Satellite cells contribution to exercise mediated muscle hypertrophy and repair

Satellite cells [SCs] are the most abundant skeletal muscle stem cells. They are widely recognized for their contributions to maintenance of muscle mass, regeneration and hypertrophy during the human life span. These cells are good candidates for cell therapy due to their self-renewal capabilities and presence in an undifferentiated form. Presently, a significant gap exists between our knowledge of SCs behavior and their application as a means for human skeletal muscle tissue repair and regeneration. Both physiological and pathological stimuli potentially affect SCs activation, proliferation, and terminal differentiation - the former category being the focus of this article. Activation of SCs occurs following exercise, post-training micro-injuries, and electrical stimulation. Exercise, as a potent and natural stimulus, is at the center of numerous studies on SC activation and relevant fields. According to research, different exercise modalities end with various effects. This review article attempts to picture the state of the art of the SCs life span and their engagement in muscle regeneration and hypertrophy in exercise

Fertility preservation in cancer patients: in vivo and in vitro options

Oocyte, embryo and ovarian tissue cryopreservation are being increasingly proposed for fertility preservation among cancer patients undergoing therapy to enable them to have babies after the cancer is cured. Embryo cryopreservation is not appropriate for single girls without any spermpartner. It is impossible in cases requiring immediate cancer cure because oocyte retrieval is an extended procedure. Thus ovarian tissue cryopreservation has been suggested for fertility preservation especially in cancer patients. The main goal of ovarian cryopreservation is re-implanting the tissue into the body to restore fertility and the hormonal cycle. Different cryopreservation protocols have been examined and established for vitrification of biological samples. We have used Cryopin to plunge ovarian tissue into the liquid nitrogen and promising results have been observed. The possibility of recurrence of malignancy in the reimplanted tissue could be a problem. Xenografting-implantation of the preserved tissue in another species-also has its drawbacks such as molecular signaling from the recipient. In vitro follicle culturing is a safer method to obtain mature oocytes for fertilization and the various studies that have been carried out in this area are reviewed in this paper

Comparison of allotransplantation of fresh and vitrified mouse ovaries to the testicular tissue under influence of the static magnetic field

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of static magnetic field [SMF] during transplantation of the ovarian tissue into the testis

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, ovaries of 6- to 8-week-old female Naval Medical Research Institute [NMRI] mice were randomly divided into four groups: i. Fresh ovaries were immediately transplanted into the testicular tissue [FOT group], ii. Fresh ovaries were exposed to the SMF for 10 minutes and then transplanted into the testicular tissue [FOT+group], iii. Vitrified-warmed ovaries were transplanted into the testicular tissue [VOT group], and iv. Vitrified-warmed ovaries were transplanted into the testicular tissue and the transplantation site was then exposed to the SMF for 10 minutes [VOT+group]

Results: The lowest percentages of morphologically dead primordial follicles and the highest percentages of morphologically intact primordial follicles were seen in the FOT+ group [4.11% +/- 2.88 and 41.26% +/- 0.54, respectively]. Although the lowest significant percentage of maturation, embryonic development and fertility was observed in the VOT group as compared to the other groups, the difference in the fertility rate was not significant between the VOT and VOT+groups. Estrogen and progesterone concentrations were significantly higher in the FOT+group than those of the control mice

Conclusion: It is concluded that, exposure of the vitrified-warmed ovaries to SMF retains the structure of the graft similar to that of fresh ovaries

introduction to the royan human ovarian tissue bank

From December 2000 until 2010, the researchers at Royan Institute conducted a wide range of investigations on ovarian tissue cryopreservation with the intent to provide fertility preservation to cancer patients that were considered to be candidates for these services. In 2010, Royan Institute established the Royan Human Ovarian Tissue Bank as a subgroup of the Embryology Department. Since its inception, approximately 180 patients between the ages of 747 years have undergone consultations. Ovarian samples were cryopreserved from 47 patients [age: 7-35 years] diagnosed with cervical adenocarcinoma [n=9]; breast carcinoma [n=7], Ewing's sarcoma [n=7], opposite side ovarian tumor [n=7], endometrial adenocarcinoma [n=4], malignant colon tumors [n=3], as well as Hodgkin's lymphoma, major thalassemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia [n=1-2 patients for each disease]. Additionally, two patients requested ovarian tissue transplantation after completion of their treatments

Follicle development of xenotransplanted sheep ovarian tissue into male and female immunodeficient rats

This study aimed to assess follicle survival after xenotransplantation of sheep ovarian tissue into male and female immunodeficient rats. We evaluated the effects of gonadotropin treatment on follicular development in the transplanted tissue. In this experimental study, sheep ovarian cortical strips were transplanted into the neck back muscles of 8 male and 8 female immunodeficient, castrated rats. Fourteen days after surgery, each rat was treated with human menopausal gonadotropin [hMG] for 9 weeks. One day after the last injection, ovarian tissues were removed and fixed for histology assessment. Histology analyses were performed before and after grafting. Estradiol [E[2]] levels were measured before and after gonadectomy, and at the end of the experiment. The control group consisted of 7 male and 7 female non-castrated/non-grafted rats and the sham group comprised 7 male and 7 female castrated/ non-grafted rats for comparison of serum E2 concentrations. The percentage of primordial follicles decreased after transplantation in male [25.97%] and female [24.14%] rats compared to the control group [ovarian tissue non-grafted; 37.51%]. Preantral follicles increased in the male [19.5%] and female [19.49%] transplanted rats compared to the control group [11.4%]. Differences in antral follicles between male [0.06 +/- 0.0%] and female [0.06 +/- 0.0%] rats were not noticeable compared to control [1.25 +/- 0.0%] rats. We observed a significantly higher percent of mean E[2] secretion in grafted males compared to grafted females [P<0.05]. Despite significant differences in E[2] secretion between xenografted male and female rats, we observed no statistical differences in terms of follicular development

Morphological study of isolated ovarian preantral follicles using fibrin gel plus platelet lysate after subcutaneous transplantation

Ovarian and follicle transplantation may preserve fertility in young cancer survivors. In this study, we have transplanted preantral follicles using fibrin gel as a carrier and fibrin gel supplemented with platelet lysate [PL] as a rich source of angiogenic and growth factors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of fibrin gel and PL in follicle transplantation. In this experimental study, ovaries were taken from 14-day-old Naval Medical Research Institute [NMRI] mice. Preantral follicles were dissected from the ovaries and encapsulated into fibrin gel supplemented with 5, 10, 15 or 20% PL, then transplanted back into the same donor mice. Fibrin gels supplemented with PL that contained preantral follicles were placed in a subcutaneous pocket in the back of the neck of the recipient, donor mouse [the same mouse that follicles were collected]. After 14 days the grafts were processed and embedded in paraffin blocks, then serially sectioned for histological evaluation. We counted the follicles and classified them according to stage [preantral or antral]. Data were presented as mean +/- standard error of mean [SEM] and analysed by analysis of variance [ANOVA] and the Kruskal-Wallistest. The mean percentage of recovered follicles encapsulated and transplanted in each group were 33.30 +/- 2.47 [fibrin gel], 31.96 +/- 1.90 [fibrin gel+5% PL], 34.02 +/- 2.44 [fibrin gel+10% PL], 48.31 +/- 2.06 [fibrin gel+15% PL] and 17.60 +/- 2.79 [fibrin gel+20% PL]. There was a significant increase in the recovery rate of grafted follicles with fibrin gel+15% PL [48.31%; p<0.001]. The percentage of preantral follicles showed no significant difference in all groups [p<0.05]. The percentage of antral follicles showed a significant decrease in follicles grafted with fibrin gel+20% PL when compared to the other groups [11.77%; p<0.005] but no significant difference was observed in the other groups. The use of PL in follicle transplantation can improve ovarian follicular survival rate

[Comparison of two different immature mouse ovarian vitrification methods using trypan blue staining]

Objective: Different cryoprotectants are used for cryopreservation of ovarian tissue in patients at risk of infertility. Ethylene glycol [EG], dimethyl sulfoxide [DMSO] and propanediol [PROH] have been chosen as the basic permeable cryoprotectants due to their decreased glass-formation characteristics compared to other cryoprotectants. In the present study, the effects of two different vitrification methods on whole mouse ovarian tissue by the use of a novel staining method [trypan blue] has been evaluated

Methods: Ovaries of 8 day-old NMRI mice were isolated and divided among the control, vitrification 1 [Vit1] and vitrification 2 [Vit2] groups. The Vit1 solution was composed of alpha-MEM+ 20% FBS + 15% EG + 15% DMSO. The Vit 2 solution was composed of alpha- MEM+ 15% FBS +20% EG + 20% PROH. Vit1 and Vit2 procedures were performed at 4°C and room temperature, respectively. Warming was performed in alpha-MEM+ 20% FBS supplemented with 1M sucrose in the Vit1 group and alpha-MEM+ 15% FBS with descending concentrations of sucrose [1, 0.5, 0.25 M] in the Vit2 group. Control and vitrified warmed ovaries were put in alpha-MEM supplemented by 0.4% trypan blue for 20 min, and then stained ovaries were fixed in Bouin's fixative, serially sectioned in paraffin wax and finally quantitatively evaluated under a light microscope

Results: The highest percentage of primordial follicles was observed in the control group. There was a significant difference between the control and Vit1 groups, and between the Vit1 and Vit2 groups [p<0.05]. No significant difference was observed in primary and preantral follicles between the control and vitrification groups

Conclusion: Vitrification with EG and PROH are more suitable for preservation of follicle reserves in ovaries. Trypan blue staining is a faster and easier method for evaluation of ovarian tissue

[ review on the activity of hormones and growth factors after ovarian tissue transplantation]

The majority of cancer treatments are invasive. Gonadal injuries cause reductions in fertility which results in lack of hope for conception in cancer patients and frustration for their partners. Fortunately, current advancements in cryopreservation and transplantation sciences regarding fertility preservation lead to cryostorage of gonads and preservation prior to the onset of chemo- and radiotherapy treatments. Accordingly in women, the main goal of ovarian cryopreservation is establishment of fertility and hormonal cycle restoration after auto-transplantation. Although the history of ovarian transplantation dates back to the 19[th] century, there are reports of live human births following ovarian tissue cryopreservation and transplantation since the past 100 years. Despite this success and additional research in the field of ovarian cryopreservation and transplantation, numerous questions remain unanswered. Among these questions, growth factors and hormonal changes because of their effects on follicular function appear to be more important during ovarian tissue transplantation. This review attempts to address hormones and growth factor functions with the specifics of ovarian cryopreservation and auto-transplantation

Sucrose effect on follicular survival rate and apoptosis incidence in rat ovarian tissue after vitrification

the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sucrose on follicular survival rate and the incidence of apoptosis in rat ovarian tissue following vitrification. Ovaries of approximately 5-week-old female Wistar rats were divided randomly into three groups: control [non-vitrified], V[I] [Ethylene Glycol + Dimethyl Sulfoxide] and V[II] [EG + DMSO + 0.25 mol/lit sucrose]. Vitrified-warmed samples were incubated for approximately 30 minutes and fixed in Bouin's fixative. The samples were serially sectioned and stained either with H and E or immunohistochemistry kit of anti-active and a pro-caspase-3 kit. Data analysis showed that the rate of growing follicles that survived, with the exception of primordial follicles, was comparable between the vitrified-warmed and control samples. Morphologically healthy primordial follicles showed significant reductions in all vitrification groups compared to the control, however this rate was not significant between the vitrification groups. In comparison with healthy follicles, there were significantly more dead follicles in the vitrification groups than the control group. In addition the apoptotic follicles increased significantly after vitrification, with the exception of the antral follicles. Although the number of apoptotic follicles was similar between both vitrification groups, however there were significantly more pre-antral apoptotic follicles in the VII group compared to the VI and control groups. According to these results, the presence or absence of sucrose has no significant effect on the preservation of primordial and primary follicles which are important for transplantation

[Temperature reduction process - a way for fertility preservation in cancer patients]

More than the half of cancer patients undergo cancer treatments of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Unfortunately treatment with invasive methods occasionally lead to severe side effects. Patients who undergo chemotherapy can be affected by premature ovarian failure, an important cause of infertility. Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is suggested as the only way for preservation of sex cells and fertility preservation in cases of prepubertal girls and women with sterility attributed to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, genetic disorders or specific diseases