and 2.156 (SD ± 1.443), respectively, (P < 0.001). Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) mRNA did not have any expression in the GnRH-a group; however, GDF9 mRNA was expressed in the GnRH-ant group. Finally, it was found that the genes involved in the DNA repairing and cell cycle checkpoint did not have any expression in either group. CONCLUSION: The present study showed, for the first time, the expression levels of genes involved in the cytoplasmic maturity (BMP15, GDF9), adenosine triphosphate production (ATPase 6), and antiapoptotic process (NAIP), in human GV oocytes were significantly higher in the GnRH-anta group than in the GnRH-a group in COS. Higher expression level of these genes when GnRH-ant protocol is applied, this protocol seems to be a more appropriate choice for women with poly cystic ovarian syndrome, because it can probably improve the expression of the aforementioned genes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials: IRCT 2014031112307 N3.