In prepubertal boys with cancer, fertility preservation relies on testicular tissue freezing before treatment. In vitro maturation of frozen/thawed tissues could be one of the procedures envisaged to restore the fertility of cured patients. It is necessary to ascertain in the mouse model that in vitro-generated spermatozoa are able to ensure embryo development, without altering the epigenetic processes occurring during the pre-implantation period.

The aims of the present study were to investigate the fertilizing ability of in vitro-produced spermatozoa and explore several epigenetic marks at different stages of embryo development.

Fresh or controlled slow-frozen (CSF)/thawed testicular tissues from 6 to 7days post-partum (dpp) mice were cultured for 30days. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) experiments were performed using in vitro-produced spermatozoa. Testicular spermatozoa from 36 to 37 dpp mice were used as in vivo controls. DNA methylation/hydroxymethylation and histone post-translational modthe first time that the use of in vitro-produced spermatozoa alters DNA methylation/demethylation dynamics but has little impact on H3K4me3, H3K27me3 and H3K9ac levels in mouse early embryos. Further work will have to be performed to determine whether the use of these gametes is not deleterious for embryo development before considering a human application.

This study was designed to determine whether faecal regenerating 1B protein (REG1B) concentration is associated with physical growth among 6-30-month-old children in rural Malawi.

This was a secondary analysis from a randomised controlled trial in rural Malawi in which we followed-up 790 live-born infants from birth to 30 months of age. We collected anthropometric data at the age of 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months. We measured faecal REG1B concentration by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique using stool samples collected at 6, 18 and 30 months of age. We assessed the association between faecal REG1B concentration and children’s physical growth using linear regression and longitudinal data analysis.

Of 790 live-born infants enrolled, 694 (87%) with at least one faecal REG1B concentration measurement were included in the analysis. Faecal REG1B concentration was not associated with the children’s concurrent length-for-age z-score (LAZ), weight-for-age z-score (WAZ), weight-for-length z-score (WLZ) and mid-upper arm circumference-for-age z-score (MUACZ) at any time point (P > 0.05), nor with a change in their anthropometric indices in the subsequent 6-month period (P > 0.05).

Faecal REG1B concentration is not associated with LAZ, WAZ, WLZ and MUACZ among 6-30-month-old infants and children in rural Malawi.

Faecal REG1B concentration is not associated with LAZ, WAZ, WLZ and MUACZ among 6-30-month-old infants and children in rural Malawi.

Radial probe endobronchial ultrasound (RP-EBUS) is a modern technique for diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions. It is assumed that the addition of transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB) could increase the diagnostic value for RP-EBUS.

The main objectives were to evaluate the efficacy and safety of RP-EBUS-guided TBCB for diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions and comparing it with RP-EBUS-guided transbronchial forceps biopsy.

Sixty patients with peripheral lung diseases were divided into two groups. read more Group I included 45 patients who were eligible for TBCB and they subjected to forceps transbronchial biopsy (forceps TBB) and TBCB guided by RP-EBUS. Fifteen patients who were not eligible for TBCB were included in group II and they were subjected to forceps TBB and/or cytology retrieval procedures guided by RP-EBUS.

In group I, forceps TBB had sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of; 67.5%, 100%, 100%, 18.8%, and 69.8%, respectively, while TBCB had sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of 75%, 100%, 100%, 23.1%, and 76.7%, respectively. The sensitivity in group II was 80% and the overall results including both groups were sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of 85.2%, 100%, 100%, 42.8%, and 86.7%, respectively. Regarding the complications, only one patient (1.7%) had significant bleeding. One patient (1.7%) had pneumothorax and another patient (1.7%) suffered from hypoxemia.

RP-EBUS-guided TBCB is a safe and effective technique for diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions. TBCB has achieved higher diagnostic values and better quality of samples.

RP-EBUS-guided TBCB is a safe and effective technique for diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions. TBCB has achieved higher diagnostic values and better quality of samples.

Oncological procedures have irreversible side effects on germ cells for childhood cancer survival boys. In vitro culture of prepubertal testicular tissue has been proposed to restore fertility; however, recent data on animal models showed that meiotic and post-meiotic progression was impaired.

As potential key inducers of the mitosis-meiosis switch, type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CB

) has been proposed to play a central role in the meiotic entry of male germ cells. Herein, the in vitro first spermatogenesis wave in mice was used to understand the impact of CB

activation on the differentiation of spermatogonia until elongated spermatids.

A first set of cultured testicular explants of 6.5days post-partum (dpp) mice was performed to assess the impact of a range of JWH133 supplementation (10nm, 100nm, 1µm, 10µm). Then, the progressive development of germ cells at key timepoints of spermatogenesis was evaluated throughout (i) in vitro culture (day 2 [D2], D3, D6, D10, D18, and D30) coupled with (ii) in vivo counterparts (8.5, 9.5, 12.5, 16.5, 24.5, and 36.5 dpp).

CB

was detected at the plasma membrane of cells, and a successful completion of spermatogenesis was obtained in vitro. One day after the activation of CB

by 1μm of the agonist JWH133, percentage of zygotene spermatocyte I increased.

After 30days of culture, (i) an enrichment of haploid germ cells detected by flow cytometry, (ii) a reduced necrotic area, and (iii) an increase in the density of post-meiotic germ cells were observed. We showed that the activation of CB

improves in vitro entry into meiosis and differentiation of spermatogonia, mimicking physiological meiotic transition.

After 30 days of culture, (i) an enrichment of haploid germ cells detected by flow cytometry, (ii) a reduced necrotic area, and (iii) an increase in the density of post-meiotic germ cells were observed. We showed that the activation of CB2 improves in vitro entry into meiosis and differentiation of spermatogonia, mimicking physiological meiotic transition.