Sperm nuclear maturity and chromatin stability in subfertile patients: Density gradient centrifugation is fair but non-discriminative in selecting the right population

Multiple technologies exploring chromatin structure anomalies have been applied during the last decade to evaluate fertility disorders and to increase the predictive value of sperm analysis for procreation in vivo and in vitro. Our aim was to implement sperm nuclear maturity and nuclear chromatin stability as a functional test for male infertility diagnosis and to compare it with a fertile group. As semen processing is an integral part of assisted reproductive technologies the impact of density gradient centrifugation in selecting sperm based on nuclear maturity and stability was also analyzed. Flow cytometry combined with fluorescent dyes exhibiting affinity for DNA was implemented. Both nuclear parameters correlated significantly with semen parameters. The control fertile group had significantly higher mean condensed population and a significantly lower hypocondensed and hypercondensed fractions as compared to the subfertile study group. Density gradient centrifugation succeeded in selecting the condensed population in both the control and study groups, while reducing the hypocondensed percentage. The hypercondensed population which was ten-fold higher in the study group remained unchanged after selection, in both the control and the study groups. Sperm nuclear maturity and chromatin stability appears to be homogenous in the fertile sperm donors and heterogeneous in subfertile patients. Sperm preparation for assisted reproduction should aim to minimize the risk of abnormal spermatozoa being used for fertilization.     

A monoclonal anti-type II collagen antibody with cross-reactive anti-Ig activity specific for the F(ab')2 fragment

An IgG2a hybridoma antibody (BC-10) was obtained by a myeloma fusion with lymphocytes from B10.RIII mice immunized against native bovine type II collagen. This anti-collagen monoclonal exhibited extensive cross-reactivity with several type II collagen species. BC-10 was found to have self-associating properties, but not the specificity of a typical IgG rheumatoid factor, inasmuch as this mAb bound to F(ab')2 fragments of itself and of normal mouse IgG. Self binding was inhibited by the association of BC-10 with type II collagen, and inhibition assays indicated that antibodies with the capacity to inhibit BC-10 binding to collagen were present in the sera from B10.RIII arthritic mice, but not from DBA/1 LacJ arthritic mice. Joint inflammation and histopathologic features consistent with arthritis were observed in mice injected with the BC-10 hybridoma.     

A strategic road map for conserving the Endangered dhole Cuon alpinus in India

1. Large carnivores face high extinction risks, often exacerbated by the absence of adequate information on their ecological requirements, and the high economic and socio-political commitments that their conservation warrants. Country-scale conservation plans can serve as effective frameworks to prioritise areas, actions, and conservation investments.
2. We explore conservation tenets of retention, recovery, and restoration for the Endangered dhole Cuon alpinus in India – a global stronghold for the species. Specifically, we: 1) examine the current status of dholes in India’s states using a recent distribution assessment; 2) identify areas for directing management interventions – zones to be targeted for population recovery and for habitat recovery; 3) identify potential areas for range expansion; 4) use eco-socio-political criteria to determine state-wise conservation priority scores and likelihood of conservation action; and 5) conduct an exhaustive review of all published literature on dholes.
3. Dholes occupy ~49% of potential habitats in 685 of mainland India’s 2342 sub-districts. We identified 143 sub-districts with potential for dhole population recovery, 145 for habitat recovery, and 404 for range expansion. Of the 34 mainland states/union territories, 17 were identified as high priority for dhole conservation. Of these, nine are adequately equipped to implement management actions to conserve dholes, while eight need to improve capacity towards increasing likelihood of conservation success.
4. Literature on dholes (from 1874 to 2019; n=237) was dominated by natural history notes, followed by distribution records and studies of population ecology. A majority of the reviewed studies were from India (55% of 215 country-specific papers). The number of studies showed an exponential increase over time: 43% were published in the last decade.
5. Our review of published literature revealed significant knowledge gaps in terms of quantitative ecological assessments across all dhole range-countries. Given this context, our results provide a comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and administratively feasible road map for dhole conservation in India, with potential applicability in other dhole range-countries and also for other threatened species.