Identification of Cultrex a Basement Membrane Extract That Elongates Defolliculated Xenopus Laevis Lifespan

Presenter(s)

Ryan Lashgari

Abstract or Description

Xenopus Laevis Oocytes are a common and widespread biological system used in biological research and have been key in many discoveries across the field. They are useful due to their relative genetic similarities to human oocytes and their relatively large size allows for a multitude of ion expression and physiological experiments to be conducted. However, one of the main drawbacks to using the Xenopus Laevis oocyte is their relatively short lifespan. Once removed from the frog’s embryo these eggs are viable for little over a week. To combat this problem, we have identified Cultrex, a 3D storage media derived from Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm tumors, that prolonged their lifespan and viability, with no interference to mRNA or cDNA protein expression, by up to three weeks. In this paper we investigate the mechanism by which Cultrex elongates oocyte viability. Through imaging of oocytes stored Cultrex and an ND96 control we were able to view the morphological differences between the oocytes stored in ND96 and Cultrex. It was found that the oocytes stored in Cultrex maintained a healthier and more robust membrane longer than the ND96 control oocytes with reduced blebbing as well as living more than a week longer.