A growing body of evidence suggests that the interleukin-1 system is involved in periovulatory events. Previous work from our lab demonstrated that in the mare, interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) increases the ovulatory rate of metaphase II oocytes. The present study was conducted to analyze in vivo the effect of IL-1 on oocyte cytoplasmic maturation, ovulation and pregnancy rate. In the present work...

The developmental competence of oocytes during in vitro maturation (IVM) is compromised due to asynchronous nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation. To improve IVM efficiency, a pre-maturation culture or two-step maturation strategy has been established, involving meiosis arrest induced by pharmacological agents to provide oocytes with sufficient time to synchronize the maturation of the nucleus and...

the development of culture media able to mimic the preovulatory stage of follicular environment and support nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of oocyte is important for in-vitro fertilization (ivf) programs. it seems that the best culture media for embryonic development and cell cleavage is the natural composition which surrounds the oocyte which has been used occasionally in human ivf program...

Sepsis is an imbalanced response to infection that leads life-threatening organ dysfunction. Although increasing number of anti-inflammatory drugs are available, the options for treating sepsis remain limited. Therefore, it imperative understand pathogenesis and pathophysiology develop novel therapeutic targets treat this state. The Nod-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inf...

Megakaryocytopoiesis and platelet production can be assessed with reasonable accuracy by quantitative and functional analyses of circulating platelets. The evaluation of megakaryocytopoiesis in culture has remained unsatisfactory, particularly because platelet production is rarely observed. In mouse culture systems, megakaryocytes have been identified almost entirely by measurements of acetyl c...

The ultrastructural analysis of oocytes and ovarian follicles has been used to evaluate the effects of assisted reproductive techniques, such as cryopreservation or in vitro oocyte maturation. It also benefits the understanding of such complex mechanisms that occur during folliculogenesis. From the beginning of primordial follicles growth until oocyte maturation in preovulatory follicles oocyte...

Cytoplasmic extracts of meiotically mature mouse oocytes were injected into immature Xenopus laevis oocytes, which underwent germinal vesicle breakdown within 2 h. Germinal vesicle breakdown was not inhibited by incubation of the Xenopus oocytes in cycloheximide (20 micrograms/ml). Identically prepared extracts of meiotically immature mouse oocytes, arrested at the germinal vesicle stage by dib...