ER stress disrupts MFN2-related mitophagy via HRD1-PINK1/ parkin axis in bovine embryos.

The endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria are interconnected through the MAM structure, and mitochondrial fusion protein 2 (MFN2) is a key regulatory factor. In this study, tunicamycin (TM) was used to induce endoplasmic reticulum stress in bovine embryos to explore its effects on MFN2 expression, mitochondrial function and mitochondrial autophagy. The results showed that TM treatment significantly reduced the blastocyst rate and proliferation capacity of embryos, inhibited the expression of pluripotency genes (SOX2, CDX2, OCT4), and upregulated key proteins of the UPR pathway.

Assessment of a Helium/Argon-Generated Cold Atmospheric Plasma Device's Safety Utilizing a Pig Model.

The PlazMagik device is a dual-gas cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) system that was developed and used for skin rejuvenation and inflammation treatment. However, preclinical evaluation and optimization of plasma parameters are crucial for guaranteeing safety. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the safety of the PlazMagik device under multiple parameters with different gas resources (helium (He) and argon (Ar) gases) on pig dorsal skin.

Galangin Regulates Oxidative Stress Levels in Porcine Embryos Through Interaction with the Neh1 Domain of Nrf2.

Oxidative stress poses a challenge to in vitro embryo culture. As a flavonoid, galangin (GAL) has been shown to have antioxidant effects, but the effect and antioxidant capacity of GAL in the in vitro development of porcine parthenogenetic embryos are still unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that 1 µM GAL significantly increased the blastocyst rate, decreased the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased the glutathione (GSH) level, and enhanced mitochondrial function in early porcine embryos.

Salidroside improves bovine embryo quality by mitigating oxidative stress and regulating mitochondrial lipid metabolism.

In vitro production techniques for bovine embryos can improve reproductive efficiency and expand quality breeding stock, but lipid metabolism disturbances during in vitro embryo culture can decrease embryo quality. Salidroside (SAL) is a glycoside extracted from the rhizome of the medicinal plant Rhodiola rosea that has antioxidant, antiaging, anti-inflammatory, and lipid metabolism-regulating effects. This study demonstrated that the addition of SAL to the culture medium of bovine embryos during in vitro culture increased the blastocyst rate and number of blastocyst cells and improved bovine blastocyst totipotency and proliferation.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Processed Acellular Dermal Matrix Patch for Enhanced Wound Healing.

Wound healing remains a significant clinical challenge worldwide, and effective management strategies are essential for improving outcomes. This study evaluated SCderm Matrix, a novel acellular dermal matrix (ADM) patch developed using supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO) processing of human skin tissue. This innovative processing method preserves structural integrity while enhancing biocompatibility, resulting in a patch characterized by porous architecture, uniform thickness, excellent tensile strength, and optical transparency.

Therapeutic Potential of Extract for Hair Health Enhancement: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Hair health critically influences both aesthetic appearance and psychological well-being. Existing treatments often show limited efficacy and may cause side effects. (GP), known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, has emerged as a promising botanical agent, although clinical evidence regarding its hair health benefits remains limited.

The effects of sika deer oviduct epithelial cell-derived extracellular vesicles on oocytes and parthenogenetic embryos†.

Oviducts contain various nutrients that provide energy during oocyte development. This study aimed to improve the efficiency of in vitro reproduction using extracellular vesicles (EVs) produced by the oviduct epithelial cells of sika deer (Cervus nippon). Surprisingly, the uptake of deer oviduct epithelial cell extracellular vesicles (DOEC-EVs) by cumulus-oocyte complexes, which were encapsulated by dense cumulus cells (CCs), occurred only in CCs during maturation.

Role of MFN2 in bovine embryonic development and the mitigation of ER stress.

This study investigated the role of mitochondrial fusion protein-2 (MFN2) in bovine embryonic development and its relationship with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, aiming to increase the efficiency of in vitro embryo culture. Western blot analysis revealed that MFN2 expression peaked at the 2-cell stage, decreased at the 4-cell stage, and gradually increased from the 6-8-cell stage to the blastocyst stage. Inhibiting MFN2 at the zygote stage reduced blastocyst formation and proliferation, and this damage was partially reversed by the ER stress protective agent TUDCA.

Melatonin protects against defects induced by methoxychlor in porcine oocyte maturation.

Methoxychlor (MXC) is a widely used organochlorine pesticide primarily targeting pests. However, MXC has been found to negatively impact the reproductive system of both humans and animals, triggering oxidative stress and apoptosis. Melatonin (MLT), an endogenous hormone, possesses various benefits, including circadian rhythm regulation and anti-inflammatory and antioxidative stress effects.

GDF-8 improves implantation and cryo-tolerance by stimulating the ALK5-SMAD2/3 signaling in bovine IVF embryo development.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) plays a critical role in regulating trophoblast invasion and proliferation. Growth differentiation factor-8 (GDF-8) is a member of the TGF-β superfamily and is categorized as a myostatin subtype. It is primarily a secreted protein synthesized in skeletal muscle cells.

Effect of additional cytoplasm injection on the cloned bovine embryo organelle distribution and stress mitigation.

Although somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a critical component of animal cloning, this approach has several issues. We previously introduced the cytoplasm injection cloning technology (CICT), which significantly improves the quality and quantity of cloned embryos. This study examined the residual status of fused cytoplasmic organelles, such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lysosomes, in the CICT group during early embryo development.

Methoxychlor induces oxidative stress and impairs early embryonic development in pigs.

Methoxychlor (MXC) is an organochlorine pesticide (OCP) that was formerly used worldwide as an insecticide against pests and mosquitoes. However, MXC is not biodegradable and has lipophilic characteristics; thus, it accumulates in organisms and affects reproductive function. MXC, as an estrogenic compound, promotes oxidative stress, induces oxidative stress damage to ovarian follicles, and causes miscarriages and stillbirths in females.

Salidroside Supplementation Affects In Vitro Maturation and Preimplantation Embryonic Development by Promoting Meiotic Resumption.

Salidroside (Sal) possesses several pharmacological activities, such as antiaging, and anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer activities, and proliferation-promoting activities, but the effects of Sal on oocytes have rarely been reported. In the present study, we evaluated the beneficial effects of Sal, which is mainly found in the roots of Rhodiola. Porcine cumulus oocyte complexes were cultured in IVM medium supplemented (with 250 μmol/L) with Sal or not supplemented with Sal.

Antioxidant Activity and Anti-Apoptotic Effect of the Small Molecule Procyanidin B1 in Early Mouse Embryonic Development Produced by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer.

As an antioxidant, procyanidin B1(PB1) can improve the development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos; PB1 reduces the level of oxidative stress (OS) during the in vitro development of SCNT embryos by decreasing the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increasing the level of glutathione (GSH) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Metabolite hydrogen peroxide (HO) produces OS. Catalase (CAT) can degrade hydrogen peroxide so that it produces less toxic water (HO) and oxygen (O) in order to reduce the harm caused by HO.

Loss of WTAP Impairs Early Parthenogenetic Embryo Development.

mA is one of the most common and abundant modifications of RNA molecules present in eukaryotes. The methyltransferase complex, consisting of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), METTL14, and WTAP, is responsible for the mA modification of RNA. WTAP was identified as an mRNA splicing regulator.

Hydroxyurea affects in vitro porcine oocyte maturation through increased apoptosis and oxidative stress.

Hydroxyurea (HU) is an FDA-approved drug used to treat a variety of diseases, especially malignancies, but is harmful to fertility. We used porcine oocytes as an experimental model to study the effect of HU during oocyte maturation. Exposure of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) to 20 µM (P<0.

Imperatorin Ameliorates the Aging-Associated Porcine Oocyte Meiotic Spindle Defects by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Protecting Mitochondrial Function.

Imperatorin (IMP) exhibits a variety of pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-cancer, and anti-hypertension activities. However, its effects on animal reproduction systems, especially oocyte development, maturation, and aging are not yet clear. In this study, the effects of IMP on oocyte development and aging as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms were explored.

Procyanidin B1 promotes in vitro maturation of pig oocytes by reducing oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress negatively affects the in vitro maturation (IVM) of oocytes. Procyanidin B1 (PB1) is a natural polyphenolic compound that has antioxidant properties. In this study, we investigated the effect of PB1 supplementation during IVM of porcine oocytes.

Sequential combination of nanofiltration and ettringite precipitation for managing sulfate-rich brines.

The sequential combination of nanofiltration (NF) and ettringite precipitation to manage sulfate-rich brine is proposed. In this study, NF experiments clearly demonstrated that sulfate-containing wastewater was effectively concentrated by the NF process (concentrate factor, CF > 5) with insignificant membrane fouling. Ettringite precipitation was implemented as an alternative to lime precipitation to process sulfate-rich brine resulting from the NF operation.

Effects of human recombinant granulocyte-colony stimulating factor treatment during in vitro culture on porcine pre-implantation embryos.

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), a pleiotropic cytokine, belongs to the hematopoietic growth factor family. Recent studies have reported that G-CSF is a predictive biomarker of oocyte and embryo developmental competence in humans. The aim of our study was to determine whether CSF3 and its receptor (CSF3R) were expressed in porcine maternal reproductive tissues (oviduct and uterus), cumulus cells, and embryos and to investigate the effects of human recombinant G-CSF (hrG-CSF) supplementation during in vitro culture (IVC) on the developmental competence of pre-implantation embryos.

A Maternal Transcription Factor, Junction Mediating and Regulatory Protein is Required for Preimplantation Development in the Mouse.

Junction-mediating and regulatory protein (JMY) is a regulator of both transcription and actin filament assembly. The actin-regulatory activity of JMY is based on a cluster of three actin-binding Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein homology 2 (WH2) domains that nucleate actin filaments directly and promote nucleation of the Arp2/3 complex. In addition to these activities, we examined the activity of JMY generation in early embryo of mice carrying mutations in the JMY gene by CRISPR/Cas9 mediated genome engineering.

Autophagy is required for proper meiosis of porcine oocytes maturing in vitro.

Autophagy is an essential cellular mechanism that degrades cytoplasmic proteins and organelles to recycle their components; however, the contribution of autophagy during meiosis has not been studied in porcine oocytes maturing in vitro. In this study, we observed that the autophagy-related gene, LC3, was expressed in porcine oocytes during maturation for 44 h in vitro. Knockdown of the autophagy-related gene, BECN1, reduced both BECN1 and LC3 protein expression levels.

Understanding possible underlying mechanism in declining germicidal efficiency of UV-LED reactor.

Since ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) have emerged as an alternative light source for UV disinfection systems, enhancement of reactor performance is a demanding challenge to promote its practical application in water treatment process. This study explored the underlying mechanism of the inefficiency observed in flow-through mode UV disinfection tests to improve the light utilization of UV-LED applications. In particular, the disinfection performance of UV-LED reactors was evaluated using two different flow channel types, reservoir and pathway systems, in order to elucidate the impact of physical circumstances on germicidal efficiency as the light profile was adjusted.

Laminarin improves developmental competence of porcine early stage embryos by inhibiting oxidative stress.

Laminarin (LMA), a β-glucan mixture with good biocompatibility, improves the growth performance and immune response when used as food additives and nutraceuticals. The aim of the present research was to explore the effects of LMA on porcine early stage embryo development, as well as the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that the developmental competence of porcine early stage embryos was dramatically improved after LMA supplementation during the in vitro culture period.

Melatonin enhances the developmental competence of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos by preventing DNA damage induced by oxidative stress.

Melatonin has antioxidant and scavenger effects in the cellular antioxidant system. This research investigated the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of melatonin action in porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. The results suggested that the developmental competence of porcine SCNT embryos was considerably enhanced after melatonin treatment.