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Ectopic expression of BBS1 rescues male infertility, but not retinal degeneration, in a BBS1 mouse model. Gene Ther 2021; 29:227-235. [PMID: 33664503 PMCID: PMC9422088 DOI: 10.1038/s41434-021-00241-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare ciliopathy for which there are no current effective treatments. BBS is a genetically heterogeneous disease, though the M390R mutation in BBS1 is involved in approximately 25% of all genetic diagnoses of BBS. The principle features of BBS include retinal degeneration, obesity, male infertility, polydactyly, intellectual disability, and renal abnormalities. Patients with mutations in BBS genes often present with night blindness within the first decade of life, which progresses to complete blindness. This is due to progressive loss of photoreceptor cells. Male infertility is caused by a lack of spermatozoa flagella, rendering them immobile. In this study, we have crossed the wild-type human BBS1 gene, driven by the CAG promoter, onto the Bbs1M390R/M390R mouse model to determine if ectopic expression of BBS1 rescues male infertility and retinal degeneration. qRT-PCR indicates that the BBS1 transgene is expressed in multiple tissues throughout the mouse, with the highest expression seen in the testes, and much lower expression in the eye and hypothalamus. Immunohistochemistry of the transgene in the eye showed little if any expression in the photoreceptor outer nuclear layer. When male Bbs1M30R/M390R;BBS1TG+ mice are housed with WT females, they are able to sire offspring, indicating that the male infertility phenotype of BBS is rescued by the transgene. Using electroretinography (ERGs) to measure retinal function and optical coherence tomography to measure retinal thickness, we show that the transgene does not confer protection against retinal degeneration in Bbs1M300R/M390R;BBS1TG+ mice. The results of this study indicate the male infertility aspect of BBS is an attractive target for gene therapy.
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Wosnick N, Adams KR, Freire CA. Ultrasonography as a promising methodology to indicate captured-induced abortion in viviparous elasmobranchs. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2018; 93:1033-1037. [PMID: 29974473 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to characterize morphological aspects related to abortion through a non-lethal approach in the shortnose guitarfish Zapteryx brevirostris, an endemic and threatened species commonly caught by artisanal fisheries. Two females with signs of abortion and one female exhibiting external signs of pregnancy were purchased alive at a fish market during the period when this species has developing embryos in southern Brazil. Scans were conducted using a portable ultrasound. Females with signs of abortion revealed an absence of embryos despite having a similar morphology of the uterus when compared to the pregnant female. Examination of the pregnant female revealed the presence of two embryos, measuring c. 100 mm, each detected through their midline. This study presents new data on uterine macromorphology following successive abortive events in a viviparous elasmobranch species and validates ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool for the species. Ultrasonography is an effective, non-lethal and less-invasive methodology that is recommended for use in future studies of abortion and other reproductive events in elasmobranchs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natascha Wosnick
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Centro Politécnico, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Kye R Adams
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Carolina A Freire
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Centro Politécnico, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
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Botta C, Pellegrini G, Hässig M, Pesch T, Prähauser B, Wunderlin S, Guscetti F, Schneeberger M, Schmitt S, Basso W, Hilbe M, Schuler G, Borel N. Bovine Fetal Placenta During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. Vet Pathol 2018; 56:248-258. [PMID: 30355149 DOI: 10.1177/0300985818806453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Bovine abortion is a worldwide problem, but despite extensive histopathologic and molecular investigations, the cause of abortion remains unclear in about 70% of cases. Cellular debris is a commonly observed histopathologic finding in the fetal placenta and is often interpreted as necrosis. In this study, the nature of this cellular debris was characterized, and histologic changes in the normal fetal placenta during pregnancy and after delivery were assessed. In addition, the presence of the most common abortifacient pathogens in Switzerland ( Chlamydiaceae, Coxiella burnetii, Neospora caninum) was tested by polymerase chain reaction. We collected 51 placentomes and 235 cotyledons from 41 and from 50 cows, respectively. In total, cellular debris was present in 48 of 51 (94%) placentomes and in 225 of 235 (96%) cotyledons, inflammation occurred in 1 of 51 (2%) placentomes and in 46 of 235 (20%) cotyledons, vasculitis was seen in 1 of 51 (2%) placentomes and 46 of 235 (20%) cotyledons, and 18 of 51 (35%) placentomes and 181 of 235 (77%) cotyledons had mineralization. The amount of cellular debris correlated with areas of positive signals for cleaved caspase 3 and lamin A. Therefore, this finding was interpreted as an apoptotic process. In total, 10 of 50 cotyledons (20%) were positive for C. burnetii DNA, most likely representing subclinical infections. The results of our study indicate that histologic features in the fetal placenta such as cellular debris, inflammation, vasculitis, and mineralization must be considered physiological processes during pregnancy and after delivery. Therefore, their presence in placentae of aborted fetuses must be interpreted with caution and might not be necessarily linked to an infectious cause of abortion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Botta
- 1 Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Giovanni Pellegrini
- 1 Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Hässig
- 2 Department for Farm Animals, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Theresa Pesch
- 1 Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Barbara Prähauser
- 1 Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sabina Wunderlin
- 1 Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Franco Guscetti
- 1 Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marianne Schneeberger
- 3 Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sarah Schmitt
- 3 Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Walter Basso
- 4 Institute of Parasitology, University of Bern, Vetsuisse Faculty, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Monika Hilbe
- 1 Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gerhard Schuler
- 5 Clinic for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Andrology of Large and Small Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Nicole Borel
- 1 Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich, Switzerland
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Sciorsci RL, Piccinno M, Rizzo A. Scopolamine butylbromide decreases the xylazine-mediated contractility in bovine pregnant uteri. Theriogenology 2018; 108:348-353. [PMID: 29294436 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.12.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Revised: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate and compare the effects of scopolamine butylbromide (Spasmolax®) on xylazine-sensitized bovine pregnant uterine strips, at different stages of pregnancy. The procedures were carried out in isolated organ bath. Uterine motility, expressed with amplitude, frequency of contractions as well as the area under the curve, was recorded in different stages of pregnancy and data were collected at 5-min intervals starting 5 min before treatment until 10 min after treatment (5-min after xylazine administration and 5-min after scopolamine butylbromide addition). The results suggest that scopolamine butylbromide might decrease the tonic effect induced by xylazine on bovine pregnant uteri from 0-30 days to 240-270 days.
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Affiliation(s)
- R L Sciorsci
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Section of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Bari Aldo Moro, S.P. per Casamassima km. 3, 70010, Valenzano, BA, Italy.
| | - M Piccinno
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Section of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Bari Aldo Moro, S.P. per Casamassima km. 3, 70010, Valenzano, BA, Italy
| | - A Rizzo
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, Section of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Bari Aldo Moro, S.P. per Casamassima km. 3, 70010, Valenzano, BA, Italy
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Piccinno M, Rizzo A, Mutinati M, D'Onghia G, Sciorsci R. Lidocaine decreases the xylazine-evoked contractility in pregnant cows. Res Vet Sci 2016; 107:267-272. [DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2016.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Revised: 05/10/2016] [Accepted: 07/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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