• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Preservation of testicular cells to save endangered feline species

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 31, 2020
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Testicular cells survive cryopreservation after dissociation

IMAGE

Credit: Ex-situ Iberian Lynx Program

A research team at the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) developed a method to isolate and cryopreserve testicular cells. This will allow the safekeeping and biobanking of gametes and other cells of the male reproductive tract of threatened or endangered feline species. The findings have been published in the scientific journal “Cryobiology“.

Cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen at -196°C is a common procedure to store germ cells (sperm and eggs) and embryos but can be damaging to cells. Initially, the team tested two different “freezing speeds”, as the extent of freezing damage strongly depends on the speed of temperature reduction during the freezing process. To ensure that germ cells and embryos are functional again after thawing, cryoprotectants are usually applied before freezing. These must penetrate the cells before the temperature is lowered in order to prevent or weaken the formation of ice crystals inside the cells and thus prevent damage. Since the most commonly used cryoprotectants are cytotoxic at higher concentrations, the scientists tested two different concentrations for freezing.

Whereas usually a cryoprotectant penetrates individual cells relatively quickly, cells inside the tissue of an organ are difficult to reach by the cryoprotectant. In this study, the testicular tissue was therefore not preserved in small pieces but – after dissolution of the tissue complex – as a cell suspension so that the cryoprotectant could penetrate individual cells faster. This method has already been successfully used in some mammalian species and was adapted by scientists at the Leibniz-IZW for the conservation of feline testicular cells. To dissolve the tissue complex as gently as possible, the Leibniz-IZW researchers combined the mechanical preparation steps with the interruption of cell to cell contacts using a cocktail of enzymes.

“A particular problem in cryopreserving tissue or cell suspensions is the assessment of cell recovery after thawing. Ultimately, cell functionality can only be achieved in long-term cell culture experiments. However, in order to optimise the freezing process in the short term, we used two methods to assess the viability of the cells,” explains Mohammad Bashawat, scientist at the Leibniz-IZW. Using fluorescent reporter molecules, the lower concentration of cryoprotectant combined with a slow freezing speed was clearly the most beneficial method. About 45 % of cryopreserved testicular cells of castrated domestic cats were vital again after thawing. Comparably good results were obtained in two pilot studies with testicular cells of an Asian golden cat and a cheetah. The Leibniz-IZW research team sees this as an important step towards preserving the germ lines of valuable animals for future applications in the context of species conservation and the maintenance of diversity in their genomes.

Of the 39 cat species that are currently extant, 25 are on the “Red List” of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a status varying from “vulnerable” to “critically endangered”. Measures to enhance reproduction are becoming increasingly important for the conservation of genetic diversity in these species. These measures include cryopreservation of germ cells and artificial insemination. The testes of males which died or had to be euthanised contain stem cells and numerous immature precursors of male germ cells. In future, these could hopefully be matured into spermatozoa during spermatogenesis in the “test tube”, as has previously been shown by research groups working with mice and humans. In order to have testicular cells of feline species available for such future projects, their cryopreservation is the method of choice, as this allows an almost unlimited storage of this valuable gene reserve (“cryobanking”). This is especially true for individuals which cannot supply functionally “mature” sperm because of their age or state of health.

###

Media Contact
Mohammad Bashawat
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.fv-berlin.de/en/info-for/the-media-and-public/news/konservierung-von-hodenzellen-zum-erhalt-gefaehrdeter-katzenarten

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cryobiol.2020.03.001

Tags: BiodiversityBiologyBiotechnologyDevelopmental/Reproductive BiologyEcology/EnvironmentPopulation BiologyZoology/Veterinary Science
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Student Nurses’ Realities During Practical Exams in Ghana

October 2, 2025

Quantum Nanodiamond Test Boosts Early COVID Detection

October 2, 2025

Parkinson’s Tremors Revealed by Long-Term STN-DBS

October 2, 2025

Soluble Apoptotic Markers Linked to β-Cell Dysfunction

October 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    91 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    76 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Decoding the Magnetic Mathematics of Breast Health

Student Nurses’ Realities During Practical Exams in Ghana

Dendrite Alert System for Lithium-Ion EV Batteries

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm' to start subscribing.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.