Proteomic analysis of high and low-motility frozen-thawed spermatozoa in yak provides important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying sperm cryodamage

Sperm cryodamage caused by cryopreservation limits the use of frozen yak spermatozoa in artificial insemination (AI). However, the proteomic changes involved in the cryodamage of yak spermatozoa have not been investigated to date. Therefore, this study aimed to identify proteins related to freezing tolerance. Tandem mass tag (TMT) were used in combination with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for identifying differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between high-motility (HM) and low-motility (LM) frozen-thawed yak spermatozoa. A total of 116 DEPs were identified (>1.5-fold, P < 0.05); of which, 104 proteins were upregulated in HM spermatozoa and 12 proteins were upregulated in LM spermatozoa. The results of functional annotation analysis revealed that the DEPs were mainly involved in metabolic processes. A total of 20 DEPs that were abundantly expressed in HM spermatozoa were strongly associated with carbohydrate metabolism. The results of KEGG analysis revealed that the DEPs were enriched in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, PPAR signaling pathway, and Ras signaling pathway. In addition, many antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD1), peroxiredoxin-6 (PRDX6), and Parkinson disease protein 7 (PARK7) were upregulated in HM spermatozoa, suggesting that these enzymes affect the motility of spermatozoa by regulating the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in frozen-thawed spermatozoa. Altogether, the findings of this study elucidate the mechanisms through which cryopreservation affects the movement of yak spermatozoa and offer a novel basis for refining freezing techniques and modifying cryopreservation extender components.

Effect of cryopreservation and capacitation on expression patterns of ATP synthesis associated genes in bubaline spermatozoa

This study investigated the expression patterns of certain ATP synthesis associated genes (GAPDHS, PGK2, ENO4 and MDH2) in fresh and frozen-thawed bubaline spermatozoa vis-à-vis capacitation. Eight adult Murrah buffalo bulls, aged 5-7 years, were randomly selected from a bull farm and fresh semen was collected once a week for four weeks (n = 32) from the selected bulls. Simultaneously, frozen straws of the same bulls were collected (n = 32, four straws were pooled per sample). The samples were divided into four groups i.e., fresh non capacitated (control/group 1), fresh capacitated (group 2), frozen non capacitated (group 3) and frozen capacitated (group 4). In all groups mRNA extraction was done. The mRNA expression of GAPDHS was significantly higher in group 3 compared to the other groups, whereas the expression of ENO4 was significantly up-regulated in group 2 and 3 compared to the group 4. Similarly, the mRNA expression of PGK2 was significantly up-regulated in group 3 whereas in case of MDH2, it was significantly higher in group 2, 3 and 4 compared group 1. It can be concluded from our study that freezing and capacitation has a significant effect on the expression dynamics of the ATP synthesis-associated genes warranting necessary interventions in handling procedures to minimise the adverse effect of freezing on ATP synthesis process to ensure persistence of fertilizing ability of sperm.

Comparison of Muscle Color and Total Selenium Concentrations Between Spotted Mackerel Scomber australasicus and Pacific Mackerel S. japonicus

Selenoneine is a selenium-containing imidazole compound in the blood and tissues of tuna and other marine fish that has strong free-radical scavenging activity. This compound may have antioxidant functions, i.e., preventing metmyoglobin formation in fish muscle, which affects meat quality. This study examined the relationship between meat color and total selenium concentration in the muscle of two Scomber species, spotted mackerel (Scomber australasicus) and Pacific mackerel (S. japonicus), to assess the role of selenium as an antioxidant preventing meat discoloration. The color of chilled and frozen-thawed muscle was compared between spotted mackerel and Pacific mackerel. The a* values, indicating the red-green component of color, of the white and red muscle of spotted mackerel were higher than those of Pacific mackerel (p < 0.05). We also analyzed the blood selenium concentration of Pacific mackerel according to the L* value and protein concentration in the blood during spawning migration in June. The blood selenium concentration was negatively correlated with the L* value (r =  - 0.46) and blood protein concentration (r =  - 0.56). The blood selenium concentration in summer was related to the brightness of the muscle surface and blood protein concentration, suggesting that it is responsible for deterioration of meat quality.These findings suggest that antioxidant properties of selenium prevent the mackerel muscle discoloration that can occur during chilled and frozen storage.

Effect of freezing raw meat on the physicochemical characteristics of beef jerky

The effect of freezing raw meat on the quality characteristics of beef jerky was evaluated in the present study. Jerky was made using different types of raw beef (fresh, frozen, and frozen-thawed) with different curing times (6 h and 12 h). Frozen-thawed beef had a lower moisture content than fresh or frozen beef due to higher exudate loss (P < 0.05). Jerky made using frozen and frozen-thawed beef showed lower drying yield and higher shear force than jerky prepared using fresh beef (P < 0.05). Freezing raw beef decreased the fat content and increased the redness, yellowness, chroma, and hue values of jerky (P < 0.05). The microstructure of beef jerky was showed to increase the deformation and contraction of muscle fibers due to freezing. Longer curing times increased the moisture content of jerky made using frozen meat (P < 0.05). Jerky made using frozen or frozen-thawed meat was tough due to excessive fat and moisture loss.

Rare live birth to a 48-year-old woman after embryo transfer with autologous oocyte: A case report

OBJECTIVE

Advanced maternal age and decreased ovarian reserve have been challenges for assisted reproductive technology (ART). Few cases, using autologous oocytes more than 46-years-old, have previously been reported. We seek to show how the age at which autologous oocytes may successfully be employed may be increasing.

CASE REPORT

We report a 47-year-old woman with an anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level of 0.24 ng/mL, conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) using autologous oocytes. Patient was given an antagonist protocol for ovarian stimulation and one frozen-thawed embryo was transferred. The patient became pregnant. The course of her pregnancy was uneventful and she gave birth to a 3330 gm male baby by cesarean section.

CONCLUSION

Technological advances permit women, who previously would have been considered too old to employ an autologous oocyte, to have a successful pregnancy with a live birth.

A systematic review of clinical efficacy of frozen-thawed embryos and fresh embryos in in-vitro fertilization cycles

BACKGROUND

Frozen-thawed embryo (FTE) and fresh embryo (FE) transfer are two common strategies in vitro fertilization (IVF), while the results and findings still vary among studies.

METHODS

We searched multiple databases for relevant studies comparing the clinical effects of FTE and FE. Meta-analyses were conducted with Review Manager 5.0 to assess the efficacy among included articles. We also analyzed the risk of bias for the reports.

RESULTS

Nine studies eventually met the inclusion criteria from 2010 to 2018, and 11396 patients were included. The meta-analyses indicated no significant difference in biochemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy rates. Meanwhile, the implantation rate and live birth rate in frozen-thawed embryos were much higher than those of fresh embryo. The birth weight in the frozen-thawed ET group was greater than that of the FE group, and the low birth weight rate in FTE was lower than FE group.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggested a trend toward favouring frozen-thawed FTE might be a preferred transfer strategy for patients with IVF.

Application of near-infrared spectroscopy for frozen-thawed characterization of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)

Few works to date have reported the application of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for the characterization and authentication of cephalopods. This study investigated the feasibility of a portable NIRS instrument for the non-destructive freshness evaluation of fresh (F) and frozen-thawed (FT) cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis). Samples were examined by chemical, microbiological and sensorial analyses, during 13 days of conservation at 3 °C. The spectral data were collected on lateral mantle of cuttlefish, and different partial least squares discriminant analyses (PLS-DA) were applied for classification purposes. The interpretation of spectra was also investigated by applying the specific water coordinates, using aquaphotomics. Few significant differences in the wet chemistry and microbiological data were detected between F and FT during storage. The quality index method and microbiological analyses suggested similar behavior between F and FT samples until to near 9 days of shelf life. PLS-DA models with the spectral range 900-1650 nm achieved a classification precision of 0.91 between F and FT, while the performances for the prediction of storage days were less effective. The results of aquaphotomics plotted in aquagrams were suitable for the interpretation of the main physicochemical changes of cuttlefish throughout the shelf life. The water coordinates suggested a different molecular conformation of water species in the FT than F samples, with more free water molecules and a lower amount of bound species and the water solvation shell, respectively.

Endometriosis and cumulative live birth rate after fresh and frozen IVF cycles with single embryo transfer in young women: no impact beyond reduced ovarian sensitivity-a case control study

Purpose

To investigate the impact of symptomatic and surgically confirmed endometriosis on ovarian sensitivity index (OSI) and cumulative live-birth rates (LBR) using predominantly single embryo transfer (SET).

Methods

Cross-sectional case-control study in a University-based ART program. Women with symptomatic and surgically confirmed endometriosis (N = 172), who underwent IVF/ICSI at Karolinska University Hospital were compared to controls without clinically suspected endometriosis (N = 2585). Two thousand seven hundred fifty-seven patients underwent 8236 treatment cycles (4598 fresh and 3638 frozen cycles). Primary outcome measures included Ovarian Sensitivity Index (OSI) estimated as collected oocytes/FSH dose and cumulative LBR/oocyte pickup (OPU). Generalized estimated equation (GEE) model accounting for dependencies between consecutive treatments were applied. Secondary outcomes included number of oocytes, pregnancy rate per OPU and per ET, LBR per ET, and miscarriage rate.

Results

Patients diagnosed with endometriosis had significantly fewer oocytes collected (8.47 vs. 9.54, p = 0.015) and lower OSI (p = 0.011) than controls. There were no differences in cycle cancelations (p = 0.59) or miscarriages (p = 0.95) between the two groups. Cumulative LBR/OPU did not differ between women with endometriosis and controls (35.6% vs. 34.7%, respectively, p = 0.83). In both groups, more than 60% of women had consecutive FETs after fresh ETs (p = 0.49) with SET in > 70% of cases. The results were similar whether ovarian endometrioma was present or not.

Conclusions

Our data support that a diagnosis of endometriosis, with or without present endometrioma, does not negatively affect ART cumulative results. The impact of endometriosis was discernible on OSI but not on clinical relevant outcomes including pregnancy and LBR.

Protective effects of trehalose on frozen-thawed ovarian granulosa cells of cattle

In this study, trehalose was investigated for its cryoprotective effects on ovarian granulosa cells (bGCs) of cattle. Five concentrations of trehalose at 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mol/L were added to the cryopreservation medium of bGCs, and the effects on the quality of frozen-thawed bGCs were assessed. The results indicate that the use of cryopreservation medium containing 0.2 and 0.4 mol/L of trehalose resulted in a greater rate of bGC viability compared to those of other groups (P<0.05). Culturing with trehalose at 0.2 and 0.4 mol/L increased 17β- estradiol (E₂)and decreased progesterone (P₄)production (P < 0.05) in post-thawed bGCs. Compared with the control group, the intracellular Ca²⁺ concentrations of frozen-thawed bGCs were less in all treatment groups (P<0.05), and the least Ca²⁺ concentration was observed in the group containing 0.4 mol/L trehalose. The plasma membrane potentials of frozen-thawed bGCs were greater in the groups with 0.2 and 0.4 mol/L trehalose, and the group treated with 0.4 mol/L trehalose had the greatest membrane potential in comparison to other groups (P < 0.05). The relative abundance of the CYP19 mRNA in frozen-thawed bGCs was greater in the groups containing 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mol/L trehalose, and relative abundances of FSHR and BCL2 mRNA were greater in the group of bGCs treated with 0.2 mol/L trehalose (P<0.05). Trehalose treatment at 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mol/L had an inhibitory effect on BAX gene transcription in frozen-thawed bGCs (P<0.05). In summary, trehalose exhibited a greater cryoprotective effect on bGCs than basic cryopreservation medium.

Two-dimensional gel and shotgun proteomics approaches to distinguish fresh and frozen-thawed curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa)

The substitution and sale of frozen-thawed fish labeled as fresh is a widespread, difficult to unmask commercial fraud and a potential risk for consumer health. Proteomics could help to identify markers for the rapid screening of food samples and the identification of frozen-thawed seafood. Using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and high-resolution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we identified biomarkers that are able to discriminate between fresh and frozen-thawed tissue samples of curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa). The 2-DE analysis showed a significant reduction in two protein spots (molecular weight of 45-50 kDa, isoelectric point of 6.5-7) identified as transgelin. At shotgun analysis, nine proteins resulted modulated and transgelin was confirmed as down-regulated, making it a potentially useful marker for differentiating between fresh and frozen-thawed fish product samples.

BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

This work, based on two different proteomics approaches, investigated differentially expressed proteins in the tentacles of the curled octopus (E. cirrhosa) after freezing-thawing processes. We were able to characterize the proteome of the tentacles, increasing our knowledge on this species, and a common down-regulated protein was identified by 2-DE and shotgun analysis, a calponin-like protein called transgelin, suggesting a potential use as a marker to distinguish different states of conservation in this species.

Rapid detection of frozen-then-thawed minced beef using multispectral imaging and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

In recent years, fraud detection has become a major priority for food authorities, as fraudulent practices can have various economic and safety consequences. This work explores ways of identifying frozen-then-thawed minced beef labeled as fresh in a rapid, large-scale and cost-effective way. For this reason, freshly-ground beef was purchased from seven separate shops at different times, divided in fifteen portions and placed in Petri dishes. Multi-spectral images and FTIR spectra of the first five were immediately acquired while the remaining were frozen (-20°C) and stored for 7 and 32days (5 samples for each time interval). Samples were thawed and subsequently subjected to similar data acquisition. In total, 105 multispectral images and FTIR spectra were collected which were further analyzed using partial least-squares discriminant analysis and support vector machines. Two meat batches (30 samples) were reserved for independent validation and the remaining five batches were divided in training and test set (75 samples). Results showed 100% overall correct classification for test and external validation MSI data, while FTIR data yielded 93.3 and 96.7% overall correct classification for FTIR test set and external validation set respectively.

Human umbilical cord stem cell conditioned medium versus serum-free culture medium in the treatment of cryopreserved human ovarian tissues in in-vitro culture: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

To reduce young female fertility loss, the in-vitro culture of cryopreserved ovarian cortical tissues (OCTs) is considered an effective approach without delaying treatment and undergoing stimulation medicine. However, ischemic damage and follicular loss during the in-vitro culture of OCTs are major technical challenges. Human umbilical cord stem cells (HUMSCs) and their conditioned medium (HUMSC-CM) have been considered to be potential resources for regeneration medicine because they secrete cytokines and enhance cell survival and function. The aim of this study was to determine whether HUMSC-CM improves the development of frozen-thawed in-vitro cultured ovarian tissues compared with a serum-free culture medium (SF-CM).

METHODS

The thawed OCTs (n = 68) were cultivated in HUMSC-CM and SF-CM in vitro for 8 days, and the ovarian tissues were processed and analyzed by a classical histological evaluation. The microvessel density (MVD) and apotosis detection during in-vitro culture of OCTs were also performed.

RESULTS

A significant difference in the rate of morphologically normal primordial follicles in the HUMSC-CM group was observed compared to that in the SF-CM group (group C) from days 2 to 4 (day 2: group B 58.0 ± 2.45% vs group C 32.0 ± 5.83%, p = 0.002; day 3: group B 55.5 ± 4.20% vs group C 21.0 ± 9.80%, p = 0.048; day 4: group B 52.0 ± 4.08% vs group C 21.5 ± 8.19%, p = 0.019). The microvessel density (MVD) detection showed a time-dependent increase and peaked on day 4. There was a significant difference between groups B (49.33 ± 0.58) and C (24.33 ± 3.79) (p = 0.036). The percentage of apoptotic follicles in group B was lower than that in group C on day 1 (13.75 ± 2.50% vs 27.0 ± 10.10%, p = 0.003), day 5 (11.75 ± 1.50% vs 51.0 ± 10.5%, p = 0.019) and day 7 (15.0 ± 5.10% vs 46.5 ± 21.75%, p = 0.018).

CONCLUSIONS

These data have provided the first experimental evidence of the effect of HUMSC-CM on frozen-thawed OCTs in vitro. The results showed that the HUMSC-CM group provided a better protecting effect on the in-vitro culture of the cryopreserved OCTs compared to the SF-CM group.

Higher clinical pregnancy rates from frozen-thawed blastocyst transfers compared to fresh blastocyst transfers: a retrospective matched-cohort study

PURPOSE

The purpose of this matched-cohort study was to assess endometrial receptivity to blastocyst implantation in fresh embryo transfer by comparing implantation outcomes of fresh embryo transfer with frozen embryo transfer, where two blastocysts of good quality were transferred in good prognosis patients.

METHOD(S)

Fresh embryo transfer from intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles and artificial frozen embryo transfer cycles performed from January 2012 to December 2013 at a private clinic were retrospectively analyzed and the pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, and implantation rates statistically compared. Cycles were stratified and matched according to the blastocyst expansion grade (grade 2, 3, 4, or 5) of the two blastocysts transferred. Five hundred ninety-eight fresh embryo transfer cycles were matched with 545 frozen embryo transfer cycles across four blastocyst cohorts.

RESULT(S)

In this study of 1143 blastocyst transfer cycles, fresh embryo transfer resulted in reduced pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, and fetal heart implantation rates in all four blastocyst cohorts. The fetal heart implantation rates for fresh embryo transfer ranged from 16.7 % in the grade 2 to 47.3 % in the grade 5 cohort, compared to 23.1 % in the grade 2 to 57.4 % in the grade 5 cohort for frozen embryo transfer. The trends in increasing pregnancy outcomes relative to increasing blastocyst expansion were similar in fresh embryo transfer and frozen embryo transfer.

CONCLUSION(S)

Blastocysts of good quality transferred in frozen embryo transfer had a significantly greater chance of implantation and clinical pregnancy compared to blastocysts of matched quality transferred in fresh embryo transfer, suggesting reduced endometrial receptivity in fresh embryo transfer.