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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Electroporation-Mediated Gene Transfer Directly To The Swine Heart, Barbara Hargrave, Harre Downey, Cathryn Lundberg, Annelise Israel, Yeong-Jer Chen, Richard Heller Jan 2013

Electroporation-Mediated Gene Transfer Directly To The Swine Heart, Barbara Hargrave, Harre Downey, Cathryn Lundberg, Annelise Israel, Yeong-Jer Chen, Richard Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

In vivo gene transfer to the ischemic heart via electroporation holds promise as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of heart disease. In the current study, we investigated the use of in vivo electroporation for gene transfer using three different penetrating electrodes and one non-penetrating electrode. The hearts of adult male swine were exposed through a sternotomy. Eight electric pulses synchronized to the rising phase of the R wave of the electrocardiogram were administered at varying pulse widths and field strengths following an injection of either a plasmid encoding luciferase or one encoding green fluorescent protein. Four sites on …


Electroporation-Mediated Delivery Of A Naked Dna Plasmid Expressing Vegf To The Porcine Heart Enhances Protein Expression, W. G. Marshall Jr., B. A. Boone, J. D. Burgos, S. I. Gografe, M. K. Baldwin, M. L. Danielson, M. J. Larson, D. R. Caretto, Y. Cruz, B. Ferraro, L. C. Heller, K. E. Ugen, M. J. Jaroszeski, R. Heller Jan 2010

Electroporation-Mediated Delivery Of A Naked Dna Plasmid Expressing Vegf To The Porcine Heart Enhances Protein Expression, W. G. Marshall Jr., B. A. Boone, J. D. Burgos, S. I. Gografe, M. K. Baldwin, M. L. Danielson, M. J. Larson, D. R. Caretto, Y. Cruz, B. Ferraro, L. C. Heller, K. E. Ugen, M. J. Jaroszeski, R. Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

Gene therapy is an attractive method for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. However, using current strategies, induction of gene expression at therapeutic levels is often inefficient. In this study, we show a novel electroporation (EP) method to enhance the delivery of a plasmid expressing an angiogenic growth factor (vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF), which is a molecule previously documented to stimulate revascularization in coronary artery disease. DNA expression plasmids were delivered in vivo to the porcine heart with or without coadministered EP to determine the potential effect of electrically mediated delivery. The results showed that plasmid delivery through EP significantly …


The Effects Of Thawing Procedure And Supplementation On The Motility And Viability Of Frozen-Thawed Boar Semen, B. D. Whitaker, S. Clark, Z. Crouse, W. Martin, J. W. Knight Jan 2008

The Effects Of Thawing Procedure And Supplementation On The Motility And Viability Of Frozen-Thawed Boar Semen, B. D. Whitaker, S. Clark, Z. Crouse, W. Martin, J. W. Knight

Virginia Journal of Science

The effect of two thawing procedures on frozen boar semen and supplementations to the fertilization media were studied. Frozen boar semen was thawed using either Percoll gradient or phosphate buffered saline (PBS)procedure. Supplementations were 1.0 mM L-glutamate, 1.0 mM N-acetylcysteine (NAC) , and 1.0 mM NAC-amide (NACA). Spermatozoa were analyzed for forward progressive motility (FPM) and viability every 0.5 h for 3 .0 h post-thawing. There were significantly (P < 0.05) higher numbers of viable (76.0 ± 5.1 %) and FPM (30 .0 ± 2.4%) spermatozoa at 3.0 h post thawing using the PBS procedure compared to the Percoll gradient thawed spermatozoa (65.0 ± 3.9%; 10.0 ± 4.5 %, respectively). Supplementation of 1.0 mM L-glutamate, 1.0 mM NAC, or 1.0 mM NACA had no significant effect on spermatozoa viability regardless of the time post-thaw.Supplementation of 1.0 mM L-glutamate, 1.0 mM NAC , or 1.0 mM NACA had no significant effect on FPM up to 1.0 h post-thaw. Spermatozoa with no supplementation or 1.0 mM L-glutamate had significantly higher (P < 0.05) FPM compared to the 1.0 mM NAC and 1.0 mM NACA supplemented groups at 1.5, 2.0, 2 .5, and 3.0 h post-thaw. There was no significant difference between no supplementation or 1.0 mM L-glutamate on FPM regardless of the time post-thaw. There was no significant difference between 1.0 mM NAC or 1.0 mM NACA on FPM regardless of the time post-thaw. These results indicate that thawing procedure has an effect on spermatozoa viability and FPM but supplementation does not have an effect on the overall viability of spermatozoa during thawing, but may reduce FPM.