OBJECTIVE Sperm morphology plays an important role in infertility, especially in cases of defects in the heads of spermatozoa. Tapered-head or elongated-head spermatozoa are examples of morphological abnormalities. The aim of this study was to compare the semen parameters, levels of protamine deficiency, and frequency of apoptosis between patients with normozoospermia and those with teratozoosp...

Integrity of the sperm membrane, of which phosphatidyl serine (PS) plays a central role, is essential for fertilization. The externalisation of PS (EPS) occurs during capacitation and the acrosome reaction. EPS, from the inner to the outer membrane, is considered as a sign of early apoptosis. Therefore, EPS may have a dual function in sperm. This study has evaluated the relationship between EPS...

The aim of this report has been evaluating protamine content and DNA integrity of two patients with globozoospermia undergoing Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). Semen analysis was carried out according to WHO criteria. Protamine deficiency and DNA fragmentation was assessed using Chromomycin A3 and sperm chromatin dispersion assay respectively. ICSI and chemical activation were carried ...

Prolonged excitation of fluorescent probes leads eventually to loss of their capacity to emit light. A decrease in the number of detected photons reduces subsequently the resolving power of a fluorescence microscope. Adverse effects of fluorescence intensity loss on the quality of microscopic images of biological specimens have been recognized, but not determined quantitatively. We propose thre...

Transfusion of donor blood containing predominantly younger red cells with prolonged survival in vivo could significantly reduce the iron overload of patients requiring chronic transfusion. Age-dependent separation of red cells can be obtained by buoyant density centrifugation on isotonic solutions of arabino-galactane. By this technique, rabbit red cells were separated on a single layer of ara...

Cytogenetic analyses were accomplished in two populations of Astyanax altiparanae Garutti & Britzki, 2000 and one population of Hyphessobrycon eques Steindachner, 1882, considered incertae sedis in Characidae family. Two populations of Astyanax altiparanae (Mogi-Guaçu and Tietê rivers) presented 2n=50, with the same karyotype formula: 6M+12SM+20ST+12A (FN=88). Hyphessobrycon eques from Capivara...

Arabino-mycolates are components of the cell-wall skeleton of Mycobacterium bovis BCG (BCG-CWS). It is known that synthesized arabinomycolates induce the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in murine macrophage cell lines at an intensity similar to that of BCG-CWS. However the immunological activity of natural arabino-mycolates isolated from BCG has not been investigated, probably...

The relative three-dimensional co-location of RNA polymerase I (RPI) and DNA was studied using confocal laser scanning microscopy during interphase and all the steps of mitosis in human cancerous cells. For each step of the cell cycle, immunolabeled RPI molecules and DNA specifically stained with chromomycin A3 were simultaneously imaged at high resolution through numerous optical sections. The...

The recent recrudescence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains have created an urgent need for new therapeutics against tuberculosis. The enzymes of the shikimate pathway are attractive drug targets because this route is absent in mammals and, in M. tuberculosis, it is essential for pathogen viability. This pathway leads to the biosynthesis of ...