High expression of Fightless I (FLII) is associated to multiple tumors. Based on our previous study that FLII might be involved in the nuclear export, we assessed the possible interaction of FLII with the nuclear envelop associating proteins Importin β and Nup88. We first constructed GST-FLII, GST-LRR recombinant plasmids and transformed them into the Rosetta strain to produce GST-FLII, GST-LRR fusion protein. After purification of these proteins, GST-pull down, as well as co-immunoprecipitation, were used to test the interaction of FLII with Importin β and Nup88. FLII interacted with Importin β and Nup88, and FLII LRR domain is responsible for these interactions. Thus, FLII may play a role in nuclear export through interaction with Importin β and Nup88.
Humans ; Microfilament Proteins ; metabolism ; Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins ; metabolism ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; metabolism ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; metabolism ; beta Karyopherins ; metabolism

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of sperm source and sperm parameters on the outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). METHODS: This retrospective study included 433 ICSI cycles from June 2005 to December 2008 in Reproductive Medical Center of Xiangya Hospital. The patients were divided into 2 major groups according to the source of spermatozoa used for ICSI: ejaculated (group A, n=336) and epididymal (group B, n=97). Group A was divided into 3 subgroups according to the sperm parameters: normal (Group A1, n=95), single parameter defect (Group A2, n=119), and multiple parameter defect (Group A3, n=122). RESULTS: The basic characteristics among the 4 groups had no statistic difference (P>0.05), and the difference in the fertilization rate, normal fertilization rate, cleaving embryo rate,good quality embryo rate, implanted rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and early abortion rate among the 4 groups were not significant (P>0.05). CONCLUSION The outcome is similar no matter whether the spermatozoa is from ejaculated sperm or epididymis. ICSI can treat male infertility of various factors, and the outcome is the same with one or multiple sperm parameter abnormality. ICSI with epididymal spermatozoa through percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration is effective for infertility due to obstructive azoospermia.
Adult ; Epididymis ; cytology ; physiopathology ; Female ; Fertilization ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; therapy ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Retrospective Studies ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; methods ; Sperm Motility ; physiology ; Sperm Retrieval ; Spermatozoa ; physiology

OBJECTIVE: To determine the sperm-zona pellucida (ZP) binding and ZP-induced acrosome reaction in patients with unexplained infertility, and to discuss the relationship between ZP-induced acrosome reaction and fertilization rate. METHODS: We compared the fertilization rate and good embryo rate in patients with unexplained infertility after fertilization in 2 ways. Based on the causes of infertility, patients were divided into an unexplained infertility group (Group A) and a pure female tubal factor group (Group B). Oocytes which were obtained by super ovulation from 25 patients with unexplained infertility were randomly divided into 2 groups with conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) (Group A1) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) fertilization (Group A2). The pure female tubal factor group (Group B) had conventional IVF. We conducted sperm-ZP binding and ZP-induced acrosome reaction experiments with 2 groups of men's sperms separately. We compared the number of sperm-egg binding and ZP-induced acrosome reaction rate and discussed the relationship between the ZP-induced acrosome reaction and fertilization rate, and also the fertilization rate, good embryo rate and pregnancy rate in patients with unexplained infertility after fertilization in 2 ways. RESULTS: The average number of sperm-egg binding (78.29 ± 16.31) and the ZP-induced acrosome reaction rate (55.87 ± 27.69) % in Group A were lower than those of Group B [94.63 ± 6.72, (82.53 ± 17.99)%]. The difference between the average number of sperm-egg binding and the ZP-induced acrosome reaction was significant (P <0.01). The fertilization rate of Group A1 was significantly lower than that of Group B and Group A2 (P <0.01). But there was no significant difference in the good embryo rate among the 3 groups. There was no significant difference between Group A2 and B in fertilization rate and good embryo rate (P <0.05). There was no significant difference in pregnancy rate between Group A and B (P <0.05). Fertilization rate and the rate of acrosome reaction had marked positive correlation with statistical significance (r =0.932, P <0.01). CONCLUSION ZP binding and ZP-induced acrosome reaction are very important experiments in sperm function test for patients with unexplained infertility. It can not only effectively avoid no embryo transferring due to complete failure of fertilization but also get a desirable outcome of pregnancy using half-ICSI fertilization in patients with unexplained infertility.
Acrosome Reaction ; Embryo Transfer ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Humans ; Infertility ; etiology ; therapy ; Male ; Oocytes ; physiology ; Ovulation Induction ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Sperm-Ovum Interactions ; physiology ; Treatment Outcome ; Zona Pellucida ; physiology

ObjectiveTo establish the fingerprint of seven commercially available Yangyin Qingfei preparations， to quantitatively analyze the index components， to evaluate their quality uniformity with multivariate statistical analysis， and to explore the quality differences among different dosage forms. MethodA total of 33 batches of commercially available 7 kinds of Yangyin Qingfei preparations were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）， the fingerprints were established and the common peaks were identified. Paeoniflorin， verbascoside， harpagoside， glycyrrhizic acid and paeonol were selected as the indicators of quality attributes to quantitatively analyze 33 batches of preparations. Based on the administration methods of Yangyin Qingfei preparations， the daily intake was calculated and the radar charts were poltted， and cluster analysis and principal component analysis were used to explore the quality differences of 7 kinds of Yangyin Qingfei preparations and the quality uniformity among different batches of the same dosage form. ResultThe similarity of fingerprints of 7 dosage forms was 0.248-0.956， suggesting that there were significant differences among different dosage forms of Yangyin Qingfei preparations， and a total of 15 common peaks were calibrated， of which peak 7， peak 8， peak 11， peak 13 and peak 15 were paeoniflorin， verbascoside， harpagoside， glycyrrhizic acid and paeonol， respectively. The radar plots showed that the average total daily intake of large honeyed pills and water honeyed pills was the highest， and the uniformity of pill components was better. The quality of 33 batches of samples was divided into poor quality and high quality by cluster analysis. Principal component analysis showed that the uniformity and dosage form of different dosage forms were significantly different， the oral liquid had the best quality homogeneity with the minimum dispersion. And the content of paeonol in different dosage forms was significantly different， which was the key component of quality control of Yangyin Qingfei preparations. ConclusionYangyin Qingfei large honeyed pills and water honeyed pills show high content and good uniformity， which are relatively preferred dosage forms. Different preparation processes have a great influence on the content of paeonol， and its quality control should be emphasized during production. This study provides a scientific method for the comparison of product quality of different dosage forms of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions， which is helpful for the development of preferred dosage forms of different prescriptions， and provides a reference for efficient use of medication in the clinical practice.