• Information Technology
  • Human Resources
  • Careers
  • Giving
  • Library
  • Bookstore
  • Active Living
  • Continuing Education
  • Go Dinos
  • UCalgary Maps
  • UCalgary Directory
  • Academic Calendar
My UCalgary
Webmail
D2L
ARCHIBUS
IRISS
  • Faculty of Arts
  • Cumming School of Medicine
  • Faculty of Environmental Design
  • Faculty of Graduate Studies
  • Haskayne School of Business
  • Faculty of Kinesiology
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Nursing
  • Faculty of Nursing (Qatar)
  • Schulich School of Engineering
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Social Work
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
  • Werklund School of Education
  • Information TechnologiesIT
  • Human ResourcesHR
  • Careers
  • Giving
  • Library
  • Bookstore
  • Active Living
  • Continuing Education
  • Go Dinos
  • UCalgary Maps
  • UCalgary Directory
  • Academic Calendar
  • Libraries and Cultural Resources
View Item 
  •   PRISM Home
  • Graduate Studies
  • The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations
  • View Item
  •   PRISM Home
  • Graduate Studies
  • The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Use of de novo Formation of Testis Tissue to Study Cell Interactions in the Neonatal Porcine Testis

Thumbnail
View
ucalgary_2015_dores_camila.pdf
Download
ucalgary_2015_dores_camila.pdf (4.091Mb)
Advisor
Dobrinski, Ina
Cross, James
Author
Dores, Camila
Accessioned
2015-06-12T15:30:56Z
Available
2015-11-20T08:00:30Z
Issued
2015-06-12
Submitted
2015
Other
Spermatogonial stem cell
Niche
De novo morphogenesis of the testis
Primary Cilia
VEGFA
Subject
Animal Physiology
Biology--Cell
Biology--Molecular
Veterinary Science
Type
Thesis
Metadata
Show full item record

Abstract
The work presented in this dissertation employs the use of de novo formation of seminiferous tubules in vivo and in vitro to study the testicular microenvironment, with a focus on the role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) and the primary cilium organelle. First, we optimized the de novo morphogenesis assay by testing different methods to improve the spermatogenic efficiency of the bioassay. We showed that addition of Matrigel to the cell pellet prior to grafting results in a better efficiency than enrichment of germ cells, and when cells are grafted under the same conditions, the number of cells transplanted directly relates to the number of seminiferous tubules formed. Second, we evaluated the role of VEGFA on the reestablishment of the testicular microenvironment. We showed that de novo formed tubules developed from cell pellets treated with VEGFA contained higher number of proliferating cells per tubule and higher spermatogenic efficiency. These findings suggest that VEGFA has a protective role during the grafting process. Another study explored the stirred suspension bioreactor (SSB) as a novel method to enrich for germ cells on a large scale. We used the optimized de novo morphogenesis assay to functionally assess the physiological abilities of cells cultured under shear force stress in the SSB. Results of these experiments indicate that SSB is a practical alternative to attain enriched populations of germ cells on a large scale, which maintains the functional spermatogenic potential of the cells. Finally, the last chapter focused on the role of the primary cilium in the testicular microenvironment. This set of experiments used the small molecule inhibitor, Ciliobrevin D, to disturb the organelle. We demonstrated that lack of primary cilia blocks Hedgehog signaling and impairs tubule formation in vitro. Overall, the work presented in this dissertation contributes to the improvement of available models to study male reproductive biology and to our understanding of the role of VEGFA and primary cilia in the testicular microenvironment.
Corporate
University of Calgary
Faculty
Graduate Studies
Doi
http://dx.doi.org/10.5072/PRISM/28607
Uri
http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2299
Collections
  • The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Browse

All of PRISMCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

  • Email
  • SMS
  • 403.220.8895
  • Live Chat

Energize: The Campaign for Eyes High

Privacy Policy
Website feedback

University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, AB T2N 1N4
CANADA

Copyright © 2017