Ficoll-400 density gradient method as an effective sperm preparation technique for assisted reproductive techniques

Entanglement of polymer chains in hypertonic medium enhances the delivery of DNA and other biomacromolecules into cells

HYPOTHESIS

Most experimental procedures applied in modern biology involve cargo delivering into cells. One of the ways to cargo introduction is osmotic-mediated intracellular vesicle swelling. However, its widespread use was hindered due to cargo size (<10 nm) and cell-type-related restrictions. We addressed the issue of the composition of colloidal loading solution to enhance the efficiency of cellular delivery.

EXPERIMENTS

We examined the effectiveness of colloidal loading solutions of varied compositions, including various types and sizes of polymers building osmotic pressure. We used confocal imaging coupled with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to evaluate the introduction of polymers, proteins, nanoparticles, and DNA plasmids (cargos of sizes 1-175 nm) to cells representing eight cell lines: cancer, normal, epithelial, and mesenchymal ones.

FINDINGS

We found that cellular delivery effectiveness strongly correlates with the size and concentration of osmotic pressure building polymers and not with the high value of the osmotic pressure itself. We show that polymer solutions at the entangled regime of concentrations enhance the delivery of large biomacromolecules even of size 200 nm (DNA plasmids) into cells, including MDA-MB-231 cells - so far resistant to the osmotic procedure. We show that the colloid loading medium based on entangled polymer chains is a versatile cargo delivery tool for molecular biology.

A fast and safe technique for sperm preparation in ICSI treatments within a randomized controlled trial (RCT)

Recently a novel method based on horizontal sperm migration in injection dishes has been introduced as an additional tool for preparation of semen sample in assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures. In the present study, we evaluated both timing and reproductive outcomes in a randomized controlled study including 1034 intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedures followed by fresh embryo transfer. Couples enrolled were divided into two sub-groups, namely conventional swim-up method (Group A), and horizontal sperm migration in injection dishes (Group B).No significant differences were found between groups with respect to fertilization rate, implantation success, clinical pregnancy outcomes and ongoing pregnancies. On the contrary, both cleavage and blastocyst rates were statistically higher in Group B, suggesting superior efficiency and safety of this innovative technique also including time-saving and cheaper costs as compared to the classical swim-up sperm preparation.Our data support the interpretation of the horizontal sperm migration as a promising procedure for semen preparation in ART cycles.

A new Thiocyanoacetamide protects rat sperm cells from Doxorubicin-triggered cytotoxicity whereas Selenium shows low efficacy: In vitro approach

Doxorubicin (DOX) exhibits a wide-ranging spectrum of antitumor activities which maintain its clinical use despite its devastating impact on highly proliferating cells. The present work was designed to develop a new approach which aims to protect male germ cells from DOX cytotoxicity. Thus, an assessment of the protective potential of a new thioamide analog (thiocyanoacetamide; TA) compared to selenium (Se) was performed in rat sperms exposed to DOX in vitro. Oxygen consumption rate (OCR) was measured after exposure to three different doses (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 μM) of DOX, Se or TA, and the suitable concentrations were selected for further studies afterwards. Motility, OCR in a time-dependent manner, glucose extracellular concentration and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were measured. Fatty acid (FA) content was assessed by gas chromatography (GC-FID). Cell death, superoxide anion (O₂^-), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and DNA damage were evaluated by flow cytometry. TA association with DOX increased OCR and glucose uptake, improved cell survival and decreased DNA damage. The co-administration of DOX with Se increased OCR, significantly prevented O₂^- overproduction, and decreased LPO. Collected data brought new insights regarding this transformed TA, which showed better efficiency than Se in reducing DOX cytotoxic stress in sperms.