Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.4.24.3 (collagenase)
18,340 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with testicular spermatozoa and ejaculated spermatids has been applied successfully to treat infertility because of azoospermia due to obstruction or testicular failure. In most cases, free spermatozoa are recovered from testicular tissue after mechanical mincing of multiple biopsies. Testicular sperm retrieval, however, remains unsuccessful in a high proportion of male patients suffering from testicular failure. In the present study, four media for enzymatic collagen digestion of testicular tissue were compared on 15 testis biopsies obtained from azoospermic patients following an ICSI treatment and on five biopsies from orchiectomy patients. To dissociate the testicular tissue, collagenase type IA, collagenase type IV, collagenase type IA supplemented with elastase and collagenase type IV supplemented with elastase were used. The preparations with only collagenase type IV provided the best dissolution of the cells from their tissue, with a higher yield of free vital testicular spermatozoa and single round germ cells. Enzymatic digestion of testicular tissue has the advantage, especially in cases of testicular failure, that several biopsies can be concentrated into one pellet of single cells. In this way, the sperm retrieval in cases of testicular failure might be optimized to yield the maximal numbers of spermatids and/or spermatozoa.
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PMID:The use of enzymatic procedures to recover testicular germ cells. 930 93

Protease activities with specificity toward synthetic substrates, Suc-Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-MCA for prolyl endopeptidase or collagenase-like peptidase, and Suc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-MCA for chymotrypsin were identified in the detergent-soluble fraction of herring spermatozoa. The enzyme activities increased in the presence of herring sperm-activating protein (HSAP). Among them a prolyl endopeptidase [EC. 3. 4. 21. 26] was purified to near homogeneity from herring testis. The molecular mass of the enzyme was 79 kDa and the properties of the enzyme were quite similar to prolyl endopeptidase from other tissues or cells. Both the enzyme activation and the sperm motility activation by HSAP were inhibited by benzyloxycarbonyl-L-thioproline-thioprolinal, a specific inhibitor for prolyl endopeptidase. Furthermore, the motility activation by HSAP was inhibited by substrates of the prolyl endopeptidase. Western blotting with mouse anti-prolyl endopeptidase serum revealed the presence of 79 kDa prolyl endopeptidase in the tail fraction of herring sperm. These results suggest that prolyl endopeptidase exists on the surface of the sperm tail and interacts with the HSAP.
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PMID:Purification and characterization of prolyl endopeptidase from the Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi, and its role in the activation of sperm motility. 1022 18

Degelification of highly viscous alpaca semen was attempted using two enzymes: trypsin and collagenase. Dilution effect on artificial insemination was determined in alpacas. Semen from 4 male alpacas was collected, degelified, diluted, and inseminated into 80 female alpacas. Degelification was achieved adding trypsin and collagenase enzymes to fresh semen samples. Semen was diluted with egg-yolk glucose citrate to give concentrations of 4, 8, and 12 million spermatozoa/mL. Females were induced to ovulate with human chorionic gonadotropin and then inseminated deep into the uterine horns. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences in the effect of trypsin and collagenase on sperm acrosome and on motility and live spermatozoa. The chi-square test was used to determine differences in pregnancy of artificially inseminated females. Semen was degelified with different concentrations of trypsin and collagenase. There were differences (p < .05) in the pregnancy rate of female alpacas inseminated with 4 million (53.3%), 8 million (66.7%), and 12 million sperm/mL (61.5%). Alpaca semen may be degelified using trypsin and/or collagenase. It seems that 8 million sperm/mL is adequate for artificial insemination in alpacas.
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PMID:Degelification of alpaca semen and the effect of dilution rates on artificial insemination outcome. 1062 9

In the last 3 years, several studies have shown that xenogeneic transplantation of rodent spermatogonia is feasible. The treatment of infertile patients with spermatogenic arrest using the injection of immature germ cells has yielded only poor results. We attempted to establish a complete spermatogenetic line in the testes of mutant aspermatogenic (W/Wv) and severe combined immunodeficient mice (SCID) transplanted with germ cells from azoospermic men. Spermatogenic cells were obtained from testicular biopsy specimens of men (average age of 34.3 +/- 9 years) undergoing infertility treatment because of obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia. Testicular tissue was digested with collagenase to promote separation of individual spermatogenic cells. The germ cells were injected into mouse testicular seminiferous tubules using a microneedle (40 microm inner diameter) on a 10 ml syringe. To assess the penetration of the cell suspension into the tubules, trypan blue was used as an indicator. Mice were maintained for 50 to 150 days to allow time for germ cell colonisation and development prior to them being killed. Testes were then fixed for histological examination and approximately 100 cross-sectioned tubules were examined for human spermatogenic cells. A total of 26 testicular cell samples, 16 frozen and 10 fresh, were obtained from 24 men. The origin of the azoospermia was obstructive (OA) in 16 patients and non-obstructive (NOA) in 8 patients. The concentration of spermatogenic cells in the OA group was 6.6 x 10(6) cells/ml, and 1.3 x 10(6) cells/ml in the NOA group (p < 0.01). The different spermatogenic cell types were distributed equally in the OA samples, ranging from spermatogenia to fully developed spermatozoa, but in the NOA group the majority of cells were spermatogonia and spermatocytes. A total of 23 testes from 14 W/Wv mice and 24 testes from 12 SCID mice were injected successfully, as judged by the presence of spermatogenic cells in histological sections of testes removed immediately after the injection. However, sections from the remaining testes examined up to 150 days after injection showed tubules lined with Sertoli cells and xenogeneic germ cells were not found. The reason why the two strains of mouse used as recipients did not allow the implantation of human germ cells is probably due to interspecies specificity involving non-compatible cell adhesion molecules and/or immunological rejection.
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PMID:Xenogeneic transplantation of human spermatogonia. 1085 80

The effect of four enzymes: collagenase, fibrinolysin, hyalurodinase, and trypsin were recorded on the viscosity, motility, percent live spermatozoa and acrosome integrity of Llama and Alpaca semen. Semen samples were collected using a modified artificial vagina for each of the five llamas and five alpacas. A 25% solution of the of enzyme at a concentration of 1mg/ml was added to the ejaculate. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences in eliminating viscosity and alterations in motility, percent live spermatozoa and the acrosomal integrity at 0 (time of semen collection), 2 and 5min. In Llama and Alpaca semen, collagenase eliminated viscosity in 100 and 99% of the samples, respectively. Correspondingly, fibrinolysin in 89 and 59%; hyalurodinase in 88 and 36%; and trypsin in 55 and 68% of the samples (p<0.05). In the Llama sperm, motility decreased (p<0.05) with the addition of fibrinolysin (28%), trypsin (13%), hyalurodinase (12%), and collagenase (4%). In Alpaca semen, the enzymes used had no effect on sperm motility. Percent live spermatozoa variably decreased after the addition of fibrinolysin, hyalurodinase and trypsin. There was no significant difference in the acrosome integrity in Llama and Alpaca makes following the addition of the enzymes. Overall, collagenase had little or no influence in decreasing motility, percent live spermatozoa and acrosome integrity, whereas, it was effective in eliminating semen viscosity.
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PMID:The effect of enzymes on semen viscosity in Llamas and Alpacas. 1092 84

It is well known that the epididymis is an excellent environment to maintain sperm viability. Therefore, we used different sections of bovine epididymis (caput, corpus, and cauda) to develop epithelial cell culture monolayers to identify factors that will increase sperm survival in the freezing-thawing process. Each epididymal section was dissected and treated with collagenase to obtain epithelial cell clusters. The cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium with 10% serum at 38.5 degrees C. A confluent monolayer was obtained after 5-7 days in culture and preliminary characterization using cytokeratin antibody indicated that the cell culture contained 85%-95% of epithelial cells. These cellular cultures were tested for their ability to maintain motility of epididymal and frozen-thawed spermatozoa. Washed spermatozoa were added to obtain a final dilution of 1 x 10(6) spermatozoa/mL. The motility of frozen-thawed spermatozoa was also recorded after incubation in conditioned media. Our results show that cocultures of spermatozoa and epididymal cell monolayers for 24 and 48 hours were beneficial for maintaining epididymal and frozen-thawed sperm motility (36.0% and 20.4%) compared with spermatozoa cultured with fibroblast cells or in the absence of a cell monolayer (0%; P < .01). The conditioned medium provides favorable conditions for sperm motility. Results with conditioned medium on maintenance of frozen-thawed sperm motility suggest that epididymal cells in vitro secrete beneficial factors that prolong the sperm survival.
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PMID:Epididymal epithelial cells cultured in vitro prolong the motility of bovine sperm. 1110 10

Synthetic fluorogenic substrates, like the CellProbe reagents, can determine enzymes in vital human spermatozoa. These substrates will enter the cells without previous cell permeabilization and exhibit fluorescence after cleavage depending on enzyme activity. They consist of different peptide sequences, specific for the enzymes, and a fluorescein- or rhodamine 110-dye moiety. The number of positive cells and the intensity of the fluorescence can be determined by flow cytometric analysis. We investigated several enzymes (peptidases, proteinases, esterases, elastases and collagenases) in intact spermatozoa before and after cryoprotection. Semen samples with normal spermiogram parameters were cryoprotected using the freezing medium TEST yolk buffer (TYB). Fresh spermatozoa showed a marked fluorescence after incubation with the synthetic substrates for the aminopeptidase M, butyryl esterase, fluorescein diacetate (FDA)-and FDA/sodium fluoride (NAF)-esterase, ala-ala-pro-val (AAPV)-elastase, gly pro-leu-gly pro-(GPLGP)-collagenase, gly gly leu-(GGL)-subtilisin as well as lys-ala-(LA)-dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) II. After cryopreservation the spermatozoal fluorescence increased applying substrates for butyryl esterase (P<0.05), prolyl-aminopeptidase (P<0.001) and val-lys-(VK)-cathepsin (P<0.001) most probably due to elevated enzyme activities. The activities of FDA-esterase (P<0.05) and FDA/NAF-esterase (P<0.05), AAPV-elastase (P<0.01), GPLGP-collagenase (P<0.05) and GGL-subtilisin (P<0.001) decreased after cryopreservation. The substrates for arg-gly glut-ser-(RGES)-elastase, gly phenyl-gly ala-(GFGA)-collagenase and threo-pro-(TP)-cathepsin were not cleaved before as well as after cryostorage. The substrates for subtilisin an
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PMID:Flow cytometric analysis of enzymes in live spermatozoa before and after cryostorage. 1113 45

The effects of cryopreservation on two characteristics of human spermatozoa were investigated: the early phases of disturbed plasma membrane function and the activity of enzymes in intact spermatozoa. The membrane function was detected by means of the calcium-dependent binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated Annexin V to sperm plasma membranes. Annexin V monitors the translocation of phosphatidylserine from the inner to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, which is one of the earliest features of membrane disintegration. For the second aim synthetic fluorogenic substrates for peptidases, proteinases, esterases, elastases and collagenases were applied. These substrates, CellProbe trade mark reagents consist of different peptide sequences, specific for the enzymes, and a fluorescein- or rhodamine 110-dye moiety. They enter the cells without previous membrane permeabilisation and exhibit fluorescence after cleavage depending on enzyme activity. The number of positive cells and the intensity of the fluorescence were determined by flow cytometric analysis comparing fresh spermatozoa with cryopreserved ones. Thirty-five semen samples collected from 35 donors were cryopreserved using the freezing medium TEST yolk buffer. All specimens showed normal spermiogram parameters. Twenty-five of the samples were used for detection of Annexin V-FITC binding and 10 semen samples for investigations of the intracellular enzymes. The Annexin V-assay applied two fluorescent dyes (Annexin V, AN and propidium iodide, PI) which led to three groups of spermatozoa (a) viable spermatozoa (AN V-negative and PI-negative), (b) dead spermatozoa (AN V-positive and PI-positive) and (c) cells with impaired but integer plasma membrane (AN V-positive and PI-negative). The percentage of vital Annexin V-negative spermatozoa (x +/- SEM) decreased significantly (p < 0.001) from fresh spermatozoa (51.6 +/- 3.1) to cryopreserved spermatozoa (26.6 +/- 2.2%) and was associated with their motility (57.9 +/- 1.9% motile fresh spermatozoa vs. 22.6 +/- 3.9% motile sperm after cryopreservation). Of the spermatozoa 28.2% were Annexin V-positive before and 44.4% after cryostorage even though they did not bind to PI. Thus, vital spermatozoa showed a disturbed membrane function indicating viability before as well as after cryostorage. Moreover, after cryopreservation the spermatozoal fluorescence increased applying substrates for butyryl esterase (p < 0.05), prolyl-aminopeptidase (p < 0.001) and val-lys-(VK)-cathepsin (p < 0.001). In contrast, the activities of fluorescein diacetate (FDA)- and FDA/sodium fluoride (NAF)-esterase (p < 0.05), ala-ala-pro-val-(AAPV)-elastase (p < 0.001), gly-pro-leu-gly-pro-(GPLGP)-collagenase (p < 0.05) and gly-gly-leu-(GGL)-subtilisin (p < 0.001) decreased after cryopreservation. The substrates for arg-gly-glut-ser-(RGES)-elastase, gly-phenyl-gly-ala-(GFGA)-collagenase and threo-pro-(TP)-cathepsin were not cleaved before as well as after cryostorage. In addition to the known effects of sperm cryopreservation our results showed two further alterations of human ejaculated spermatozoa: (a) disturbed plasma membrane function, which is not detectable by supravital staining and (b) a changed pattern of intracellular enzyme activities.
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PMID:Hidden effects of cryopreservation on quality of human spermatozoa. 1525 59

The objective of these studies was to investigate the practicality of flow cytometric sex-sorting for spermatozoa from the white and the black rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum, Diceros bicornis). In Experiment 1, four semen extenders were tested regarding their suitability for liquid preservation of spermatozoa before sorting. Dilution in MES-HEPES-based semen extender followed by incubation generated best sperm quality parameters (motility, viability, and acrosome integrity). In Experiment 2, the effect of staining method (15 degrees C for 4 to 6h during transport or 37 degrees C for 1 to 1.5h) on sort efficiency and sperm quality was investigated. Staining at 15 degrees C during transport resulted in a higher percentage of sperm samples showing a resolution of X- and Y-chromosome-bearing populations (60%) compared with that for staining at 37 degrees C after transport (33%) and resulted in superior sperm integrity after staining (43.8+/-11.3% vs. 19.6+/-12.1%). Sort rate was 300 to 700 cells/sec and sort purity, determined for one sorted sample, was 94% for X-chromosome-bearing spermatozoa. In Experiment 3, the highly viscous component of rhinoceros seminal plasma, which complicates the process of sperm sorting, was examined by gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Results suggested a 250-kDa glycoprotein (most likely originating from the bulbourethral gland) to be responsible for the characteristic viscosity of ejaculates. In Experiment 4, viscosity of seminal plasma, as measured by electron spin resonance spectroscopy, was significantly decreased after addition of alpha-amylase or collagenase (0.5 and 3IU per 100 microL seminal plasma, respectively) by 28% and 21%, respectively, with no negative effect on sperm characteristics. The results of this study demonstrate for the first time that rhinoceros spermatozoa can be successfully sorted into high-purity X- and Y-chromosome-bearing populations. Furthermore, the successful liquefaction of viscous ejaculates provides the means to greatly improve sort-efficiency in this species.
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PMID:Feasibility of sex-sorting sperm from the white and the black rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum, Diceros bicornis). 1941 Oct 99

Llama semen is characterized by great structural viscosity and minimal sperm progressive motility. These characteristics, inherent to South American Camelid ejaculates, have slowed down the development of assisted reproductive techniques in these species. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the effect of different combinations of dilutions and incubation time with H-TALP-BSA medium, with and without adding 0.1% collagenase, on the qualitative and quantitative semen characteristics, for its use in assisted fertility techniques. Ejaculates (n=8; r=3) were obtained using electroejaculation. Each ejaculate was evaluated and then split into four aliquots. Two of these were diluted 4:1 and 8:1 in 0.1% collagenase in H-TALP-BSA (treatments 1 and 3) and the other two 4:1 and 8:1 in H-TALP-BSA without collagenase (treatments 2 and 4). Treatments 1 and 2 were incubated 4 min at 37 degrees C while treatments 3 and 4 were incubated 8 min. All aliquots were centrifuged at 800 x g for 4 min immediately after incubation. Supernatants were pipetted to observe thread formation and pellets were re-diluted in H-TALP-BSA. Supernatants from samples treated with collagenase did not form a thread when pipetted, while the ones from samples that were not treated with the enzyme did. Only semen samples treated with collagenase showed progressive sperm motility, with averages over 40%. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) for the percentage of live spermatozoa and for the percentage of detached heads between raw and treated semen samples. Percentages of spermatozoa with functional membranes were significantly higher (P< or =0.05) in samples treated with collagenase than in raw semen and in samples incubated without collagenase. These results show that treating semen with 0.1% collagenase in H-TALP-BSA improves semen rheological properties while facilitates the separation of spermatozoa from seminal plasma in llama; it also promotes sperm progressive motility, while maintaining sperm membrane functionality and integrity. Consequently, this protocol could be used for in vitro llama embryo production with ejaculated spermatozoa.
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PMID:Improvement of llama (Lama glama) seminal characteristics using collagenase. 1961 91


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