BACKGROUND Currently, relation between reactive oxygen species (ROS) ROS concentration and semen quality was indicated. Saffron has traditionally been not only considered as a food additive but also as a medicinal herb, which has a good antioxidant properties. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the protection potency of saffron and vitamin E on sperm chromatin integrity. MATERI...

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is a multi-system neuromuscular disorder for which there is no treatment. We have developed a medium throughput phenotypic assay, based on the identification of nuclear foci in DM patient cell lines using in situ hybridization and high-content imaging to screen for potentially useful therapeutic compounds. A series of further assays based on molecular features of DM have...

BACKGROUND Reducing the percentage of sperm anomalies in insemination samples remains a goal to be achieved in the intra-cytoplasmic sperm insemination (ICSI) procedure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of density gradient centrifugation (DGC) and Zeta methods to recover sperm with intact chromatin, and to evaluate whether the combined DGC/Zeta procedure improved ICSI outcom...

Karyotypes of Entedon cionobius Thomson, 1878 and Entedon cioni Thomson, 1878 (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) were studied using DNA-binding ligands with different base specificity (propidium iodide, chromomycin A3, methyl green and DAPI; all these ligands, except for the last one, were used for the first time in parasitic wasps), C-banding, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a 45S rDNA p...

This communication describes a novel effect of actinomycin D (AcD) in inhibiting the nuclear processing or turnover of estrogen receptors in the human breast cancer cell line. MCF-7. In the absence of AcD, estradiol treatment results in rapid (5 min) hormone binding and translocation of unfilled cytoplasmic receptors (Rc) and binding of unfilled nuclear receptors (Rn). Thereafter, filled nuclea...

Phyllotisxanthopygus (Waterhouse, 1837) is an Andean rodent endemic to South America. Despite its wide geographical distribution in Argentina, few individuals have been studied on the cytogenetic level and only through conventional staining. In this work, chromosome characterization of Argentine samples of this species was performed using solid staining, C-banding and base-specific fluorochrome...

Asynchronously growing cells of a M3-1 Chinese hamster line were ultraviolet (UV) irradiated (lambda = 254 nm) with UV fluences up to 7.5 J/m(2). After irradiation cells were incubated with or without 2 mM caffeine for 20 hr, then mitotic cells were selected by mechanical shaking. Their chromosomes were isolated, stained with Hoechst 33258 and chromomycin A3, and measured flow cytometrically. W...

Cytogenetic data avalaible for the maize weevil Sitophiluszeamais Motschulsky, 1855 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), one of the most destructive pests of stored cereal grains, are controversial. Earlier studies focused on single populations and emphasized chromosome number and sex determination system. In this paper, the karyotypes of four populations of Sitophiluszeamais were characterized by conv...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different periods of abstinence on conventional semen parameters as well as functional parameters in human semen, including mitochondrial function, chromatin packing and sperm DNA fragmentation. METHODS We recruited a cohort of 2,458 men undergoing infertility investigation. Semen analyses were performed according to WHO guideli...

Late-stage clear cell renal carcinoma poses a formidable clinical challenge due to the high mortality rate associated with this disease. Molecular and genetic studies have identified functional loss of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene as a frequent and crucial event in the development of the malignant phenotype of clear cell renal carcinomas. Loss of VHL function thus represents a pathognomonic...