Non-target toxicology of a new mosquito larvicide, trypsin modulating oostatic factor

Trypsin modulating oostatic factor (TMOF), a peptide hormone originally isolated from the ovaries of adult Aedes aegypti, is currently under commercial development as a new pesticide chemistry with a novel mode of action for the control of larval mosquitoes. The objective of the current research is to evaluate potential risks of the use of TMOF as an insecticide on non-target organisms. TMOF (YDPAP₆) was degraded in vitro (as determined by HPLC and LC/MS) to DPAP₆, PAP₆, and then AP₆ by leucine aminopeptidase, a pancreatic enzyme found in the digestive system of vertebrates. The rate of degradation of TMOF and PAP₆ was significantly greater than that of DPAP₆, while no metabolism of AP₆ was found. TMOF technical insecticide was produced on a commercial scale by recombinant yeast (heat-killed before application). The technical TMOF when administered in a single dose by gavage to male and female mice at 2000 mg dry weight/kg body weight produced no negative effects as compared to controls up to 12 days after treatment. When male and female mallard ducks were treated by gavage with 1250 mg dry weight of technical TMOF/kg body weight each day for 5 days, again no toxic effects were noted through 35 days after the last treatment. TMOF technical insecticide was also applied to the shaved skin of male and female rabbits at the rate of 2000 mg/kg for 1-2 days, with no effect. The end point observations in these in vivo experiments were mortality; changes in growth rate, behavior, body structure, and color; and possible lesions observed during necropsy. Finally, Daphnia incubated with technical TMOF in rearing water at the level of 1.0 × 10⁶ yeast cells/ml (10 mg/ml) also demonstrated no negative effects on mortality, growth, molting, time to first brood, and production of viable neonates. It appears from these studies that TMOF can be degraded by vertebrate digestive proteases and technical TMOF is not toxic to the non-target organisms examined.     

卵龄及激活液中Ca2+浓度对小鼠卵母细胞电激活效率的影响

采用宁波新科CRY-3细胞融合仪及其配备的镀银电融合槽(电极宽度为0.5mm)对影响电激活效率的两个因素——卵龄及激活液中Ca2 浓度进行了比较研究。结果表明:①卵母细胞的活化率随卵龄的增加明显升高,电刺激hCG后18～19h的卵母细胞可获得较高的卵母细胞激活率(71.67%),继续增加卵龄,卵母细胞激活率、卵裂率和囊胚发育率开始下降。②使用含Ca2 的激活液可获得较高的卵母细胞激活率,但Ca2 的浓度变化对激活效果无显著影响(P>0.05)。     

Impaired female fertility in tubulointerstitial antigen-like 1-deficient mice

Tubulointerstitial nephritis antigen-like 1 (Tinagl1, also known as adrenocortical zonation factor 1 [AZ-1] or lipocalin 7) is a matricellular protein. Previously, we demonstrated that Tinagl1 expression was restricted to extraembryonic regions during the postimplantation period and detected marked expression in mouse Reichert’s membranes. In uteri, Tinagl1 is markedly expressed in the decidual endometrium during the postimplantation period, suggesting that it plays a physical and physiological role in embryo development and/or decidualization of the uterine endometrium during pregnancy. In the present study, in order to determine the role of Tinagl1 during embryonic development and pregnancy, we generated Tinagl1-deficient mice. Although Tinagl1^–/– embryos were not lethal during development to term, homologous matings of Tinagl1^–/– females and Tinagl1^–/– males showed impaired fertility during pregnancy, including failure to carry pregnancy to term and perinatal lethality. To examine ovarian function, ovulation was induced with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG); the number of ovulated oocytes did not differ between Tinagl1^–/– and Tinagl1^flox/flox. In vitro fertilization followed by embryo culture also demonstrated the normal developmental potential of Tinagl1-null embryos during the preimplantation period. Our results demonstrate that Tinagl1 deficiency affects female mice and results in subfertility phenotypes, and they suggest that although the potential of Tinagl1^–/– oocytes is normal, Tinagl1 is related to fertility in adult females but is not essential for either fertilization or preimplantation development in vitro.     

小鼠催乳素释放肽的初步克隆

为克隆并分析小鼠催乳素释放肽基因,从小鼠下丘脑提取总RNA,进行RT-PCR,PCR产物与pMD-19T连接后转化E.coli DH5α,检测阳性克隆并测序。测序结果表明,所得序列与大鼠催乳素释放肽编码区序列的相似指数为86.3%。克隆所得序列为小鼠催乳素释放肽的基因片段。     

短期培养对玻璃化冷冻小鼠2-细胞胚胎低渗抵抗力的修复作用

为研究短期培养对玻璃化冷冻小鼠2-细胞胚胎低渗抵抗力的修复作用,对玻璃化冷冻小鼠2-细胞胚胎解冻后进行短期(2～4 h)培养,然后使用20%的低渗PBS液于25℃条件下处理20 min,观察48 h发育率、囊胚率和移植后妊娠率、产仔率.获得93%的48 h发育率和48%的囊胚率,显著高于低渗处理前未培养组(47%和9%)(P＜0.05).证明解冻后的短期培养中可以有效修复玻璃化冷冻对小鼠2-细胞胚胎低渗抵抗力的损伤.     

使用超净工作台实施子宫摘除术净化ICR小鼠的研究

为了建立SPF级远交系ICR小鼠种群。使用超净工作台实施子宫摘除术净化小鼠,结果:使用上述方法成功剖腹孕鼠20只,得到净化小鼠140只,育成小鼠120只,检测各项指标符合SPF级标准。结论:在普通环境中使用超净工作台实施子宫摘除术净化ICR小鼠,是建立SPF级种群唯一经济有效的方法。     

一枝蒿制剂对小鼠小肠运动作用研究

用两种一枝蒿制剂对小鼠进行小肠推进实验，以甲基硫酸新斯地明、盐酸吗啡和生理盐水为对照。结果表明：一枝蒿健胃促消化机制主要是促进小肠运动。经方差分析和多重比较，其效果相似于硫酸甲基新斯地明     

Involvement of histone H2B monoubiquitination in the regulation of mouse preimplantation development

Histone H2B monoubiquitination (H2Bub1) plays an important role in developmental regulation in various vertebrate species. However, the role of H2Bub1 in mammalian preimplantation development remains unclear. In the present study, we examined the role of H2Bub1 in the regulation of mouse preimplantation development. Based on immunocytochemical analysis using an anti-H2Bub1 antibody, no H2Bub1 signal was detected in the metaphase chromosomes of unfertilized oocytes or the pronuclei of early 1-cell stage embryos, but a weak signal was observed in late 1-cell stage embryos. The signal increased after cleavage into the 2-cell stage, and thereafter a strong signal was observed until the blastocyst stage. To assess the significance of H2Bub1 in the regulation of preimplantation development, RNF20 (an H2B-specific ubiquitin E3 ligase) was knocked down using small interfering RNA (siRNAs). In embryos treated with siRNA, the levels of Rnf20 mRNA and H2Bub1 decreased at the 4-cell and morula stages. Although these embryos developed normally until the morula stage, only one-third developed into the blastocyst stage. These results suggested that H2Bub1 is involved in the regulation of preimplantation development.     

No effect of exogenous melatonin on development of cryopreserved metaphase II oocytes in mouse

Background

This study was conducted to investigate effect of exogenous melatonin on the development of mouse mature oocytes after cryopreservation.

Results

First, mouse metaphase II (MII) oocytes were vitrified in the open-pulled straws (OPS). After warming, they were cultured for 1 h in M₂ medium containing melatonin at different concentrations (0, 10⁻⁹, 10⁻⁷, 10⁻⁵, 10⁻³ mol/L). Then the oocytes were used to detect reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione (GSH) levels (fluorescence microscopy), and the developmental potential after parthenogenetic activation. The experimental results showed that the ROS level and cleavage rate in 10⁻³ mol/L melatonin group was significantly lower than that in melatonin-free group (control). The GSH levels and blastocyst rates in all melatonin-treated groups were similar to that in control. Based on the above results, we detected the expression of gene Hsp90aa1, Hsf1, Hspa1b, Nrf2 and Bcl-x1 with qRT-PCR in oocytes treated with 10⁻⁷, or 10⁻³ mol/L melatonin and untreated control. After warming and culture for 1 h, the oocytes showed higher Hsp90aa1 expression in 10⁻⁷ mol/L melatonin-treated group than in the control (P < 0.05); the Hsf1, Hsp90aa1 and Bcl-x1 expression were significantly decreased in 10⁻³ mol/L melatonin-treated group when compared to the control. Based on the above results and previous research, we detected the development of vitrified-warmed oocytes treated with either 10⁻⁷ or 0 mol/L melatonin by in vitro fertilization. No difference was observed between them.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that the supplementation of melatonin (10⁻⁹ to 10⁻³ mol/L) in culture medium and incubation for 1 h did not improve the subsequent developmental potential of vitrified-warmed mouse MII oocytes, even if there were alteration in gene expression.     

Histone H4 Modification During Mouse Spermatogenesis

The core histone is composed of four proteins (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4). Investigation of the modification patterns of histones is critical to understanding their roles in biological processes. Although histone modification is observed in multiple cells and tissues, little is known about its function in spermatogenesis. We focused on the modification patterns of histone H4 during murine spermatogenesis. We demonstrated that the individual N-terminal sites of H4 show different modification patterns during the differentiation of male germ cells. The methylation pattern varied depending on the residues that were mono-, di-, or tri-methylated. All the H4 modifications were high during the meiotic prophase, suggesting that histone H4 modification plays an important role during this stage of spermatogenesis. Elongating spermatids showed increased acetylation of histone H4, which may be associated with a histone-to-protamine substitution. Our results provide further insight into the specific relationship between histone H4 modification and gene expression during spermatogenesis, which could help to elucidate the epigenetic disorders underlying male infertility.