[Assisted reproductive technologies and arterial hypertension].

The effects of assisted reproductive technologies on the development of hypertensive phenotype were reviewed. A special emphasis is made on the effects of embryo culture and subsequent transfer on the blood pressure in the offspring. The analysis of studies with the laboratory models, mostly hypertensive strains of rats, is performed. These data are discussed in the context of the use theassisted reproductive technologies in medicine.

[Traditional and modern approaches to culture of preimplantation mammalian embryos in vitro].

This review covers the basic principles and methods of in vitro culture of preimplantation mammalian embryos. The features of in vitro development of embryos of various species of animals with allowance for the composition of nutrient media are described, with special attention paid to those species that have traditionally been consideredas laboratory (i.e., mice, rats, and hamsters). The effects of suboptimal culturing conditions of preimplantation embryos on the formation of the phenotype of individuals developed from these embryos are discussed. New approaches to optimize the conditions of the development of preimplantation mammalian embryos in vitro are analyzed.

[Coats of preimplantation mammalian embryos as a target of reproductive technologies].

The structure and function of the mammalian oocyte and preimplantation embryo coverings are described in this review. The integrity of embryonic coverings is the main prerequisite for the success of such technology as preimplantation embryo freezing and, especially, for successful rederivation. On the other hand, results of in vitro fertilization and, sometimes, the results of embryo freezing are improved after perforation of the oocyte/embryonic coverings. Modern reproductive technologies focusing on oocyte/embryonic coverings, such as preimplantation embryo freezing/cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, assisted hatching, immunocontraception, and rederivation, are reviewed. Application of these technologies to different mammalian species is discussed with a special emphasis on the oocytes/preimplantation embryos coverings.

[Reproductive physiology of the European mink: progesterone profile during pregnancy].

Reproductive physiology of the European mink, an endangered mustelid species, has been so far scarcely investigated. This study confirms that in European mink embryo implantation occurs on the day 12 of pregnancy. Progesterone profile during pregnancy has been compared in European mink and domestic ferret. In both species, progesterone increases at peri-implantation period, i. e. on day 8 and day 12 after mating. However, toward the end of pregnancy, on day 40 after mating, progesterone concentration in faeces of the ferrets decreases and does not differ from the initial level. In contrast, increase of progesterone during first 12 days of pregnancy in European mink is not as rapid as in ferrets, but in this species, there is no visible decrease of progesterone at the end of pregnancy. Peak levels of progesterone in faeces (day 8, 12) are lower in European mink than in ferret.

[Cryobanking mammalian embryos: priorities and the optimal choice of reproductive technologies].

This article reviews the main achievements in embryo cryobanking in conservation and preservation of animal strains, breeds, and species. Modern advances in this technology with respect to the main groups of laboratory and farm animals are discussed. Alternative approaches to solving the problems associated with cryobanking are considered and the priorities are substantiated. Special attention is given to discussing the role of cryobanks and respective reproductive technologies in programs aimed at conservation of genetic resources of wild and endangered mammalian species.

[Interspecies transplantation of embryos and nuclear transfer as an approach to conservation of disappearing mammalian species].

A review of application of the interspecies transplantation of embryos and nuclear transfer for conservation of mammalian species and breeds. Modern achievements have been considered in a historical aspect and key techniques, main problems, and perspectives of this approach have been discussed.

[Effect of changes in the early maternal environment on predisposition to catalepsy in rats of different ages]. / Vliianie izmenenii rannei materinskoi sredy na predraspolozhennost' k katalepsii u krys v raznykh vozrastakh.

Reciprocal cross-fostering of control Wistar and catalepsy-prone GC rat pups resulted in a decrease in duration of cataleptic reactions of GC rats estimated at the age of two weeks, one month, and six months and a tendency to its decrease in Wistar rats at the age of one month. In-fostering did not exert this effect.

[Effect of cross-fostering on catalepsy and the brain monoamine level in rat offspring prone to catalepsy and in the control strain]. / Vliianie perekrestnogo vospitaniia na proiavlenie katalepsii i soderzhanie monoaminov mozga u krysiat katalepticheskoi i kontrol'noi linii.

Duration of cataleptic reactions in male rats of Wistar and GC strains depended both on the genotype and on the type of rearing: it was longer in the GC rats than in the Wistar ones. In the GC males reared by Wistar foster mothers this parameter was smaller than in the control GC but higher than in Wistar rats. The NA content was significantly lower in the GC cortex, hypothalamus and striatum, and the level of serotonin and 5-HIAA was lower in cortex of the GC as compared with Wistar rats. The cross-fostering affected monoamine content in some brain structures. On the whole, serotonin, DA and NA systems of the GC rats proved to be more susceptible to stress caused by cross-fostering than those of the Wistar rats. The cross-fostering diminished interstrain differences in the NA level in cortex, striatum, and hypothalamus.

[The effect of ecoestrogens on the development of the mammalian reproductive system]. / Vliianie ékoéstrogenov na razvitie reproduktivnoi sistemy mlekopitaiushchikh.

Recently, it has been shown that the environment contains a large variety of chemical substances possessing estrogenic activity (ecoestrogens/environmental estrogens). In this connection, the problem of estrogenic effects exerted by the environment on animal ontogenesis is very important. Here, we review that available data concerning the effects of ecoestrogens on the development of the reproductive system in mammals. We discuss issues of reproductive toxicology related to the effects of these substances during prenatal and postnatal development, with special attention to the effect of ecoestrogens and modern reproductive technologies on preimplantation embryonic development.

[Effect of cross-fostering on various physiological and behavioral features in Wistar and genetically cataleptic rats]. / Vliianie perekrestnogo vospitaniia na nekotorye fiziologicheskie i povedencheskie priznaki u krys linii Wistar i GK (geneticheskaia katalepsiia).

In the GC rats reared by their natural mothers the plasma corticosterone concentration and open field locomotion were lower than in Wistar rats whereas the startle-reflex amplitude was higher. Cross-fostering did not affect the plasma corticosterone concentration or the startle-reflex amplitude. A negative correlation between these parameters was found. An open field test yielded lower results in Wistar rats reared by foster mothers belonging to the GC strain whereas the reverse cross-fostering did not affect the locomotion in GC rats. The data suggest that fostering affects the open field behaviour whereas cross-fostering effects depend on the genotype of fostered litter.

[Blood pressure increase in foster mothers in ISIAH and Wistar rats: effect of reciprocal cross-fostering]. / Povyshenie arterial'nogo davleniia u priemnykh materei krys linii NISAG i Vistar: éffekt perekrestnogo vospitaniia potomstva.

Maternal arterial blood pressure (ABP) of hypertensive (ISIAH) and normotensive (Wistar) rats rearing their natural litter or litter of opposite strain, was assessed when the pups were 1.5-, 3- and 4-month old and compared with the ABP of these rats prior to their mating. The ABP was increased in both breeds of rat strains for either cross-fostered or infostered pups. No ABP changes were observed in control rats.

[Effect of the maternal environment on blood pressure and startle reflex in rats with inherited hypertension]. / Vliianie materinskoi sredy na arterial'noe davleniie i reflex ispuga u krys s nasledstvennoi arterial'noi gipertenziei.

In a long-term study comprising adolescence (6 weeks of age) and adulthood, acoustic startle response (ASR) and arterial blood pressure (ABP) were studied in the ISIAH (inherited stress-induced arterial hypertension) rats, in normotensive Wistar, and cross-fostered rats. The 6-week ISIAH rats already revealed a hypertension enhanced ASR as well as a reduced habituation as compared with the control rats. Maternal effects on the ASR and, to a lesser extent, on the ABP were revealed in cross-fostered rats. In young ISIAH rats fostered by Wistar surrogate mothers, the ASR was decrease and development of hypertension was delayed. There was no significant difference in expression of the ASR between adult ISIAH and Wistar rats whereas the ABP difference was quite obvious.

[Effect of cryopreservation on the morphology of preimplantation embryos of the ISIAH rat line]. / Vliianie kriokonservatsii na mofologiiu doimplantatsionnykh zarodyshei krys linii NISAG

Micronuclei of preimplantation embryos of the hypertensive rat strain with inherited spontaneously induced arterial hypertension (ISIAH) are studied. Also studied are the formation of micronuclei and other morphological changes in these embryos after freezing, cryoconservation, and consequent transplantation to Wistar recipient rats. Analysis of semithin sections demonstrates that the above procedures lead to the formation of micronuclei in most embryos, while the shape of nuclei changes in only some embryos. There is a tendency towards perinuclear location of organelles and inclusions and to the partial disappearance of polarity in the majority of blastomeres. We believe that the increase in the number of micronuclei can be associated with a certain selection of embryos during cryoconservation and transplantation.

[Effect of cryopreservation on the morphology of blastocysts of the ferret Mustela eversmanni]. / Vliianie kriokonservatsii na morfologiiu blastotsist svetlogo khor'ka Mustela eversmanni.

In this study, we have undertaken an attempt to use the technique of cryopreservation of a mustelid embryo-sing Mustela eversmanni as the experimental model. Ferret blastocysts were frozen with glycerol or DMSO. Characteristic feature of blastocyst morphology, as well as changes in their ultrastructure after freezing and cryopreservation have been examined by techniques of light and electron microscopy. When glycerol was used, damage of ferret blastocysts induced by freezing was more significant than with DMSO as a cryoprotector. In all cases, structural alterations in inner cell mass after cryopreservation were much more significant than in the cells of the trophoblast. We discuss possible use of cryopreservation of embryos for the conservation of Mustelid species.

[Superovulation induced by the administration of PMSG to mustelids]. / Superovuliatsiia, vyzvannaia vvedeniem GSZhK u kunitseobraznykh.

In this paper, we have attempted to use the technique of superovulation in mustelids. Ermine (Mustela erminea) and several species of ferret (Mustela eversmanni, Mustela putorius, Mustela putorius furo [correction of hamster (Putorius eversmanni, Putorius putorius, Putorius putorius furo)] have been used as experimental models. We have conducted a detailed study of superovulation and early embryonic development in animals of these species treated with PMSG [correction of GPMS]. We have shown that superovulatory response is produced only in the right, but not in the left ovary of hormonally treated animals. Embryonic development in hormonally stimulated animals was accelerated as compared with animals that were reproducing under natural conditions. Perspectives and limitations in the use of hormonal treatment with the purpose to induce superovulation in mammals are discussed.

[Elevated arterial pressure in normotensive Wistar strain rats after the transplantation of embryos from hypertensive ISIAH strain rats. Inherited stress-induced arterial hypertension]. / Povyshenie arterial'nogo davleniia u normotenzivnykh krys linii Vistar posle transplantatsii im émbrionov ot gipertenzivnykh krys linii NISAG.

The ISIAH embryos exerted no effect on surrogate mothers if the embryos had been cryopreserved before transferring. The data obtained is discussed from the standpoint of surrogateship in medicine and possible effect of the embryo cryobanking on some inherited traits in mammals.

[The creation of genetic cryobanks and the use of the methods of developmental biology as a means for preserving rare animal species. III. The outlook, problems and limits: selection, modifications and mutations]. / Sozdanie geneticheskikh kriobankov i ispol'zovanie metodov biologii razvitiia kak sposob sokhraneniia redkikh vidov zhivotnykh. III. Perspektivy, problemy i ogranicheniia: selektsiia, modifikatsii i mutatsii.

A review of our own and literature data about perspectives, problems and limitations in the use of cryoconservation techniques and methods of developmental biology for the conservation of genetic resources is presented. It is demonstrated that the use of these methods may result in the selection and possibly leads to modifications and mutations in germ cells and embryos and in this way may change the genetic structure of restored populations as compared with the original ones. The need to improve current techniques of cryoconservation and accompanying biotechnological procedures in order to abolish these undesirable genetic effects is emphasized.

[The preimplantation embryonic development of 2 species of mammals from the family Mustelidae (Mustela erminea and Mustela vison)]. / Doimplantatsionnoe razvitie zarodyshei dvukh vidov mlekopitaiushchikh iz semeistva kunitseobraznykh (Mustela erminea i Mustela vison).

The preimplantation development of common weasel and American mink embryos was studied using light microscopy. Oocytes and blastomeres of these embryos are rich with lipids synthesized during oogenesis. Apparently, most lipids are utilized during the trophoblast formation. Large spherical blastomeres protecting zona pellucida are formed by the stage of implantation. The shape of the blastocyst, as well as central superficial implantation, are typical for carnivores and distinguish the studied order from other ones (e.g., from rodents or artiodactyls). Several aspects of evolution of mammals are discussed. A suggestion is made that differences between orders in the shape of the blastocyst and ways of their implantation reflect poly-phyletic origin of mammals.

[The effects of cryopreservation and embryo transplantation on the arterial pressure value in HSIAH strain rats with hereditarily induced arterial hypertension]. / Effekty kriokonservatsii i peresadki émbrionov na velichinu arterial'nogo davleniia u krys linii NISAG s nasledstvenno obuslovlennoi arterial'noi gipertenziei.

Homogeneous transplantation of embryos tissue exerted no effect on arterial pressure in adult Wistar rats and slightly increased the pressure in ISIAH male rats. Transplantation of male embryos of the ISIAH strain to Wistar rats significantly increased the blood pressure in the male ISIAH rats. Female ISIAH rats seem to possess a mechanism restricting the upper limit of the blood pressure. Cryopreservation of the ISIAH embryos seems to be a potent procedure for decreasing the blood pressure in this strain of hypertensive rats.

[Endocrine-metabolic relations in rats with genetic arterial hypertension]. / Endokrinno-metabolicheskie otnosheniia u kryss geneticheski obuslovlennoi arterial'noi gipertenziei.

Levels of triiodothyronine, thyroxine, insulin, glucose and free fatty acids in the blood; contents of adrenaline, noradrenaline in adrenals and glycogen in the liver; activity of phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase in adrenals, hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphatase in the liver were studied in male Wistar rats and rats with inherited stress-induced arterial hypertension /ISIAH/. It was found that genetically caused rise of hypophyseal-thyroid systems activity in ISIAH-rats leads to a decrease of insulin blood level, activation of lipolysis and breach of glucose tolerance.