Isolation and characterization of the trophectoderm from the Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Camels' biological fluids contained nanobodies: promising avenue in cancer therapy

Cancer is a major health concern and accounts for one of the main causes of death worldwide. Innovative strategies are needed to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of different types of cancers. Recently, there has been an evolving interest in utilizing nanobodies of camel origin as therapeutic tools against cancer. Nanotechnology uses nanobodies an emerging attractive field that provides promises to researchers in advancing different scientific sectors including medicine and oncology. Nanobodies are characteristically small-sized biologics featured with the ability for deep tissue penetration and dissemination and harbour high stability at high pH and temperatures. The current review highlights the potential use of nanobodies that are naturally secreted in camels’ biological fluids, both milk and urine, in the development of nanotechnology-based therapy for treating different typesQuery of cancers and other diseases. Moreover, the role of nano proteomics in the invention of novel therapeutic agents specifically used for cancer intervention is also illustrated.

Vitrification of camel oocytes transiently impacts mitochondrial functions without affecting the developmental potential after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and parthenogenetic activation

Oocyte vitrification preserves the female genetic resources of elite dromedary camels. In the current study, we aimed to explore the effects of vitrification of camel oocytes on mitochondrial activity, redox stress, and expression of genes related to mitochondrial function, apoptosis, pluripotency, and cytoskeleton. Moreover, we investigated developmental competence of vitrified oocytes after parthenogenetic activation. Oocytes vitrified with the Cryotop method were compared with the fresh oocytes. Our results showed that vitrification led to increased ROS production in oocytes as evidenced by an increase in the DCFDHA fluorescence intensity, and lower mitochondrial activity. At the molecular level, vitrification reduced mRNA expression of many genes, including those related to mitochondrial function (TFAM, MT-CO1, MFN1, ATP1A1, NRF1), pluripotency (SOX2 and POU5F1), and apoptosis (p53 and BAX). In contrast, expression of KLF4 and cytoskeleton-related genes (ACTB and KRT8) was not affected. However, we found no difference in the rates of oocyte survival, cleavage, and blastocyst development, and blastocyst hatching between fresh and vitrified oocytes after warming. Our results indicate that although vitrification of camel metaphase II (MII) oocytes adversely affected mitochondrial functions, the effect was transient without compromising the developmental potential of the oocytes after parthenogenetic activation.

Effects of Acute Hyperthermia on the Thermotolerance of Cow and Sheep Skin-Derived Fibroblasts

Simple Summary

We compared the thermotolerance of cow and sheep fibroblasts after exposure to acute hyperthermia (45 °C for 4 h). The primary culture, first passage, and cryopreserved cow fibroblasts resisted acute hyperthermia in terms of cell viability, proliferation, and migration to close cell scratch, in addition to increased expression of heat shock protein (HSP70 and HSP90) mRNA transcripts.

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the effects of acute hyperthermia (45 °C for 4 h) on the viability, proliferation, and migratory activity through wound-healing assays of cow and sheep fibroblasts. The study examined the effects on primary cultures and first passage skin-derived fibroblasts. Relative quantification of HSP70, HSP90, P53, BAX, BCL2, and BECN1 was investigated after normalization to housekeeping genes GAPDH and beta-actin. The results revealed that cultured cow primary fibroblasts exhibited increased viability and reinitiated cell migration to close the cell monolayer scratch earlier than sheep cells. Similar patterns were observed in the first passage fibroblasts, with severe effects on sheep cells. Both cow and sheep cells exhibited decreased cell viability and failed to regain migratory activity after re-exposure of recovered heat-shocked cells. Effects of hyperthermia on sheep cells were potentiated by cell cryopreservation. The qPCR results showed that cow cells significantly increased HSP70 and HSP90 expression, which decreased the elevation of P53, and ameliorated the effects of the increased BAX/BCL2 ratio. The results provide a paradigm to compare thermotolerance among different animal species and revealed that trypsin could be an additional stress, which potentiates the effects of heat shock in in vitro experiments.

In Vitro Culture of Camelid Embryos

The camel is the main meat- and milk-producing animal in the desert environment and is characterized by an induced ovulation pattern, in which ovulation occurs in response to copulation. Little is known about the early embryonic development and placentation in camelid species. Here we describe protocols for the culture of both in vitro-produced and in vivo-retrieved camel embryos. A chemically defined medium enables the development of in vitro-produced embryos from cleavage to the hatching blastocyst stage. In vivo-retrieved embryos will survive in vitro for 23 days postinsemination, reaching a diameter of ~5 mm.

Drug transport across the human placenta: review of placenta-on-a-chip and previous approaches

In the past few decades, the placenta became a very controversial topic that has had many researchers and pharmacists discussing the significance of the effects of pharmaceutical drug intake and how it is a possible leading cause towards birth defects. The creation of an in vitro microengineered model of the placenta can be used to replicate the interactions between the mother and fetus, specifically pharmaceutical drug intake reactions. As the field of nanotechnology significantly continues growing, nanotechnology will become more apparent in the study of medicine and other scientific disciplines, specifically microengineering applications. This review is based on past and current research that compares the feasibility and testing of the placenta-on-a-chip microengineered model to the previous and underdeveloped in vivo and ex vivo approaches. The testing of the practicality and effectiveness of the in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo models requires the experimentation of prominent pharmaceutical drugs that most mothers consume during pregnancy. In this case, these drugs need to be studied and tested more often. However, there are challenges associated with the in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo processes when developing a practical placental model, which are discussed in further detail.

Synergistic effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and epidermal growth factor on derivation of camel (Camelus dromedarius) trophoblast stem cells

This study aimed to optimize the derivation of trophectoderm from in vitro-produced camel embryos under feeder-free culture conditions using the basement membrane matrix Matrigel. Trophoblastic vesicles were obtained through mechanical microdissection of in vitro-produced camel (Camelus dromedarius) embryos. Supplementing the culture medium with 10 ng/ml of epidermal growth factor and 10 ng/ml fibroblast growth factor improved the attachment and subsequent outgrowths of cultured trophoblastic vesicles when compared with the control group and the groups supplemented individually with each growth factor. The expression levels of pluripotency genes octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (Oct4), sex determining region Y-box 2 (Sox2), myelocytomatosis proto-oncogene (c-Myc) and anti-apoptotic gene B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) were increased in trophoblastic vesicles supplemented with both growth factors when compared with the control group. Conversely, both growth factors decreased the expression of apoptotic genes tumour protein p53 (p53) and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax). To the best of our knowledge, this may be the first report describing the derivation of trophoblast stem cells from in vitro-produced camel embryos.

Isolation and Culture of Skin-Derived Differentiated and Stem-Like Cells Obtained from the Arabian Camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Simple Summary

This is the first comprehensive study to isolate different cellular types and stem-like cells from the camel skin. We reported the multipotency of the isolated stem cells. Moreover, some unique cells were observed, such as dermal cyst-forming cells. This discovery represents a cheap and easy source for camel stem cells that is essential for development of the elite camel regenerative medicine and provides a good source of camel fibroblast required for camel cloning.

Abstract

Elite camels often suffer from massive injuries. Thus, there is a pivotal need for a cheap and readily available regenerative medicine source. We isolated novel stem-like cells from camel skin and investigated their multipotency and resistance against various stresses. Skin samples were isolated from ears of five camels. Fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and spheroid progenitors were extracted. After separation of different cell lines by trypsinization, all cell lines were exposed to heat shock. Then, fibroblasts and dermal cyst-forming cells were examined under cryopreservation. Dermal cyst-forming cells were evaluated for resistance against osmotic pressure. The results revealed that resistance periods against trypsin were 1.5, 4, and 7 min for fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and spheroid progenitors, respectively. Furthermore, complete recovery of different cell lines after heat shock along with the differentiation of spheroid progenitors into neurons was observed. Fibroblasts and spheroid progenitors retained cell proliferation after cryopreservation. Dermal cyst-forming cells regained their normal structure after collapsing by osmotic pressure. The spheroid progenitors incubated in the adipogenic, osteogenic, and neurogenic media differentiated into adipocyte-, osteoblast-, and neuron-like cells, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, we isolated different unique cellular types and stem-like cells from the camel skin and examined their multipotency for the first time.

Development of a modified method of handmade cloning in dromedary camel

In this study, a modified method of handmade cloning (m-HMC), which had been originally developed in sheep, was used for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in the dromedary camel. The unique feature of m-HMC over current SCNT methods lies in the use of a simple device (a finely drawn micropipette made of Pasteur pipette) for chemically-assisted enucleation of oocytes under a stereomicroscope with improved efficiency and ease of operation. Using this system, the throughput of cloned embryo reconstitution was increased over 2-fold compared to the control SCNT method (c-NT). Stepwise measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) revealed that method, steps, and duration of SCNT all influenced oxidative activity of oocytes, but their impact were not similar. Specifically, UV-assisted oocyte enucleation was identified as the major source of ROS production, which explained significantly higher total ROS of reconstituted embryos in c-NT compared to m-HMC. Fusion efficiency (95.3±3.3 vs. 75.4±7.6%) and total efficiency of blastocyst development (22.5±3.0 vs. 14.1±4.3%) were significantly higher in m-HMC compared to c-NT, respectively, and blastocysts of transferable quality were obtained in similar rates (41.9±8.2 vs. 48.0±15.2%, respectively). Significance differences were observed in total cell number (155.3±13.6 vs. 123.6±19.5) and trophectoderm (145±9.5 vs. 114.3±15.2), but not inner cell mass (10.3±4.1 vs. 9.3±5.3) counts between blastocysts developed in c-NT compared to m-HMC, respectively. However, expression of key developmental genes (POU5F1, KLF4, SOX2, MYC, and CDX2) was comparable between blastocysts of both groups. The introduced m-HMC method might be a viable approach for efficient production of dromedary camel clones for research and commercial utilization.

Cumulus cells of camel (Camelus dromedarius) antral follicles are multipotent stem cells

The mammalian ovary is a highly dynamic organ, in which proliferation and differentiation occur constantly during the entire life span, particularly in camels that are characterized by a follicular wave pattern and induced ovulation. Granulosa cells are the main cells of mature follicles. Two distinct cell types, namely, the mural and cumulus granulosa cells are distinguished on the basis of antral fluid increase. The multipotency of follicular fluid and the luteinizing cell were recently demonstrated. However, reports regarding the plasticity of cumulus cells are lacking. We obtained cumulus cells from cumulus-oocyte complexes and showed that camel cumulus cells expressed stem cell mRNA transcripts (POU5A1, KLF4, SOX2, and MYC) and were able to differentiate into other non-ovarian follicular cell types in vitro, such as neurons, osteoblasts, and adipocytes. In contrast, removal of the ooplasm (oocytectemy) showed no effect on cumulus cell proliferation and differentiation. This is the first report to identify an invaluable source of multipotent stem cells, which is routinely discarded during in vitro embryo production. The plasticity and transdifferentiation capability of camel cumulus cells definitely requires attention as it provides a cheap biological experimental model for basic research in stem cells and for understanding ovarian differentiation, both of which are relevant for use in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering in humans and animals.

The current perspectives of dromedary camel stem cells research

Camels have cultural value in the Arab society and are considered one of the most important animals in the Arabian Peninsula and arid environments, due to the distinct characteristics of their meat and milk. Moreover, there is a great interest in camel racing and beauty shows. Therefore, treatment of elite animals, increasing the number of camels as well as genetic improvement is an essential demand. Because there are unique camels for milk production, meat, or in racing, the need to propagate genetically superior camels is urgent. Recent biotechnological approaches such as stem cells hold great promise for biomedical research, genetic engineering, and as a model for studying early mammalian developmental biology. Establishment of stem cells lines from camels would tremendously facilitate regenerative medicine for genetically superior camels, permit the gene targeting of the camel genome and the generation of genetically modified animal and be a mean for genome conservation for the elite breeds. In this mini-review, we show the current research, future horizons and potential applications for camel stem cells.