Ibrahim A. H. Barakat

Effect of Various Concentrations of Caffeine, Pentoxifylline, and Kallikrein on Hyperactivation of Frozen Bovine Semen

Caffeine, pentoxifylline, and kallikrein are substances that affect the efficiency of sperms in the fertilization process; however, they have not been adequately studied. The present study aimed to examine the influence of caffeine, kallikrein, and pentoxifylline on sperm motility in bovine as well as investigate their optimum concentrations for increasing the movement of sperms in bovine. Frozen bovine sperms were thawed in universal IVF medium supplemented with 1, 5, and 10 mM caffeine or pentoxifylline or 1, 4, and 8 U/mL kallikrein and were then incubated for 30 min. Treated semen parameters were analyzed using a computer assisted semen analyzer (CASA). Data analysis showed that the mean values concerning progression and motility of sperm increased in caffeine and pentoxifylline treatments when compared with the kallikrein group. The obtained results revealed that kallikrein is not necessary for the improvement of bovine sperm motility. Additionally, our results revealed that 5 mM from caffeine was the best concentration added to the medium, followed by 1 or 5 mM from pentoxifylline. Therefore, it is concluded from the present study that caffeine has hyperactivation efficacy at 5 mM concentration compared to other treatments.

Immunotoxicity evaluation of novel bioactive composites in male mice as promising orthopaedic implants

Objective In orthopaedics, novel bioactive composites are largely needed to improve the synthetic achievement of the implants. In this work, semiconducting metal oxides such as SiO2, TiO2, and ZrO2 particles (Ps) were used individually and in different ratios to obtain different biphasic composites. The immunotoxicity of these composites was tested to inspect the potential toxicity prior to their use in further medical applications. Materials and methods In vitro mineralisation ability was inspected by soaking the composites in simulated body fluid (SBF). Additionally, in vivo experiments were performed consuming male mice using ISSR-PCR, micronucleus (MN) test, comet assay, glutathione peroxidase activity, and determination of albumin, globulin, lymphocyte population, ALT, and AST levels. Several groups of adult male albino mice were treated with 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight of SiO2, TiO2, and ZrO2-Ps in pure or mixed forms. Results Our findings revealed that treatment of mice with low and medium doses of SiO2, TiO2, and ZrO2-Ps in pure or mixed form revealed values relatively similar to the control group. However, using 400 mg/kg especially from TiO2-Ps in genuine form or mixed with SiO2 showed proliferation in the toxicity rates compared with the high dose of SiO2 and ZrO2-Ps. Conclusions The results suggest that TiO2 composite induced in vivo toxicity, oxidative DNA damage, bargain of the antioxidant enzymes, and variations in the levels of albumin, globulin, lymphocyte population, ALT, and AST in a dose-dependent manner. However, SiO2, and ZrO2 composites revealed a lower toxicity in mice compared with that of TiO2.

Characterization of immature sheep oocytes and zona pellucida morphology using scanning electron microscope (SEM).

The aim of the present work was to study the differences among different categories of immature sheep oocytes. Oocytes were divided into three categories: excellent, good and fair oocytes. Results showed that cumulus cells were close to each other and zona pellucida in all the three oocytes categories. All oocytes categories with cumulus cells exhibited an irregular shape, mucous material inter-granular cells, low number of small droplets and minutes tapes on the cell surface. Good oocytes category was characterized by the presence of a belt surrounding the oocytes. Moreover, there are large numbers of small holes on the ZP surface in all categories. The good oocytes also contained a large number of big holes. In contrast, fair and excellent oocytes have low number of large holes in the ZP surface. In conclusion, there are several differences between oocytes categories in the morphology of oocytes and ZP characteristics. This study recommends using excellent and good oocytes in the in vitro embryo production for quality of the outer surface and integrity of zona pellucida than fair oocytes.