Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research

About: Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Estrone & Estrogen. The organization has 2195 authors who have published 2646 publications receiving 115809 citations. The organization is also known as: Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology.

Fertilizing Capacity of Spermatozoa deposited into the Fallopian Tubes

Abstract: IN the natural sequence of mammalian fertilization, the spermatozoa await the arrival of ova in the Fallopian tubes. The time of waiting may vary from 6 hr. (rabbit), 24 hr. (ferret), 20–30 hr. (pig, sheep and cattle) up to perhaps several months (bat)1. Since the transportation of sperm from the vagina to the upper part of the tube is very rapid (a few minutes to 6 hr.1), and since the number of spermatozoa present at the site of fertilization is very small1, this time interval is not necessarily for the accumulation of a large number of spermatozoa to ensure fertilization. The following experiment demonstrates that such a period of time in the female tract is required for the spermatozoa to acquire their fertilizing capacity.

An improved culture medium supports development of random-bred 1-cell mouse embryos in vitro

Abstract: One-cell CF-1 x B6SJLF1/J embryos, which usually exhibit a 2-cell block to development in vitro, have been cultured to the blastocyst stage using CZB medium and a glucose washing procedure. CZB medium is a further modification of modified BMOC-2 containing an increased lactate/pyruvate ratio of 116, 1 mM-glutamine and 0.1 mM-EDTA but lacking glucose. Continuous culture of one-cell embryos in CZB medium allowed 83% of embryos to develop beyond the 2-cell stage of which 63% were morulae at 72 h of culture, but blastocysts did not develop. However, washing embryos into CZB medium containing glucose after 48 h of culture (3-4-cell stage) was sufficient to allow development to proceed, with 48% of embryos reaching the blastocyst stage by 96 h of culture. Exposure of embryos to glucose was only necessary from the 3-4-cell stage through the early morula stage since washing back into medium CZB without glucose at 72 h of culture still promoted the development of 50% of embryos to the blastocyst stage. The presence of glucose in this medium for the first 48 h of culture (1-cell to 4-cell stage) was detrimental to embryo development. Glutamine, however, exerted a beneficial effect on embryo development from the 1-cell to the 4-cell stage although its presence was not required for development to proceed during the final 48 h of culture. Blastocysts which developed under optimum conditions contained an average of 33.7 total cells. The in-vitro development of 1-cell embryos beyond the 2-cell stage in response to the removal of glucose and the addition of glutamine to the culture medium suggests that glucose may block some essential metabolic process, and that glutamine may be a preferred energy substrate during early development for these mouse embryos.

Actin and myosin and cell movement.

Abstract: (1974). Actin And Myosin And Cell Movemen. CRC Critical Reviews in Biochemistry: Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 1-65.

Cytoskeleton--plasma membrane interactions

Abstract: Proteins at the boundary between the cytoskeleton and the plasma membrane control cell shape, delimit specialized membrane domains, and stabilize attachments to other cells and to the substrate. These proteins also regulate cell locomotion and cytoplasmic responses to growth factors and other external stimuli. This diversity of cellular functions is matched by the large number of biochemical mechanisms that mediate the connections between membrane proteins and the underlying cytoskeleton, the so-called membrane skeleton. General organizational themes are beginning to emerge from examination of this biochemical diversity.