Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:56:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1471.pdf: 1734309 bytes, checksum: e1a25902d99a75515b696dcd901f26a8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-03-28 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / In animal cell cultures there are two kinds of cell death: apoptosis (programmed cell death) and necrosis (cell death due to external sources). The inovative method of cell death identification that have attracted interest is the use of fluorescence microscopy and fluorescent dye (to bind DNA and RNA). Image analysis techniques has become a useful tool in cell death quantification, once they are non destructive for the culture and have easy application with using adjusted softwares. Based in these new technological trends, the present work considers the development of a methodology for quantification of apoptotic and necrotic cell death in cultures of insect cells Drosophila melanogaster (S2). This methodology involved the development of a experimental procedure using new dyes (YO-PRO-1 and Propidium Iodide), that have presented advantages over the others because they are non destructive to the culture an are able to clearly discriminate between apoptotic and necrotic cell death. The use of this dyes was compared with the method of exclusion of Trypan blue and fluorescent dyes Acridine Orange and Ethidium Bromide. Besides being less toxic to cells S2, YO-PRO-1 and Propidium Iodide showed more sensitivity in the identification of death and in the calculation of cell viability. It also envolved the development of an algorithm based on image analysis techniques for quantification of the two kinds of cell death, less subjective than the manual methods currently used. The algorithm showed to be efficient, fast an of easy application with a error around 2% when compared to manual methodology. The calculated cell concentration by the algorithm was very close to experimental. / Em cultivos de células animais existem dois tipos de morte celular: apoptose (morte celular programada) e necrose (morte devido a lesões causadas por fontes externas). O método inovador de identificação dessas mortes de células que tem atraído muito interesse é o uso de microscopia de fluorescência e corantes celulares fluorescentes capazes de tingir moléculas de DNA e RNA. Técnicas de análise de imagem têm se tornado uma ferramenta útil nessa quantificação de morte celular, uma vez que é não destrutiva para a cultura e de fácil aplicação com o uso de softwares adequados. Baseado nessas novas tendências tecnológicas, o presente trabalho teve como meta o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia para quantificação de morte apoptótica e necrótica no cultivo de células de inseto Drosophila melanogaster (S2). Essa metodologia envolveu o desenvolvimento de um procedimento experimental utilizando corantes novos no mercado: o YO-PRO-1 e o Iodeto de Propídio, que têm apresentado vantagens sobre os outros corantes por não serem destrutivos para a cultura e discriminarem claramente a morte apoptótica da necrótica. A metodologia que faz uso destes corantes foi comparada com o método de exclusão por Azul de Tripan e com os corantes fluorescentes Laranja de Acridina e Brometo de Etídio. Além de serem menos tóxicos as células, o YO-PRO-1 e o Iodeto de Propído mostraram mais sensibilidade na identificação da morte e posterior cálculo da viabilidade celular. A metodologia também envolveu o desenvolvimento de um algoritmo baseado em técnicas de análise de imagens para quantificação dos dois tipos de morte celular, menos subjetiva que os métodos manuais atualmente utilizados. O algoritmo se mostrou eficiente, rápido e de fácil aplicação, gerando um erro de 2% quando comparado com a metodologia manual. Também realizou-se o cálculo da concentração celular por método computacional, ficando os valores bem próximos dos experimentais.

Artificial insemination using cooled, transported semen has become a popular practice in the equine industry. However, equine sperm are assumed to show a decline in their fertilizing ability after 24 to 48 hours of cooled storage. Two measures that are commonly used to estimate the fertility of an ejaculate are sperm motility and sperm membrane integrity (SMI). Recently, it has been suggested that SMI may have a better correlation with fertility of an inseminate than sperm motility. The effect of cooled-storage on sperm quality over an extended time period was evaluated to illustrate changes in sperm characteristics that might be related to an ejaculate’s fertility. Semen was stored at 4°C in INRA 96 extender containing 10% seminal plasma for a period of 10 days. Data were collected daily on sperm motion characteristics, SMI, mitochondrial membrane potential, and DNA quality. To measure daily changes in SMI in stallion sperm, two fluorescent vital-staining protocols used in flow cytometric analysis were compared – a combination of SNARF-1, Yo-Pro-1, and Ethidium Homodimer 1 (SYE) and a combination of lectin from Pisum sativum and propidium iodide (PSA/PI). We hypothesized that the SYE protocol adapted for use with stallion sperm could detect more subtle, and perhaps earlier, damage to the sperm plasma membrane than the PSA/PI protocol. A combination of SYBR 14, propidium iodide, and JC-1 (SYPIJC) was used to measure mitochondrial membrane potential, as well as SMI. A computer-assisted sperm motion analysis (CASA) instrument was used to evaluate sperm motion characteristics; the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) was used to measure the degree of DNA fragmentation. In this study, with the exception of sperm motility, the measures of sperm quality retained values consistent with “viability” after 10 days of cooled-storage. This suggests that the fertility of some stallions may last considerably longer than previously assumed, which could ultimately alter the time-table used for artificial insemination using cooled, transported semen.