Effects of fetal bovine serum and estrus buffalo serum on maturation of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) oocytes in vitro

Cultivation of monoxenous trypanosomatids: A minireview

Trypanosomatids are obligatory parasites, some of which are responsible for important human and animal diseases, but the vast majority of trypanosomatids are restricted to invertebrate hosts. Isolation and in vitro cultivation of trypanosomatids from insect hosts enable their description, characterization, and subsequently genetic and genomic studies. However, exact nutritional requirements are still unknown for most trypanosomatids and thus very few defined media are available. This mini review provides information about the role of different ingredients, recommendations and advice on essential supplements and important physicochemical parameters of culture media with the aim of facilitating first attempts to cultivate insect-infesting trypanosomatids, with a focus on monoxenous trypanosomatids.

Analytical investigation of nano-bio interfacial protein mediation for fibroblast adhesion on hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) analysis was used to investigate fetal bovine serum (FBS) protein preadsorption on a hydroxyapatite (HAp) surface and the subsequent adhesion process of fibroblasts as compared with the case of oxidized poly(styrene) (PSox). The results showed that the preadsorption of FBS proteins on HAp promoted the subsequent initial cell adhesion ability. Moreover, the measured frequency (Δf) and dissipation shift (ΔD) curves, ΔD-Δf plots and viscoelastic analysis were used to study the initial cell adhesion process in real time. It was suggested that FBS-HAp showed sensitive changes in mass and viscoelasticity as compared with FBS-PSox, which realized the in situ reflection of the cell adhesion state, and the interfacial reactions between the cells and FBS-HAp surfaces such as dehydration and binding occurred to promote the initial cell adhesion and spreading. The viscoelastic analysis of the interface layer showed that the adhered cells on FBS-HAp could secrete some viscous substances such as extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins at the interfaces to provide good adhesion behaviors, and the Voigt-based viscoelastic model could clearly reveal the cellular interfacial viscoelasticity depending on the substrate surface. In addition, the morphology of cells was observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and it was found that the pseudopodia were more uniformly stretched on FBS-HAp than on FBS-PSox. Furthermore, the state of the interfacial protein layer was analyzed by localized Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy (FLM), and it was indicated that the type of substrate affects the formation state of ECM proteins, resulting in changes in cell adhesion properties and morphology. The abundant formation of connective proteins (i.e., collagen type I) on FBS-HAp promoted subsequent pseudopodia formation and cell spreading. Therefore, the initial adhesion properties of fibroblasts on the FBS-HAp surface were systematically studied, which is of great importance for understanding the interfacial interaction between biomaterials and cells, and has great application value in biomedical fields.

Fibrinogen-based cell and spheroid sheets manipulating and delivery for mouse hindlimb ischemia

In this research, we introduced a novel strategy for fabricating cell sheets (CSs) prepared by simply adding a fibrinogen solution to growth medium without using any synthetic polymers or chemical agents. We confirmed that the fibrinogen-based CS could be modified for target tissue regardless of size, shape, and cell types. Also, fibrinogen-based CSs were versatile and could be used to form three-dimensional (3D) CSs such as multi-layered CSs and those mimicking native blood vessels. We also prepared fibrinogen-based spheroid sheets for the treatment of ischemic disease. The fibrinogen-based spheroid sheets had much higherin vitrotubule formation and released more angiogenic factors compared to other types of platform in this research. We transplanted fibrinogen-based spheroid sheets into a mouse hindlimb ischemia model and found that fibrinogen-based spheroid sheets showed significantly improved physiological function and blood perfusion rates compared to the other types of platform in this research.

Screening high-quality fetal bovine serum for porcine oocyte maturation in vitro

Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is widely used in cell cultures due to its high stability and easy access. It was also used as a substitute for porcine follicular fluid (PFF) in previous studies. However, FBS components are unclear, and the presence of FBS in culture media may introduce a variation from batch to batch. This study aimed to establish an effective method to screen FBS in place of PFF in the culture media for porcine oocytes in vitro. We screened FBS from different sources by using porcine fetal fibroblast cells. The effects of six FBS samples on porcine fetal fibroblast cell growth were tested via frozen cell survival assay, cell clone formation assay, cell growth curve, and cell passage activity assay. The best serum that we called GFBS (heat-inactivated FBS, cat. no. 10500-64; Gibco) showed a similar effect on the maturation and development of porcine oocytes to that of PFF and can be used as a good substitute for PFF. These results suggested that the porcine fetal fibroblast cell culture test can be used as a valuable method to screen FBS for porcine oocyte maturation and embryonic development in vitro.

The effects of activated omental extract on nuclear and cytoplasmic in vitro maturation of rat oocytes

Objective:

The role of growth factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor of activated omentum on mitosis is clearly known, though not on all the aspects of in vitro oocyte maturation. This study was designed to assess the effect of activated-omental extract (AOE) on in vitro maturation (IVM) of rat cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs).

Materials and Methods:

In this experimental study, the COCs were incubated in Ham’s F-10 supplemented with either 20% AOE, 20% fetal bovine serum (FBS) or serum-free media. Post-culture COCs were studied according to the cumulus cells (CCs) expansion, nuclear maturation and cytoplasmic maturation. Cumuli expansion was evaluated by inverted microscope without staining; nuclear maturation was assessed by aceto-orcein staining (light microscope) and cytoplasmic maturation was also observed by TEM.

Results:

Expansion of CCs and nuclear maturation of the oocytes in in vitro for 24 hr was significantly higher in AOE- and FBS-supplemented groups (P=0.000 and 0.013) and (P=0.004 and 0.014), respectively, compared to serum-free group. At ultra-structural level, after 24 hr, both FBS and AOE-supplemented media showed uniformly wide perivitelline space (PVS). After 12 hr, the cortical granules were found in the oocytes cultured in FBS and AOE-supplemented media. Within 24 hr, both granules and mitochondria were large without any detectable topographic tendency across the ooplasm. In AOE and FBS-supplemented oocytes, the number and size of microvilli were more than those in serum-free one.

Conclusion:

Although AOE supplementation induced a higher rate of the CCs expansion, and resuming meiosis, it was not as potent as FBS to provide cytoplasmic maturation of rat oocytes.