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Progeny tests are widely used for selection of sires for beef and dairy cattle. A less costly method might be to clone the sire candidates at their earliest developmental stage possible. To produce cloned bulls, we obtained amniotic cells as donors for nuclear transfer by transvaginal aspiration of pregnant cows. However, the collected cells may include some maternal cells. In this study, we examined collection methods to obtain only fetal cells from the collected fluid. We also examined the developmental capacity of the embryos cloned from these cells. Amniotic fluids were aspirated from pregnant cows by ultrasound-guided aspiration. We collected amniotic fluids from 27 pregnant Japanese black beef cattle (between 58 and 132 days of gestation). In Method 1, cells were recovered from the whole amniotic fluid (approximately 15 mL). In Method 2, the initial 5 mL of aspirated fluid was discarded and then the next 10 mL sample was collected. Cells were recovered from the collected fluids. The cells in the fluids were washed twice by centrifugation and then cultured in AmnioMAX™-II medium (GIBCO, Grand Island, NY, USA). After 3–4 passages, the sex of the cell lines was determined by the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method (Eiken Chemical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). For the cell lines that were determined as ''male'' by the LAMP method we further analyzed the sex of individual cells (137–620 cells of each cell line) by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using a bovineY chromosome-specific probe (Kobayashi et al. 1998 Mol. Reprod. Dev. 51, 390–394). The percentage of male cells obtained from Methods 1 and 2 were 0–0.4% (from 4 animals) and 93.7–99.5% (from 6 animals), respectively. Then, we used confluent amniotic cells from 3 cell lines obtained by Method 2 as donor cells for nuclear transfer and examined the developmental capacity of the cloned embryos. Bovine fibroblasts cultured under serum starvation were used as a control. The cells were electrically fused (2.7 kV cm–1, 11 µs, 2 times) with enucleated bovine oocytes, and activated with a calcium ionophore and cycloheximide. They were subsequently cultured in mSOF until 168 h post-activation. The data were analyzed with Fisher''s protected least-squares difference (PLSD) test following ANOVA. The rates of fusion, cleavage, and development to the blastocyst stage of the cloned embryos were the same as those of the control embryos (78% v. 81%, 75% v. 75%, and 22% v. 27%, respectively; P > 0.05). Furthermore, the rate of male blastocysts derived from the cloned embryos with the three cell lines was 95% (19/20). These results indicate that the amniotic fluids collected from pregnant cows by Method 2 contained fewer maternal cells, and that the embryos cloned from the cells developed in a manner similar to that of embryos cloned from the fibroblasts.This work was supported byWakayama Prefecture CREATE, JST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the efficiency of full-term development of somatic cloned mouse embryos was significantly increased by treatment with trichostatin A (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase (Kishigami et al. 2006 Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 340, 183–189; Rybouchkin et al. 2006 Biol. Reprod. 74, 1083–1089). We have shown that TSA treatment improved the rate of development of the cloned bovine embryos to the blastocyst stage (Iwamoto et al. 2007 Reprod. Fertil. Dev. 19, 142 abst). Higher levels of DNA methylation have been shown in early cloned bovine embryos than in in vitro-fertilized (IVF) embryos (Dean et al. 2001 Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 98, 13734–13738; Santos et al. Curr. Biol. 13, 1116–1121). In this study, we examined the effects of TSA on DNA methylation levels in cloned bovine embryos by immunostaining with an antibody to 5-methyl cytosine (5-MeC). Bovine fibroblasts were cultured under serum starvation (0.4% FCS) for 7 days before they were used as donor cells. The cells were electrofused with bovine enucleated matured oocytes, and activated with a calcium ionophore and cycloheximide. Atotal of 131 cloned embryos were produced. The NT embryos were exposed to 0 (control) and 50 nmTSA from the start of activation to 48 h post-activation (hpa). They were then cultured in an mSOF medium. At 60 hpa, only embryos developed to the 8-cell stage were used for assessment of DNA methylation levels. Sixteen TSA-treated, 22 non-treated, and 19 IVF embryos were immunostained with 5-MeC antibody. For quantitative analysis of the DNA methylation levels, 5-MeC signals in the fluorescent images were determined using an image analyzer system (Aqua Cosmos; Hamamatsu Photonics, Shizuoka, Japan). The data were analyzed with Tukey-Kramer post hoc test for multiple comparisons following ANOVA. Relative levels of DNA methylation of TSA-treated cloned and IVF embryos did not differ (P > 0.05), but were lower than those of non-treated cloned embryos (P < 0.05). The results indicate that TSA treatment of cloned bovine embryos leads to a reduction of DNA methylation levels of their genome. The data suggest that the TSA treatment decreased the DNA methylation levels of cloned bovine embryos to the levels of IVF embryos, resulting in improved blastocyst development of the cloned embryos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundPostoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common complications after cardiothoracic surgery and is associated with an increased risk of stroke, and longer hospital stay. The pathophysiology of postoperative AF is uncertain, and its prevention remains unsatisfactory. Many previous studies have examined the predictors of AF after on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), but there are few reports after off-pump CABG.MethodsThe aim of the present prospective observational study, in which 296 consecutive patients were enrolled, was to elucidate the predictors of AF after off-pump CABG. The association of perioperative factors with AF was investigated using univariate analysis. Significant variables were included into a stepwise logistic regression model to ascertain their independent influence on the occurrence of AF.ResultsThe incidence of AF was 32%. AF prolonged the time until patients were fit for discharge by 3 days (P < 0.01). Stepwise multivariate analysis identified increasing age [odds ratio (OR) 1.44 per 10-yr increase; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–1.95], intraoperative average core temperature (OR 1.64; 95% CI 1.05–2.56), the average cardiac index in the intensive care unit (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.19–0.71), and intraoperative fluid balance (OR 0.96 per 100-ml increase; 95% CI 0.93–0.99) as independent predictors of postoperative AF.ConclusionOur present findings indicate that ageing, the intraoperative fluid balance, and postoperative cardiac index are associated with the onset of AF after off-pump CABG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining somatic cells from preserved organs or tissues is useful for the conservation and regeneration of genetic resources by nuclear transfer (NT). Bovine cells for NT have been obtained from cooled carcasses stored at 0C for several days (Arat et al. 2005 Reprod. Fert. Dev. 17, 164 abst) and from fetal skin tissue cryopreserved with DMSO (Fahrudin et al. 2001 J. Vet. Med. Sci. 63, 1151–1154). However, frozen storage of organs or tissues without cryoprotectants was considered to be quite inappropriate for obtaining viable cells. We report here that viable donor cells for NT were obtained from bovine testicles after frozen storage without cryoprotectants. In the first experiment, we investigated whether viable cells can be recovered from frozen testicles castrated from Japanese Black bulls. The testicles were frozen at -80C in a freezer for several days; then some were stored in liquid nitrogen for 10 months without cryoprotectants. Before thawing, the testicles were divided into 3 pieces, caput epididymis, cauda epididymis, and testis. Each piece was then put in saline at 42C for quick thawing. Thawed tissues were minced into 5-mm pieces and incubated at 39C for 2 h in DMEM containing 0.1% collagenase and 0.2% dispase. After filtration through a 250-m nylon mesh filter, the filtrates were centrifuged at 250 4g for 5 min. Then precipitates were resuspended with MF-start primary culture medium (TM Cell Research Inc., Fukui, Japan) and incubated at 38.5C under the atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air with high humidity. After 5 days of incubation, the medium was replaced and nonadherent debris was discarded. Viable cells were obtained from the caput epididymis. These cells actively proliferated and expanded. In the next experiment, to determine whether these cells can be used for NT, the cells were electrically fused with enucleated bovine oocytes. Bovine fibroblasts taken from unfrozen ear tissue were used as controls. The NT embryos were activated by Ca-ionophore treatment, followed by treatment with cycloheximide for 6 h, and then cultured in mSOF for 168 h. NT embryos reconstructed from testicle cells did not significantly differ from NT embryos made with control cells with regard to blastocyst rates (22.1% and 20.2%), cell number of blastocysts [130 43 and 121 43 (mean SD)], and ICM ratio (21.1% and 22.6%), respectively (ANOVA). These results suggest that somatic cells derived from bovine frozen testicles can be used for nuclear transfer. Further studies are needed to examine whether viable cells can be obtained from other frozen organs or tissues.This study was partially supported by a grant from the Wakayama Prefecture Collaboration of Regional Entities for the Advancement of Technological Excellence, JST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histone acetylation is one of the major mechanisms of epigenetic reprogramming of gamete genomes after fertilization or of transferred cell genomes after nuclear transfer to establish a totipotent state for normal development. In the fertilization of bovine oocytes, asynchronous histone acetylation occurs during pronuclear formation in the manner that modification of the paternal genome precedes that of the maternal genome (Wee et al. 2006 J. Biol. Chem. 281, 6048–6057). In the present study, the effects of trichostatin A (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, during in vitro fertilization (IVF) of bovine oocytes on subsequent embryonic development were investigated. Cumulus-enclosed oocytes obtained from slaughterhouse ovaries were in vitro-matured (IVM) for 21 h in TCM-199 supplemented with 5% v/v FCS, 0.5 mM sodium pyruvate, 0.02 AU mL-1 FSH, and 1 g mL-1 estradiol-17? at 39C under 5% CO2 in air. After IVM, the oocytes were subjected to IVF with 3 106 mL-1 of Percoll gradient-selected sperm in a defined medium (Brackett and Oliphant 1975 Biol. Reprod. 12, 260–274) supplemented with 0 (control), 5, 50, and 500 nM TSA for 18 h. After IVF, presumptive zygotes were freed from cumulus cells and cultured in mSOF medium until 168 h post-insemination (hpi) at 39C under 5% CO2, 5% O2, and 90% N2 with high humidity. Cleavage and blastocyst development were assessed at 48 and 168 hpi, respectively. Inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) of blastocysts were differentially stained by the method of Thouas et al. (2001 Reprod. Biomed. Online 3, 25–29) to assess cell number and ICM/TE ratio. Experiments were replicated 3 times. Data are presented as means SEM and statistically analyzed by multiple comparison with the Holm method. Rates of cleavage (0 nM: 71.0 7%, n = 102; 5 nM: 75.5 5%, n = 106; 50 nM: 68.8 6%, n = 105; and 500 nM: 71.7 4%, n = 98) and blastocyst formation (21.4 5%, 22.3 6%, 17.8 2%, and 18.2 2%, respectively) were similar among the groups. However, 500 nM TSA significantly (P < 0.05) increased ICM and total cell numbers (59.8 4 and 143.5 7, respectively, n = 31) compared with the control (43.1 3 and 120.9 7, n = 31). In addition, ICM/TE ratios were higher in the 50 nM (0.81 0.08, n = 29) and 500 nM (0.92 0.2, n = 31) groups than in the control (0.59 0.04, P < 0.05). These results suggest that TSA treatment during IVF of bovine oocytes does not affect the blastocyst rate but alters the cell numbers and their allocation to ICM and TE. Overriding epigenetic modification of the genome during fertilization may have a carryover effect on cell proliferation and differentiation in pre-implantation embryos.This study was supported by a grant from Wakayama Prefecture Collaboration of Regional Entities for the Advancement of Technological Excellence, JST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been achieved in various mammalian species, its efficiency has been very low (Han et al. 2003 Theriogenology 59, 33–44). Successful cloning requires conversion from differentiated donor nuclei to embryonic nuclei after transfer of the somatic nuclei into enucleated oocytes. Reprogramming of the transferred somatic nuclei must be completed by the time when normal activation of the embryonic genome occurs (Solter 2000 Nat. Rev. Genet. 1, 199–207). Recently, both full-term development and pre-implantation development of mouse SCNT embryos were significantly enhanced by treatment with trichostatin A (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase (Kishigami et al. 2006 Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 340, 183–189; Rybouchkin et al. 2006 Biol. Reprod. 74, 1083–1089). The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of TSA on the development of bovine SCNT embryos. Bovine fibroblasts were cultured under serum starvation (0.4% FCS) for 7 days and then used as donor cells. The cells were electro-fused with bovine enucleated matured oocytes, and activated with a calcium ionophore and cycloheximide. They were subsequently cultured in mSOF medium until 168 h post-activation (hpa). The NT embryos were exposed to 0 (control), 5, 50, and 500 nM TSA from the start of activation to 48 hpa. Experiments were repeated 3 times, and the data were analyzed with Fisher''s PLSD test following ANOVA. The cleavage rates were the same among the groups (60 to 80%; P >0.05). However, the blastocyst rate of NT embryos treated with 50 nM TSA was higher than that of control embryos (40% vs. 19%, respectively; P < 0.05). On the other hand, the blastocyst rate was lower with 500 nM TSA than with 5 or 50 nM TSA (7% vs. 33% or 40%; P < 0.05). These data suggest that proper TSA treatment after somatic cloning improves the rate of development of bovine cloned embryos to the blastocyst stage. Further research is needed to examine whether NT embryos derived from different cell lines or types have similar susceptibility to TSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]