[Embryo stage impact on the risk of ectopic pregnancy after In Vitro Fecondation]. / Impact du stade embryonnaire lors du transfert sur le risque de grossesse extra-utérine en Fécondation In Vitro.

OBJECTIVES: Ectopic pregnancies are still the first mortality cause of the first semestre of pregnancy. They are much more frequent in IVF (2-5%) than in the standard population (1-2%). The aim of this study was to compare the rate of ectopic pregnancies following a fresh embryo transfer done whether at an clived embryo stage (day 2 or 3 of the embryo development) or at a blastocyst stage (day 5 or 6 of the embryo development). METHODS: This is a monocentric retrospective study including all 18 to 43 year-old patients getting pregnant (ßHCG>100 UI/L) after a fresh embryo transfer from In Vitro Fecondation with or without Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, between January 1st 2014 and December 30th 2020 in the Hospital of Besançon (France). This population has been divided into 2 groups according to the embryo stage on the day of transfer. RESULTS: Nine hundred and twenty two patients have been included. There were statistically more ectopic pregnancies after a blastocyst transfer (n=4; 5.4%) than after a clived embryo transfer (n=14; 1.7%). (P=0.049) CONCLUSION: In our population, there were more ectopic pregnancies from blastocyst(s) transfers than from clived embryo(es).

Electron microscopy of frozen biological objects: a study using cryosectioning and cryosubstitution.

Freezing of bulk biological objects was investigated by X-ray cryodiffraction. Freezing at atmospheric pressure of most microscopic biological samples gives rise to large hexagonal crystals and leads to poor structural preservation of these specimens. High-pressure freezing induces the formation of different ices (hexagonal, cubic and a high-pressure form) consisting of crystals having sizes smaller than those formed at atmospheric pressure. With both freezing methods, a cryoprotectant has to be added to the biological object to avoid the formation of ice crystals. However, special cases can be encountered: some biological objects contain large amounts of natural cryoprotectant or have a low water content. In these cases, vitrification can be achieved, especially using high-pressure freezing. Cryo-sectioning can be performed on vitrified samples, and the sections studied by electron cryomicroscopy. Images and electron diffraction patterns having a resolution better than 2 and 0.2 nm, respectively, can be obtained with such sections. Because samples containing crystalline ices cannot be cryosectioned, their structure has to be studied using cryosubstitution and resin embedding. We show that bacteria, yeast, and ciliate and marine worm elytrum have cellular compartments with an organization that has not been described by classical techniques relying on chemical fixation of the tissues. A high-pressure artefact affecting the Paramecium trichocysts is described. Such artefacts are not general; for example, we show that 70% of high-pressure frozen yeast cells survive successive high-pressure freezing and thawing steps.

Two types of chloride cells in the gill epithelium of a freshwater-adapted euryhaline fish: Lebistes reticulatus; their modifications during adaptation to saltwater.

Two types of chloride cells were identified in the gill epithelium of freshwater-adapted guppies. One type, referred to as an "alpha-chloride cell," was a pale, elongated cell located at the base of the secondary lamella in close contact with the arterioarterial pillar capillaries. In its cytoplasm, membranous tubules in continuity with its basolateral plasma membrane formed an extended tridimensional network. The vesiculotubular system (Pisam: Anat. Rec. 200:401-414, 1981) consisted of a few tubules and vesicles located next to the apical plasma membrane. A second type, referred to as a "beta-chloride cell," was a darker, ovoid cell located in the interlamellar region of the primary epithelium facing the central venous sinus. Membranous tubules in continuity with the basolateral plasma membrane were unevenly distributed in the cytoplasm. A prominent vesiculotubular system composed of numerous vesicles and tubules was found between the Golgi apparatus and the apical surface. During seawater adaptation, the alpha-chloride cells increased in size and progressively transformed into characteristic "seawater alpha-chloride cells" with a well-developed, regular, tight tubular network and numerous vesicles and tubules of the vesiculotubular system accumulated below the apical pit. The beta-chloride cells underwent a progressive degeneration and disappeared. Thus, in freshwater-adapted guppies, there are two types of chloride cells, alpha and beta, respectively, related to the arterial and the venous vessels, whereas in seawater-adapted fishes, a single type of cell, the alpha-chloride cell, was related to both the arterial and venous channels.

Ultrastructural localization of concanavalin A-binding sites in the Golgi apparatus of various types of neurons in rat dorsal root ganglia: functional implications.

The localization of concanavalin A (con A) binding sites has been determined at the electron-microscopic level in the six types of neurons (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, C) of rat dorsal root ganglia. In all ganglion cells, con A stained the plasma membrane, the nuclear envelope, the cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum, and the matrix of some multivesicular bodies. In contrast, the con A reactivity of the Golgi apparatus varied according to cell type. In type B1 and B2 cells and possibly in type A3 cells, the lectin was exclusively located in three or four saccules on the cis side of the Golgi stacks, whereas the TPPase-positive saccules and the trans sacculotubular elements were unstained with con A. In type A1, A2, and C neurons, all Golgi saccules as well as the trans sacculotubular elements were stained with the lectin. These results suggest that different types of glycoproteins were produced in these two groups of neurons. In the type A1, A2, and C cells, the persistence of the lectin reactivity in the TTPase-positive saccules or sacculotubular elements on the trans side of the Golgi stacks suggests the presence of glycoproteins with oligosaccharide side chains rich in alpha-D-mannosyl residues in terminal positions. In contrast, the disappearance of the con A reactivity in equivalent elements of the Golgi stacks in type B1, B2, and A3 cells suggests the addition at this level of other sugar residues characteristic of complex oligosaccharide side chains. The majority of the vesicular elements associated with the Golgi apparatus, as well as lysosomes, were unstained with con A.