Improved maturation competence of ovarian tissue oocytes using a biphasic in vitro maturation system for patients with gynecological malignancy: a study on sibling oocytes

Purpose

To investigate the developmental competence of ovarian tissue oocytes from patients with gynecological tumors using a biphasic in vitro maturation system with capacitation (CAPA-IVM) in comparison with standard IVM.

Methods

This sibling pilot study included 210 oocytes in 10 patients with gynecological malignancies. After ovariectomies, ovaries were cut into even halves and immature cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were retrieved from the ovarian tissue. COCs were separately cultured in either a biphasic CAPA-IVM system for 53 h or in standard IVM for 48 h. After IVM, all COCs were denuded and mature oocytes were either vitrified (N=5) or used for ICSI (N=5). Embryos were cultured for 5–6 days and obtained blastocysts were vitrified.

Results

Use of the CAPA-IVM system led to a higher meiotic maturation rate in ovarian tissue oocytes (OTO) compared to standard IVM (56 vs 35%, p=0.0045) and had a tendency to result in lower degeneration after IVM. Only the CAPA-IVM method supported blastocyst formation.

Conclusions

The biphasic in vitro maturation system improved the competence of OTO in comparison to the standard IVM method. The study suggests that fertility preservation programs could become more efficient using IVM after capacitation culture.

     

Prevention and treatment of opisthorchiasis of the liver

Rare cases of lethal outcomes after surgical operations on the liver were analyzed which were caused by invasion of helminth Opisthorchis felineus. It was shown that prolonged and massive invasion, in the absence of specific treatment, can result in failure of the compensatory potencies of the liver. It occurs mainly due to activation of the pathogenic flora in the bile tree against the background of the intraductal hypertension characteristic of opisthorchiasis. Destructive purulent cholangitis, cholangitic abscesses in the liver and suppuration of opisthorchiasis cysts can develop. The direct cause of death was progressing hepatic insufficiency. The postoperative lethality among patients with opisthorchiasis cysts of the liver was 5.7%, with liver abscesses--12.5%. The external drainage of the biliary tree in patients with this pathology and intraportal infusions reduce lethality and the number of specific postoperative complications.     

An investigation of purified tetanus toxoid by the method of precipitation in agar

Summary Several antigens were detected in the purified tetanus antitoxinby the method of precipitation in the agar. These antigens gave different distribution in the fractions obtained by fractional precipitation of this antitoxin by the phosphate mixture (pH=7.4). Precipitation of specific antigen (antitoxin) was differentiated by comparison of the data obtained by reaction of precipitation in the agar with the data of antitoxin-fixating reaction obtained in experiments on white mice. Relatively greater thermolability of the specific antigen compared with the admixed ballast antigens served as an auxiliary factor in this test.Presented by Active Member Acad. Med. Sci. USSR, G. V. Vygodchikov     

Association between Molecular Genetic Markers of DNA Repair and Cell Cycle Control Genes and Response to Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Ovarian Cancer Patients

Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine - We analyzed associations of polymorphic markers of DNA repair genes (XRCC1, ERCC2), cell cycle control genes (TP53, MDM2, and CDKN1A), methylation of...