Search

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of time-lapse morphokinetic parameters and cumulus cells transcriptomic profile to achieve a more accurate and non-invasive method in embryo evaluation. Two hundred embryos from 20 couples were evaluated based on morphokinetic characteristics using time-lapse. Embryos were divided into the high-quality, moderate-quality, and bad-quality groups. Non-fertilized oocytes were considered as the fourth group. T5 (time to five cells), S2 (time from three to four cells), and CC2 (time from two to three cells) were recorded. Also, the cumulus cells of the respective oocytes were divided into high-quality, moderate-quality, bad-quality, and non-fertilized groups based on the grading of the embryos. Then their transcriptomic profiles were analyzed by RNA-sequencing. Finally, the correlation between differentially expressed genes and embryo time-lapse parameters was investigated. T5 was the only timing that showed a statistically significant difference between high-quality group and other groups. RNA-sequencing results showed that 37 genes were downregulated and 106 genes were upregulated in moderate, bad-quality, and non-fertilized groups compared to high-quality group (q value < 0.05). These genes were involved in the main biological processes such as cell cycle, DNA repair, cell signaling and communication, transcription, and cell metabolism. Embryos graded in different groups showed different transcriptomic profiles in the related cumulus cells. Therefore, it seems that embryo selection using the combination of cytokinetics and cumulus cells gene expression can improve the accuracy of the embryo selection and pregnancy rate in ART clinics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunoinformatics is a science that helps to create significant immunological information using bioinformatics softwares and applications. One of the most important applications of immunoinformatics is the prediction of a variety of specific epitopes for B cell recognition and T cell through MHC class I and II molecules. This method reduces costs and time compared to laboratory tests. In this state-of-the-art review, we review about 50 papers to find the latest and most used immunoinformatic tools as well as their applications for predicting the viral, bacterial and tumoral structural and linear epitopes of B and T cells. In the clinic, the main application of prediction of epitopes is for designing peptide-based vaccines. Peptide-based vaccines are a considerably potential alternative to low-cost vaccines that may reduce the risks related to the production of common vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytase is an important enzyme poses great nutritional significance in humans and monogastric animals diets. The phytase production yield using wild sources, including micro-organisms, plants, and animals is sorely low. Thus, recombinant expression of phytase has received increasing interest for achieving production rate. Escherichia coli is the most preferred host for expression of heterologous proteins but overexpression of recombinant phytase in E. coli, met with limited success due to the sequestration of the enzyme into inclusion bodies. In the present study, artificial phytases gene with excellent thermostability and activity were designed by detecting the enzymatic region of the E. coli phytase gene by employing bioinformatics tools. Then, the PCR amplified recombinant gene was expressed in E. coli and the active enzyme was recovered from inclusion bodies. Employing cysteine amino acid in the dialysis buffer succeed to the superior activity of the enzyme with a specific activity of 73.8 U/mg. The optimum temperature and pH for enzyme activity were determined at 60 °C and 4, respectively. The novel recombinant enzyme illustrated perfect thermostability up to 70 °C with maintenance 75% of its activity. The enzyme was stable at pH range of 2–10. Moreover, the effects of ions and chemical compounds on enzyme stability and activity were assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]