Effects of egg aging on in vitro fertilization and first cleavage division in the hamster

The postovulatory fertile life of mammalian eggs is remarkably short (approximately 6-36h). Anomalies of embryogenesis may result from fertilization of aged, defective eggs. Attempts to study this problem using whole-animal models are complicated by chances in the natural milieu of the gametes. In the present study, postovulatory hamster eggs were allowed to agein vivo then fertilized in vitro. Cumulus-intact eggs recovered from superovulated hamsters either 2 or 9 h after the estiated time of ovulation (12 h postHCG) were incubated for 4 h with preincubated sperm suspentions in a modified Tyrode's solution devised for in vitro fertilization. Eggs were either fixed or cultured for another 20h in fresh medium to allow cleavage to occur, then examined by light microscopy (phase and interference-contrast). No significant difference was found in the ablities of fresh and aged eggs to be penetrated by spermatozoa (94% vs 90%, respectively; 8 replicated experiments), but only 59% of penetrated aged eggs were found to undergo morphologically normally fertilization (2 polar bodies, 2 prounclei) compared with 75% of fresh eggs (difference significant, P< 0.01). About 13% of eggs were polyspermic in both categories. The most common anomaly in aged fertilied egges was failure to extrude the second polor body (23% off eggs vs 8% of fresh eggs, P < 0.01). Only 21% of aged eggs underwent first cleavaage, and only 74% of these appeared morphologically normal, compared with value of 68% and 98%, respectively, for fresh eggs. These data show that in the hamster, abnormal fertilization and cleavage failure can, in part, be directly attributed to postovulatory deterioration of eggs. We also infer that the apparently very short penetrable life of hamster eggs in vivo shown by previous investigators is an indirect effect of postovulatory changes in the female reproductive tract that are unfavorable for sperm-egg interactions.     

Cross-species fertilization: the hamster egg receptor,Juno, binds the human sperm ligand,Izumo1

Fertilization is the culminating event in sexual reproduction and requires the recognition and fusion of the haploid sperm and egg to form a new diploid organism. Specificity in these recognition events is one reason why sperm and eggs from different species are not normally compatible. One notable exception is the unusual ability of zona-free eggs from the Syrian golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) to recognize and fuse with human sperm, a phenomenon that has been exploited to assess sperm quality in assisted fertility treatments. Following our recent finding that the interaction between the sperm and egg recognition receptors Izumo1 and Juno is essential for fertilization, we now demonstrate concordance between the ability of Izumo1 and Juno from different species to interact, and the ability of their isolated gametes to cross-fertilize each other in vitro. In particular, we show that Juno from the golden hamster can directly interact with human Izumo1. These data suggest that the interaction between Izumo1 and Juno plays an important role in cross-species gamete recognition, and may inform the development of improved prognostic tests that do not require the use of animals to guide the most appropriate fertility treatment for infertile couples.     

The status of acrosomal caps of hamster spermatozoa immediately before fertilization in vivo

Adult female golden hamsters were induced to superovulate. When they were mated several hours prior to ovulation or artificially inseminated about the time of ovulation, nearly 100% of their eggs were subsequently fertilized monospermically. During the progression of fertilization when the eggs were still surrounded by compact cumulus oophorus, the contents of the ampullary region of the oviducts were collected and spermatozoa moving in the ampullary fluid, within the cumulus and on/in the zonae pellucidae of unfertilized eggs, were examined by light and electron microscopy to evaluate the status of their acrosomal caps. Most spermatozoa swimming in the ampullary fluid had apparently intact acrosomal caps, while the vast majority moving within the cumulus had distinctly modified acrosomal caps. Most spermatozoa that had passed through the cumulus and reached the zona surfaces had remnants of their acrosomal caps (“acrosomal ghosts”). When the ghosts were present around the sperm heads on the zona, the heads pivoted about a point roughly corresponding to the places where the ghosts were located. The ghosts seemed to firmly attach to the zona surfaces, then were split open by the sperm heads and left behind as the sperm heads advanced into the zona. A few spermatozoa on the zona surfaces had no acrosomal ghosts (at least not detectable by light microscopy). In this case, the sperm head pivoted about either the inner acrosomal membrane or the equatorial segment of the acrosome. In no instance were spermatozoa with intact acrosomal caps found on zona surfaces. We infer from these observations that most spermatozoa in vivo initiate their acrosome reactions while they are advancing through the cumulus. When they arrive at the zona surfaces, acrosomal ghosts are generally present on the sperm heads. These ghosts appear to hold sperm heads to zona surfaces as well as to restrict the direction of advancement of sperm head through the zona. In a minority of cases, ghostless spermatozoa reach the zona surfaces. As these spermatozoa appear to be able to penetrate the zona successfully, structures other than the acrosomal ghost (ie, the inner acrosomal membrane and the plasma membrane over the equatorial segment of the acrosome) may also attach to zona surfaces before spermatozoa penetrate into the zona.     

Sperm-egg ratios and the site of the acrosome reaction during in vivo fertilization in the hamster

Little is known about the timing of the mammalian sperm acrosome reaction during fertilization in vivo. To study this problem, female hamsters were inseminated at about the time of ovulation, and the contents of the ampullary regions of their oviducts were subsequently examined at various intervals. No living spermatozoa were recovered from ampullae earlier than 4 hr after insemination. The first appearance of living spermatozoa coincided closely with the first appearance of fertilized eggs in the same oviduct. The total numbers of living spermatozoa did not start to exceed the number of eggs in the same ampulla, until after 50% or more of the eggs had been fertilized. Hamster spermatozoa are highly efficient at making contact with eggs, and the fertilizing spermatozoon probably spends no more than 2½ –5½ min in penetrating the cumulus oophorus. Spermatozoa that enter the ampulla appear to be ready to undergo the acrosome reaction, and complete it while they are passing through the cumulus or shortly before, or after, contacting the surface of the zona pellucida.     

Requirement of extracellular calcium ions for various stages of fertilization and fertilization-related phenomena in the hamster

Using a semi-chemically defined medium, the requirement of extracellular Ca²⁺ for survival, capacitation, and acrosome reaction of spermatozoa as well as various stages of fertilization in the hamster was studied. A Ca²⁺-deficient environment is unfavorable for long-term survival of spermatozoa. Sperm capacitation may occur in Ca²⁺-deficient media, but not as efficiently as in normal media. The acrosome reaction definitely requires extracellular Ca²⁺. Other processes or phenomena that require extracellular Ca²⁺ are initiation and maintenance of hyperactivated motility of spermatozoa, penetration of acrosome-reacted spermatozoa into the zona pellucida, fusion of the spermatozoa with eggs, and the development of pronuclear eggs into two-cell embryos. Extracellular Ca²⁺ is apparently unnecessary for the attachment of spermatozoa to the zona and egg surfaces, decondensation of the sperm nucleus, and the development of sperm and egg pronuclei within the egg. These results were compared with data obtained in other species such as the sea urchin, mouse, rat and guinea pig.     

Improvement of male pronuclear formation during cross‐fertilization between Chinese hamster spermatozoa and Syrian hamster oocytes by nocodazole,and chromosome analysis of hybrid zygotes

During cross‐fertilization between Chinese hamster spermatozoa and Syrian hamster oocytes, incorporated sperm heads frequently fail to develop into male pronuclei, whereas the group of oocyte chromosomes develop into female pronuclei. The present study applies this cross‐fertilization system to the cytogenetic investigation of mammalian hybrid embryos. Immediately after insemination, oocytes were exposed to 0.1 μg/ml nocodazole for 1 hr (1 hr group) or 2 hr (2 hr group), then further cultured. Although the rates of sperm penetration in the 1 hr (48.0%) and 2 hr (75.8%) groups were significantly lower than that in the control group (89.8%), the ratios of male pronuclear formation were higher in both exposed groups (79.4% and 74.2%, respectively) than in the control group (10.6%). These results were apparently due to sperm head decondensation induced during the meiotic arrest of oocytes at metaphase II by nocodazole. Chromosomes of hybrid zygotes obtained after nocodazole exposure were analyzed at the first cleavage metaphase. The incidence of structural chromosome aberrations in the Chinese hamster genome of hybrid zygotes was high in the control (42.1%) and 1 hr (48.8%) groups. This incidence was reduced to 14.4% in the 2 hr group. Because the lag of sperm head decondensation behind the second meiotic division of oocytes was greater in the control and 1 hr groups than in the 2 hr group, untimely sperm head decondensation may be implicated in occurrence of structural chromosome aberrations in the male genomes of hybrid zygotes. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 52:117–124, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Role of integrins and polyphosphoinositide metabolism during fertilization in sea urchin egg and hamster oocyte

Summary

In almost all species studied to date, a transient increase in the intracellular free calcium concentration (Ca_i) occurs after fertilization and is essential for egg activation. How the sperm triggers this calcium signal remains, however, to be determined. In this brief review, we compare the mechanisms that are common to mammalian and invertebrate systems. In the light of our own data, we discuss how integrins that have recently been proposed to mediate sperm-egg binding and fusion in mammals might trigger egg activation through cytoskeletal structures. We suggest a model, leading to the calcium signal and common to all species, where phosphorylation on tyrosine and phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ) are interconnected pathways stimulated by a multimolecular complex involving integrins.     

Low persistence of the induced mutant phenotype in Chinese hamster cells

We have analysed the recovery of individual CHO-derived mutants during the generations immediately following their induction. This characteristic, which we call persistence, was measured by propagating mutagenized cultures in non-selective medium after subdivision into many very small populations, each containing either zero or one mutant. The recovery of most hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (hprt)-deficient mutants induced by ethyl methanesulphonate was low, and we have previously shown that this was usually due to an apparent rapid loss of the mutant phenotype with continued culture in non-selective medium (Bradley, 1980). A minority of about 15% manifest high persistence. We now show that most adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (aprt)-deficient mutants and some ouabain-resistant mutants had low persistence. Mutants induced by UV irradiation also generally exhibited low persistence but those induced by X-irradiation had significantly higher persistence than what was seen among EMS-induced mutants. Among various sublines of CHO cells which were tested for persistence of induced mutants, only one group consistently yielded mutants of high persistence. These were lines which carried glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mutations which themselves had been originally induced by EMS.     

Fusion of hamster and pig zona-free eggs stimulated by boar and guinea pig sperm at fertilization in vitro

In the course of in vitro fertilization of zona-free hamster and pig eggs by boar and guinea-pig spermatozoa it was observed that homologous and heterologous eggs fused together, forming cell hybrids between two or more cells. The fusogenic activity was attributed to spermatozoa and this was the hypothesis tested. The fusogenic activity (coinciding with sperm penetration activity) was dependent on the duration of sperm preincubation, which may be regarded as capacitation in vitro. Fusion occurred only after 3 hr of sperm preincubation and a narrow optimum was detected at 4–4.5 hr. Fusion of eggs was also dependent on sperm concentration. A relatively high proportion of fusions was observed at a sperm concentration of 4.0 × 10⁴ per ml and an optimum was attained at a concentration of 5.0 × 10⁵ per ml. The first fusions were observed at 90 min after semination. After 3 hr more than a half of the eggs reacted, and by 20 hr of incubation 80% of ova were fused. The fusability of eggs was tested and found to occur at 14 hr after ovulation. The fusion process was also studied using transmission electron microscopy. It is supposed that the process of egg fusion may be caused either by a similar mechanism to sperm-egg fusion, or by products released during the sperm acrosome reaction.     

Superovulation in immature and mature Chinese hamsters

Mature female Chinese hamsters ovulate an average of 8.8 ± 1.0 (mean ± SD) eggs per female in each estrous cycle. Superovulation can be induced in both immature and mature females by subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injections of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) and either human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) or pituitary luteinizing hormone (PLH). The best superovulation in immature females was induced by the administration of 15 IU of PMSG followed 72 hr later by injection of 15 IU of hCG (about 25 eggs per female) or 0.2 mg (200 IU) PLH (about 46 eggs per female). Ovulation started about 13–15 hr after administration of hCG (or PLH) and was completed during the next 5–6 hr. Superovulation in mature females could be induced by injecting PMSG any day of the estrous cycle, but the best superovulation (about 39 eggs per female) was induced by injecting 15 IU of PMSG on day 1 (day of ovulation) followed by the injection of 0.4 mg of PLH 72 hr later. When immature females treated with the best superovulatory protocol were mated on the evening of PLH injection, only 5% of the eggs were found fertilized 50 hr after PLH administration. On the other hand, about 60% of the eggs were found fertilized in mature females mated following treatment with the best superovulatory protocol. The majority (83–85%) of superovulated eggs obtained from both immature and mature females were normally fertilized in vitro.     

Lipopolysaccharide and serum synergistically stimulate ornithine decarboxylase in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Summary Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the active component of bacterial endotoxin, caused no significant increase in ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in serum-starved, Chinese hamster ovary fibroblasts. However, concurrent addition of LPS with 10% fetal bovine serum caused a synergistic 30 to 40-fold increase in enzyme activity as compared to the 10 to 20-fold increase seen after addition of serum alone. This synergism was not due to an alteration in the time course of enzyme induction after serum addition. The LPS-induced synergy of ODC induction by serum was inhibited by the concurrent addition of the specific LPS-antagonist, Polymyxin B. This investigation was supported by PHS Grant CA32444, awarded by the National Cancer Institute. A. R. L. G. is a recipient of a USPHS fellowship, GM09226-01, and S. M. T. was supported by NIH training Grant AMO 7282.     

Purification and properties of two distinct groups of ADH isozymes from Chinese hamster liver

Two major classes of alcohol dehydrogenase isozymes have been purified from Chinese hamster liver. The two isozyme classes have the same subunit molecular weights but different electrophoretic mobilities. They have a similar range of substrates but different KROM values and sensitivities to the inhibitor pyrazole. The ADHs are immunologically related as determined by Ouchterlony double diffusion experiments. These results suggest that the isozymes are encoded by different structural gene loci derived from a common ancestral gene.Financial support was provided by the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the Medical Research Council of Canada, Grant MT4860. J.-P. Thirion is a Research Scholar of the Science Research Council of Quebec.     

A reference genome of the Chinese hamster based on a hybrid assembly strategy

Accurate and complete genome sequences are essential in biotechnology to facilitate genome‐based cell engineering efforts. The current genome assemblies for Cricetulus griseus, the Chinese hamster, are fragmented and replete with gap sequences and misassemblies, consistent with most short‐read‐based assemblies. Here, we completely resequenced C. griseus using single molecule real time sequencing and merged this with Illumina‐based assemblies. This generated a more contiguous and complete genome assembly than either technology alone, reducing the number of scaffolds by >28‐fold, with 90% of the sequence in the 122 longest scaffolds. Most genes are now found in single scaffolds, including up‐ and downstream regulatory elements, enabling improved study of noncoding regions. With >95% of the gap sequence filled, important Chinese hamster ovary cell mutations have been detected in draft assembly gaps. This new assembly will be an invaluable resource for continued basic and pharmaceutical research.     

Effect of sodium butyrate on autophagy and apoptosis in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Sodium butyrate (NaBu), which is widely used in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cell (rCHO) cultures for high-level expression of therapeutic proteins, is known to induce apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Lately, the significance of autophagy has increased in the field of CHO cell culture due to the fact that autophagy is related to the programmed cell death mechanism. To determine the effect of NaBu on autophagy as well as apoptosis of rCHO cells, rCHO cells producing erythropoietin were subjected to NaBu treatment. NaBu treatment up to 5 mM increased cleaved forms of PARP, caspase-3, and Annexin V positive population, confirming the previous results that NaBu induces apoptosis. Concurrently, NaBu treatment increased the level of accumulation of the autophagic marker, LC3-II, independently of nutrient depletion, suggesting that NaBu induces autophagy. To elucidate the potential role of autophagy induced by NaBu, a representative autophagy inducer (rapamycin) or an inhibitor (bafilomycin A1) was added to cultures together with NaBu. It was found that autophagy had the potential role of a positive cell survival mechanism under NaBu treatment. Furthermore, gradual reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential/mass and recruitment of a mitophagy protein, Parkin, to the mitochondria were observed under NaBu treatment, suggesting that this positive function of autophagy might be mediated by the autophagic removal of damaged mitochondria. Taken together, autophagy was observed in rCHO cell culture under NaBu treatments and the results obtained here support the positive effects of autophagy induced by NaBu treatments.     

Difference in types of radiation-induced structural chromosome aberrations and their incidences between Chinese and Syrian hamster spermatozoa

The effects of ionizing radiations on sperm chromosomes were studied in the Chinese hamster (Crisetulus griseus) and the Syrian (golden) hamster (Mesocrisetus auratus). Testes of mature male Chinese hamsters (CH) were irradiated with X-rays (0.91, 1.82 and 3.63 Gy) and γ-rays (1.10, 2.15, 2.95 and 4.01 Gy) at a single acute dosage, whereas the irradiation was done with lower doses of X-rays (0.45, 0.91 and 1.82 Gy) and γ-rays (0.49, 0.99 and 1.98 Gy) in mature male Syrian hamsters (SH), taking the higher radiosensitivity of this species into consideration. They were mated with normal females within 6 days of exposure. Sperm-derived chromosomes were analyzed in 1125 and 1966 fertilized ova of the CH and the SH, respectively. In both species, there was no great difference in the induction of structural chromosome aberrations between X-irradiated and γ-irradiated spermatozoa. Chromosome-type aberrations were predominantly induced. The incidence of breakage-type aberrations increased linearly, and that of exchange-type aberrations linear-quadratically with increase of dosage. A species-specific difference in chromosomal radiosensitivity of spermatozoa was clear. In spite of the same radiation dosage, the incidence of chromosomally abnormal spermatozoa in the SH was about twice as high as that in the CH (e.g., 27.0% vs. 14.7% at 0.91 Gy of X-rays). The incidences of breakage-type aberrations (69–89%) were far higher than those of exchange-type aberrations (11–31%) in the SH, while the disparity of the two incidences was much smaller in the CH (46–65% vs. 35–54%). Exchange-type aberrations consisted of both chromosome-type and chromatid-type in the SH, while almost all of them were of the chromosome-type in the CH. These results suggest that the DNA-repairing capacity of oocytes is much higher in the CH than in the SH. Moreover, it seems likely that radiation-induced sperm DNA damage is repaired with both pre-replication repair (excision repair) and post-replication repair systems in SH oocytes, whereas the excision repair system operate most exclusively in CH oocytes.     

Studies on fertilization in the teleost. I. Dynamic responses of fertilized medaka eggs

In order to understand the mechanisms of fertilization in the teleost, the movements of the egg cortex, cytoplasmic inclusions and pronuclei were observed in detail in fertilized medaka Oryzias latipes eggs. The first cortical contraction occurred toward the animal pole region following the onset of exocytosis of cortical alveoli. The cortical contraction caused movement of oil droplets toward the animal pole where the germinal vesicle had broken down during oocyte maturation. The movement of oil droplets toward the animal pole region was frequently twisted in the right or left direction. The direction of the twisting movement has been correlated with the unilateral bending of non-attaching filaments on the chorion. The female pronucleus, which approached the male pronucleus from the vicinity of the second polar body, took a course to the right, left or straight along the s-p axis connecting the male pronucleus and the second polar body. The course of approach by the female pronucleus correlated with the bending direction of the non-attaching filaments that had been determined by rotation of the oocyte around the animal–vegetal axis during oogenesis. The first cleavage furrow also very frequently coincided with the axis. These observations suggest that dynamic responses of medaka eggs from fertilization to the first cleavage reflect the architecture dynamically constructed during oogenesis.     

Cytogenetic effects induced by cytochalasin B in Chinese hamster ovary cells

We determined the kinetics of the induction of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei (MN) by mitomycin C (MMC, 0.1 µg/ml) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells treated with cytochalasin B (Cyt-B, 3 µg/ml). In cells treated with Cyt-B as well as with Cyt-B plus MMC the highest yield of binucleated cells was obtained 24 h after treatment. After 40 h of treatment with Cyt-B the frequency of MN in binucleated cells was significantly higher than that observed at previous times in the same cultures as well as in controls. In cultures treated with MMC the frequency of MN increased with time, reaching the highest value at 24 h. The frequency of chromosomal aberrations was also significantly higher in cells treated both with Cyt-B and Cyt-B plus MMC than in controls and exceeded that of MN in parallel cultures. These data confirm the capacity of MMC to induce chromosomal alterations in mammalian cells; in particular they indicate that Cyt-B is able to induce cytogenetic effects in CHO cells. Using immunofluorescence microscopy, after reaction with CREST antikinetochore antibodies, we found that in cells treated with Cyt-B or Cyt-B plus MMC the frequency of MN without kinetochore was, respectively, about 70 and 85%, indicating that under our experimental conditions MN originate mainly from acentric chromatid fragments. Present data suggest that the method based on the blockage of cytokinesis by Cyt-B normally used in the MN assay should be reconsidered.