Pulmonary surfactant homeostasis associated genetic abnormalities and lung diseases / 中华医学遗传学杂志

Pulmonary surfactant (PS) is synthesized and secreted by alveolar epithelial type II (AEII) cells, which is a complex compound formed by proteins and lipids. Surfactant participates in a range of physiological processes such as reducing the surface tension, keeping the balance of alveolar fluid, maintaining normal alveolar morphology and conducting host defense. Genetic disorders of the surfactant homeostasis genes may result in lack of surfactant or cytotoxicity, and lead to multiple lung diseases in neonates, children and adults, including neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, interstitial pneumonia, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, and pulmonary fibrosis. This paper has provided a review for the functions and processes of pulmonary surfactant metabolism, as well as the connection between disorders of surfactant homeostasis genes and lung diseases.

Establishment of fibroblast cell line and its biological characteristics in Matou goat / 生物工程学报

Taking Matou goat ear margin as the study material, we succeeded in established a fibroblast cell line by the method of explant culture directly. Observations on morphology, dynamic growth, determination of viability, analysis of karyotype, test of microorganism and other characteristics were detected. Results showed: Population Doubling Time (PDT) of cells was approximately 36 h; Cell viability was 96.7% after thawing; The status of cell After passage was constant; Analysis of chromosomal karyotyps indicated that diploid (2n=60) account for 98% in the cell line. Every index in the cell line met all the standard quality controls of ATCC in USA. The established of Matou goat ear fibroblast cell line has not only important genetic resources preserved at the cell level, but also valuable material for genome, postgenome and somatic cell nuclear transfer research.

Effects of leptin supplementation in in vitro maturation medium on meiotic maturation of oocytes and preimplantation development of parthenogenetic and cloned embryos in pigs.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of leptin addition in in vitro maturation (IVM) medium on meiotic maturation of oocytes and preimplantation development of parthenogenetic and cloned embryos in pigs. In experiment 1, oocytes were matured in North Carolina State University 23 (NCSU-23) medium supplemented with various concentrations of leptin: 0, 1, 10 and 100 ng/ml. IVM medium added with 10 or 100 ng/ml leptin significantly increased the rate of oocytes reaching metaphase II compared to the control (76.8% and 73.8% versus 61.7%). In experiment 2, the influence of the timing of leptin addition in IVM medium on meiotic maturation of porcine oocytes was assessed, and maximum maturation rate of oocytes developing to metaphase II was achieved when supplemented during the first half (0-22 h), the latter half (22-44 h) or the entire maturation period (0-44 h) compared to the control (80.5%, 84.7% and 78.1% versus 70.4%). In experiment 3, leptin strikingly increased the blastocyst rate of parthenogenetic embryos at the concentration of 10 ng/ml (37.5% versus 21.7%) and this increase was independent of the addition timing (0-44, 0-22, 22-44 h) compared to the control (32.5%, 34.6% and 31.5% versus 16.2%). Moreover, total cell number per blastocyst of parthenogenetic embryos was obviously increased in the 10 and 100 ng/ml leptin treatments as compared with the control (36, 38 versus 28). In experiment 4, 10 ng/ml leptin treatment significantly increased the rate of cleavage (72% versus 56%) of cloned embryos. Meanwhile, the rate of blastocyst formation was also improved although no significant difference was found (12.8% versus 7.1%). Collectively, our results indicate that leptin supplementation in IVM medium may be beneficial not only for developmental potential of oocytes but for subsequent developmental competence of embryos produced by parthenogenetic activation and the cleavage of embryos derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).

Preparation of Microcells For Use in Production of Transchromosomic Animals / 生物化学与生物物理进展

Microcell mediated chromosome transfer (MMCT) is a challenging technique for introducing exogenous chromosomes into interested mammalian cells. Combined with the somatic cell nuclear transfer technique, MMCT has been employed for producing transchromosomic animals of medical and agricultural value. Producing high quality of microcells is a key step in the success of MMCT. Eamamined by fluorescin staining and Giemsa staining, 0.2 mg/L colcemid was considered suitable for inducing high percentage of micronuclei in A9 (neo12) cells, without causing death of a mass of cells. Microcells were produced by centrifugation of micronucleated A9 (neo12) cells in Percoll density gradient containing 20 mg/L Cytochalasin B at 39 000 g. The resulting mixture of microcells, whole cells, karyoplasts and cytoplast fragments was filtered through 8 μm and 5 μm size membrane pores sequentially to obtain pure preparation of microcells. Microcells were then characterized by Giemsa staining and microcell PCR was first applied for examination of the quality of microcell preparation. The result showed that microcells containing our interest chromosomes-human chromosome 12 were equally distributed in the preparation, the preparation was suitable for use in generation of transchromosomic animals.