Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University, May, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Case Western Reserve University, 2007. / [School of Medicine] Department of Genetics. Includes bibliographical references. Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:31:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-08-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:41:47Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ribeiro_apc_dr_jabo.pdf: 558027 bytes, checksum: ed704b102c75b6393c69efd003167c97 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / O principal objetivo das pesquisas com MIV canina tem sido o desenvolvimento e implementação adequados da fecundação in vitro (FIV) e do cultivo embrionário in vitro (CIV) para a obtenção de embriões das espécies de canídeos em extinção. Concomitantemente à publicação de dados sobre índices de MIV em cadelas, surgiram alguns relatos sobre taxas de maturação completa e indícios de retomada da meiose em oócitos provenientes de folículos pré-ovulatórios. Assim, o presente estudo objetivou investigar a incidência de maturação oocitária intraovariana de cadelas em anestro, estro natural e estro induzido. Os oócitos foram colhidos após fatiamento ovariano e imediatamente corados com bisbenzimida para avaliação dos diferentes graus de configuração cromossômica. Em conclusão podemos afirmar que há retomada e progressão da meiose em oócitos, no ambiente intrafolicular; não há diferença estatística (P<0,05) nas porcentagens das diferentes configurações cromossômicas de acordo com os estádios reprodutivos avaliados neste estudo (anestro/estro e estro induzido). / The main canine MIV research goal has been adequate in vitro fecundation develop and implementation (FIV) and the in vitro embryo cultivation (CIV) to obtain in extinction canid species embryos. Concomitantly to data publication about bitch MIV indexes appeared some relates about complete maturation rates and indications of meiosis retaken in oocytes from pre-ovulatory follicles. This way, the present study aimed investigate the anestrus bitches interovarian oocytary maturation incidence, natural estrus and estrus-induced The oocytes were collected after the ovary slicing and immediately colored with bisbenzimide to evaluate the different chromosomic configuration degrees. As a conclusion, can be affirmed there is meiosis progression and resumption in oocytes, in the intra follicular environment. There were no statistical difference (P<0.05) between the different chromosomic configurations percentages according to the reproductive stages evaluated in this study (anestrus/estrus and estrus- induced).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-08-21Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:08:12Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 sanches_ea_me_jabo.pdf: 1805723 bytes, checksum: 57436a068bd303d903231a9efc47438f (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / O trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito da temperatura de estocagem a curto prazo e da temperatura da água sobre os ovócitos e sêmen de jundiá, Rhamdia quelen. O experimento foi realizado em três etapas: (1) avaliar a qualidade dos ovócitos após estocagem e ativação em diferentes temperaturas; (2) padronizar a utilização de análise espermática computadorizada por meio de softwares livres; (3) avaliar os parâmetros espermáticos computadorizados após estocagem e ativação em diferentes temperaturas. Para a primeira, utilizou-se um delineamento experimental fatorial no tempo (5×3×3×3), com os tratamentos realizados em triplicata a cada 48h, na exposição de ovócitos nas temperaturas de 15; 25 e 35ºC e, ativados com água à 15; 25 e 35ºC cada, nos períodos de: 0; 45; 90; 135 e 180 minutos pós-coleta. A segunda etapa foi realizada através da captura de vídeos da movimentação espermática pelo software AMCAP, a uma taxa de 60 frames por segundo, processados no software VIRTUALDUB e analisados no software IMAGEJ por meio do aplicativo CASA. Os seguintes parâmetros foram analisados: taxa de motilidade espermática (MOT), velocidade curvilinear (VCL), velocidade média do deslocamento (VMD), velocidade em linha reta (VLR), linearidade (LIN), balanço (BAL) e freqüência de batimentos (FBAT). Os parâmetros espermáticos foram avaliados em um segundo de imagem nos tempos de 15, 25 e 35 segundos após a ativação espermática. Para a terceira etapa foi utilizado um delineamento experimental fatorial no tempo semelhante à primeira ,com 13 tempos de avaliação pós-coleta: 0; 2; 4; 6; 8; 10; 12; 16; 20; 24; 32; 40 e 48 horas. Os tratamentos foram realizados em triplicata e em protocolos sequenciais a cada 50 horas avaliando-se os parâmetros obtidos na segunda etapa. Estes foram submetidos às análises de correlação (Pearson)... / The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of temperature of storage in the short-term and the temperature of the water on the oocytes and sperm of jundiá, Rhamdia quelen. The experiment was conducted in three stages: (1) assess the quality of oocytes after storage and activation at different temperatures; (2) standardize the use of computerized sperm analysis by software free, (3) evaluate the computerized sperm parameters after storage and activation at different temperatures. For the first, was used a factorial experimental design in time (5×3×3×3), with treatments performed in triplicate every 48 hours, the exposure of oocytes at temperatures of 15, 25 and 35 C, and activated with water to 15, 25 and 35 C each, in the periods of: 0; 45; 90; 135 and 180 minutes post-collection. The second stage was performed by video capture of the movement of sperm through AMCAP software at a rate of 60 frames per second, processed and analyzed in VirtualDub software and ImageJ software using the CASA application. The following parameters were analyzed: rate of sperm motility (MOT), velocity curvilinear (VCL), velocity average path (VAP), velocity straight line (VSL), linearity (LIN), wobble (WOB), beating cross frequency (BCF). The sperm parameters were evaluated in a second image in the times of 15, 25 and 35 seconds after sperm activation. For the third step we used a factorial experimental design similar to the first in time, with 13 times of evaluation post-collection: 0; 2; 4; 6; 8; 10; 12; 16; 20; 24; 32; 40 and 48 hours. The treatments were performed in triplicate and sequencing protocols to be evaluated every 50 hours if the parameters obtained in the second stage. These were submitted to analysis of correlation (Pearson). The significant parameters (P<0.05) were summarized by the principals components analysis. For the first stage interaction (P<0.05) between time and temperature... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Fernanda da Cruz Landim e Alvarenga / Banca: Cezinande de Meira / Banca: Marcelo Marcondes Seneda / Resumo: Em éguas, o aprimoramento e a aplicação de técnicas como a ICSI, TO e transferência nuclear é restrita devido à dificuldade de obtenção de oócitos in vivo, atribuída a particularidades dos folículos ovarianos da espécie. Em folículos pré-ovulatórios, a expansão do cumulus que ocorre com a progressão da maturação folicular e deposição de ácido hialurônico aumenta os índices de recuperação de oócitos por folículo, enquanto o tratamento superovulatório, embora não seja eficiente em aumentar os índices de recuperação por folículo, melhora os índices de recuperação por égua. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da administração de hCG na expansão das células da granulosa e do cumulus e no índice de recuperação de oócitos a partir de folículos imaturos de éguas superovuladas. Para isso 10 éguas foram submetidas à OPU após três diferentes tratamentos hormonais (G1: EPE, G2: EPE/hCG e G3:controle). Cada égua foi submetida aos três tratamentos, tendo sido alternados um ciclo onde era permitido que houvesse ovulação, sem interferência, e um ciclo com OPU. No ciclo onde devia ocorrer aspiração, as éguas recebiam aplicações de prostaglandina no sétimo e oitavo dia após a ovulação. Para os grupos 1 e 2, iniciava-se o tratamento com EPE no D7. Quando a maioria dos folículos atingia entre 22 e 27 mm, somente o grupo 1 recebia hCG, a EPE era suspensa e efetuava-se OPU 24 horas depois para ambos os grupos. Para o grupo controle, após a aplicação de prostaglandina a OPU era efetuada 24 horas após o folículo dominante atingir 27-30 mm. Em todos os grupos foram aspirados folículos entre 10 e 35 mm. Não houve diferença entre os 3 grupos quanto aos índices de recuperação de oócitos por folículo, com médias de 15% a 16,7%. Entretanto, a hCG foi capaz de induzir uma expansão e luteinização precoce das células foliculares. / Abstract: In mares, the use of artificial reproductive techniques (ART) such as intracitoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI), oocyte transfer (OT), and cloning is limited by the low availability of oocytes obtained either in vitro or in vivo. The low recovery rate of oocytes from immature follicles seems to be linked with anatomical particularities of the follicular wall. In pre-ovulatory follicles (>35mm in diameter), final oocyte maturation is accompanied by the expansion of the cumulus, which releases the oocyte from the follicular wall resulting in increased recovery rates after follicular aspiration. The number of oocytes recovered in each OPU (Ovum Pick Up) section should be higher with superovulation. However, although the total number of oocytes recovered by each individual mare is increased, the recovery rate per follicle is still low. Treatment with hCG modifies the intra-follicular environment by inducing precocious expansion of the granulosa cells, leading to a higher recovery rate during OPU of pre-ovulatory follicles. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of hCG treatment on the recovery rate of oocytes obtained from immature follicles in mares superovulated with Equine Pituitary Extract (EPE). Ten mares were rotated in three different treatments: G1 - superovulated with EPE; G2 - Superovulated with EPE and treated with hCG, and G3 - Control. For all treatments, when the biggest follicle reached 27 - 30 mm, all follicles bigger than 10 mm were aspirated. Each OPU cycle was alternated with a rest cycle when a spontaneous ovulation occurred. Although treatment with hCG increased the number of follicles presenting expanded granulosa and high intra-follicular progesterone concentration, no statistically significant differences were observed between groups regarding oocyte recovery. / Mestre

This study was designed to determine the effects of stage of lactation and subsequent energy status on metabolic and endocrine measures, follicular development, and the quality of oocytes obtained from Holstein cows. Holstein cows were selected prior to calving and assigned to the early lactation (EL) group (n=8) while, cows at d 90 postpartum were selected for the mid-lactation (ML) group (n=7). Blood samples were taken twice weekly from 4 wk prior to the start of follicular aspirations and then on through the aspiration periods for metabolite and hormone determination. Ultrasound-guided transvaginal follicular aspiration (TVFA) was conducted twice weekly for a 10-wk period on all cows. Follicular fluid samples were obtained from the largest follicle, > 10 mm in diameter, for hormone determination. All data were analyzed by ANOVA, using the general linear model procedures. Mean energy balance was positive for (2.43 ± 0.32 Mcal/kg) for ML cows and negative (-1.55 ± 0.33 Mcal/kg) for EL cows. In ML cows serum progesterone (P4) decreased rapidly from 2.7 ± 0.1 ng/ml at the first aspiration session to a nadir of 0.33 ± 0.1 ng/ml at wk 8, while follicular fluid P4 increased from 0.9 ± 0.5 to 5.6 ± 0.5 ng/ml. In the EL cows serum and follicular fluid P4 remained relatively constant over the course of aspirations. There was a linear increase in follicular fluid insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) for EL and ML cows, however the increase was more rapid for ML cows (159 ± 36 to 200 ± 36 ng/ml) than for EL cows (145 ± 36 to 164 ± 36 ng/ml). Over the aspiration period nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) declined rapidly for the EL cows (0.32 ± 0.2 to 0.22 ± 0.2 mEq/L), while serum NEFA for the ML cows were relatively stable (0.19 ± 0.2 to 0.22 ± 0.2 mEq/L). The number of follicles observed during the aspiration sessions increased linearly for both EL and ML cows (P < 0.05) over the 10-wk period. However, the increase was larger for the ML cows than for the EL cows, going from 14.2 ± 0.5 to 18.1 ± 0.5 and 14.9 ± 0.3 to 15.7 ± 0.5, respectively. These results show that cows in early lactation are physiologically under more production stress than cows in mid lactation. Furthermore, increasing levels of serum and follicular fluid IGF-I in mid lactation may reflect differences in follicle and oocyte measures. / Master of Science

PLK1 belongs to the extended family of serine/threonine kinases controlling the cell cycle. It is well known for its role in the control of mitosis and contributes also to the regulation of meiotic division. On a basis of Live Cell Imaging (LCI) experiments we can describe the phenotype of the oocytes with PLK1 inhibited by small molecular inhibitor BI2536. PLK1 inhibition leads to delayed nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) and chromatin condensation (CC) and also causes desynchronization of NEBD and CC; in contrast to control oocytes, PLK1 inhibited oocytes break down their nuclear envelope with chromatin almost fully condensed. Also duration of these two early nuclear events is prolonged in oocytes with inhibited PLK1. In contrast to somatic cells, PLK1 inhibition in mouse oocytes does not prevent assembly of spindle with two distinct poles but affects the final spindle volume. Similar to somatic cells, mouse oocytes with PLK1 inhibited from the beginning of the meiotic maturation stay arrested in metaphase I but in the case of mouse oocytes, this block is not dependent on Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC) persisting activity. When mouse oocytes are synchronized on metaphase I/anaphase I transition by proteasome inhibition and then PLK1 kinase activity is inhibited, about 2/3 of the oocytes stay arrested...

In Drosophila oocytes, chromosomes undergo dynamic reorganisation during the prophase of the first meiotic division. This is essential to prepare chromatin for synapsis, recombination and consequent chromosome segregation. The progression of meiotic prophase I is well described, while the molecular mechanisms and regulation of these dramatic chromosomal reorganisations are not well understood. Histone modifying enzymes are major regulators of chromatin structure, however, our knowledge of their roles in meiotic prophase I is still limited. In this work, I investigated the role of the histone demethylase Kdm5/Lid, which removes one of the trimethyl groups at Lys4 of Histone 3 (H3K4me3). I showed that Kdm5/Lid is important for the assembly of the synaptonemal complex, pairing of homologous centromeres, and the karyosome formation. Additionally, Kdm5/Lid promotes crossing over and therefore ensures accurate chromosome segregation. Although loss of Kdm5/Lid dramatically increased the level of H3K4me3 in oocytes, catalytically inactive Kdm5/Lid rescued the above cytological defects. Thereby, I found that Kdm5/Lid regulates chromatin architecture in meiotic prophase I oocytes independently of its demethylase activity. To further identify the regulators of meiotic chromatin organisation during prophase I, I carried out a small-scale RNAi screen for karyosome defects. I found that depletion of ubiquitin ligase components, SkpA, Cul-3 and Ubc-6, disrupted the karyosome formation and the assembly of the synaptonemal complex. The success of the small-scale screen motivated me to initiate the genome-scale RNAi screen for karyosome defects. I found 40 new genes that, when depleted, strongly impaired karyosome morphology. Further studies are required to confirm and elucidate their role in chromatin organisation in oocytes. Overall, my findings have advanced our understanding of the regulation of chromatin reorganisation during oocyte development. Because of the conservation between Drosophila and human meiosis, this study provides novel insights into the regulation of meiotic progression in human oocytes.

Orientador: Wilter Ricardo Russiano Vicente / Banca: Francisca Elda Ferreira Dias / Banca: Ivo Walter dos Santos / Banca: Paulo Henrique Franceschini / Banca: Francisco Guilherme Leite / Resumo: O principal objetivo das pesquisas com MIV canina tem sido o desenvolvimento e implementação adequados da fecundação in vitro (FIV) e do cultivo embrionário in vitro (CIV) para a obtenção de embriões das espécies de canídeos em extinção. Concomitantemente à publicação de dados sobre índices de MIV em cadelas, surgiram alguns relatos sobre taxas de maturação completa e indícios de retomada da meiose em oócitos provenientes de folículos pré-ovulatórios. Assim, o presente estudo objetivou investigar a incidência de maturação oocitária intraovariana de cadelas em anestro, estro natural e estro induzido. Os oócitos foram colhidos após fatiamento ovariano e imediatamente corados com bisbenzimida para avaliação dos diferentes graus de configuração cromossômica. Em conclusão podemos afirmar que há retomada e progressão da meiose em oócitos, no ambiente intrafolicular; não há diferença estatística (P<0,05) nas porcentagens das diferentes configurações cromossômicas de acordo com os estádios reprodutivos avaliados neste estudo (anestro/estro e estro induzido). / Abstract: The main canine MIV research goal has been adequate in vitro fecundation develop and implementation (FIV) and the in vitro embryo cultivation (CIV) to obtain in extinction canid species embryos. Concomitantly to data publication about bitch MIV indexes appeared some relates about complete maturation rates and indications of meiosis retaken in oocytes from pre-ovulatory follicles. This way, the present study aimed investigate the anestrus bitches interovarian oocytary maturation incidence, natural estrus and estrus-induced The oocytes were collected after the ovary slicing and immediately colored with bisbenzimide to evaluate the different chromosomic configuration degrees. As a conclusion, can be affirmed there is meiosis progression and resumption in oocytes, in the intra follicular environment. There were no statistical difference (P<0.05) between the different chromosomic configurations percentages according to the reproductive stages evaluated in this study (anestrus/estrus and estrus- induced). / Doutor

In most animals, oogenesis involves a syncytial “cyst” stage. Cysts are produced by incomplete mitotic divisions of gonial precursor cells, leaving the resulting cystocytes interconnected by cytoplasmic bridges. The bridges subsequently break down, liberating the developing gametes. In some animals (e.g. meroistic insects) cysts are “polarized”, such that certain cystocytes differentiate as supportive nurse cells, rather than oocytes. The variability of cysts in animal oogenesis contrasts with the relative universality of spermatogenic cysts, making the functional importance of cysts in oogenesis unclear. I have studied oogenesis in a polychaete worm, Ophryotrocha labronica (Annelida: Dorvilleidae). These worms produce polarized, two-celled oogenic cysts with one nurse cell and one oocyte. Such cysts resemble their better-characterized counterparts in meroistic insects. However, using a variety of light- and electron-microscopic techniques, I show here that the resemblance between O. labronica and meroistic insects is largely superficial. Rather, the roles of nurse cells and the mechanisms underlying cystocyte differentiation are quite distinct in both groups. Therefore, similarities between these polychaetes and insects are probably examples of convergent evolution rather than homology. These observations underscore the plasticity of oogenesis among animals. Mechanisms by which germ cells become distinct from somatic cells in animals are also a subject of considerable research activity. Two general modes of germ-cell specification have been described in animals: deterministic specification, which is typical of established model species (e.g., Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans) and inductive specification, which, though it is the more-common mode among animals, has not been well studied. As an annelid worm, O. labronica likely specifies its germ cells inductively, and therefore has potential to serve as a model species for studies of inductive germ cell specification. Realizing this potential, however, will require the development of genetic resources for this species. I describe the beginnings of such work here: the isolation and characterization of a vasa/PL10-like gene whose expression is largely restricted to germ cells, the construction of a cDNA library, and the refinement of methods for in situ hybridization and immunostaining to visualize gene expression in whole worms.