Oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a major cause of sperm dysfunction. Excessive ROS generation reduces fertilization and enhances DNA damage of spermatozoa. Interaction between spermatozoa and oviductal epithelial cells improves the fertilizing ability of and reduces chromatin damage in spermatozoa. Our previous data showed that oviductal epithelial cell membrane proteins int...

Physically distinct cholesterol/sphingolipid-rich plasma membrane microdomains, so-called lipid rafts, have been recognized to play an important regulatory role in various cellular processes, from membrane trafficking to signal transduction, in a number of cell types. We report here that the ability of TCR on activated, functional CD8+ T lymphocytes to efficiently bind MHC class I tetramer comp...

Animal origin egg yolk extender has been associated with microbial contamination and interference with microscopic examination. Therefore, replacement of such extender with plant origin compound is inevitable without compromising the desired qualities of an ideal extender. In the current experiment, we compared the effect of soy-based extender (25% and 50%) of five adult Holstein-Friesian bulls...

Epidermal integrity is essential for animal development and survival. Here, we demonstrate that TSP-15, a member of the tetraspanin protein family, is required for epithelial membrane integrity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Reduction of tsp-15 function by mutation or by RNA interference elicits abnormalities of the hypodermis, including dissociation of the cuticle and degeneration of the hypodermi...

We developed a double-staining procedure involving NanoOrange dye (Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oreg.) and membrane integrity stains (LIVE/DEAD BacLight kit; Molecular Probes) to show the morphological and membrane integrity changes of Campylobacter coli cells during growth. The conversion from a spiral to a coccoid morphology via intermediary forms and the membrane integrity changes of the C. col...

There is growing concern over the effect of sperm cryopreservation on DNA integrity and the subsequent development of offspring generated from this cryopreserved material. In the present study, membrane integrity and DNA stability of Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis spermatozoa were evaluated in response to cryopreservation with or without activation, a process that happens upon exposure t...

Maxillary sinus membrane perforation is the most common complication that occurs with sinus elevation augmentation surgery. A technique using a slow resorbing type I collagen membrane for repair of large and complete sinus membrane perforations is described. The biocompatibility and semirigid structural integrity of this membrane, along with external tack fixation, allows for optimal membrane s...

In the present study, the ability of bovine lactoferrin hydrolysate (LfH) to disrupt the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli O157:H7 was investigated. Lactoferrin and LfH antimicrobial activities were compared against E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli O157:H7 spheroplasts. The effect of LfH on the cytoplasmic membrane of E. coli O157:H7 cells was determined by evaluating potassium efflux (K(+)),...

Excitatory amino acid receptor activation and reactive oxygen species production are important mediators of neuronal death following acute brain injury and can lead to loss of membrane integrity. Poloxamer 188 (P188) is an amphiphilic, polyethylenepolypropylene-polyethylene copolymer that restores plasma membrane integrity of nonneuronal cells following membrane injury. Here, we demonstrate tha...