US-Turkey Cooperative Research: Cryopreservation of Starfish Oocytes, Eggs, and Embryos

该奖项旨在支持马萨诸塞州波士顿总医院的Mehmet Toner博士和土耳其伊斯坦布尔博斯普鲁斯大学分子生物学和遗传学系的Kristen C. Sadler博士的一项联合研究。这两位科学家研究了海星卵母细胞、卵子和胚胎的冷冻保存。海星配子和胚胎为研究许多基本的细胞生物学和发育过程提供了一个有用的模型系统。然而，配子的季节性可用性限制了该系统可以进行的项目范围，因为目前没有办法保存任何海洋生物的配子。在保存哺乳动物配子方面已经取得了巨大的进步，Toner的实验室已经开发出一种非常成功的理论上优化的冷冻保存哺乳动物卵母细胞的方案。本项目将借鉴哺乳动物配子低温保存的成果，为海星配子制定类似的低温保存方案。这将受益于萨德勒对海星的研究，并将有助于国际社会使用这一系统。由于低温生物学领域主要集中在保存哺乳动物细胞，对冷冻非哺乳动物细胞的生物学后果知之甚少。该项目将利用Sadler的专业知识，通过分析冷冻海星配子和胚胎的细胞周期动力学、受精能力和发育潜力，解决有关冷冻保存对细胞功能影响的基本问题。范围：该奖项将允许麻省总医院的一名美国科学家和博斯普鲁斯大学的一名科学家在一个项目中进行合作，双方都有独特的专业知识和互补的能力。Toner在哺乳动物细胞冷冻保存领域拥有专业知识，最值得注意的是，他成功地设计了一种理论上优化的小鼠卵母细胞冷冻保存方案。萨德勒拥有海星卵母细胞生物学的知识，以及用冷冻保存细胞进行研究的材料和设备。这一结果对全世界研究海洋无脊椎动物雌性配子的研究人员，以及那些没有资源收集和维护海洋生物的研究人员都很有用。该提案符合INT在互利领域支持美国与外国科学合作的目标。

+9907387TonerDescription: This award is for support of a joint research by Dr. Mehmet Toner, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts and Dr. Kristen C. Sadler, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bosphorus University, Istanbul, Turkey. The two scientists to study the cryopreservation of starfish oocytes, eggs and embryos. Starfish gametes and embryos provide a useful model system for studying many basic cell biological and developmental processes. However the seasonal availability of gametes confines the scope of projects that can be carried out with this system since there is currently no means of preserving the gametes of any marine organism. Tremendous strides have been made towards preserving mammalian gametes, and Toner's laboratory has developed a highly successful theoretically optimized protocol for cryopreserving mammalian oocytes. This project will draw upon the achievements in mammalian gamete cryopreservation to develop a similar protocol for starfish gametes. This will benefit from Sadler's research on starfish and will aid the international community working with this system. Since the cryobiology field has mainly focused on preserving mammalian cells, little is known about the biological consequences of freezing non-mammalian cells. The project will draw upon Sadler's expertise to address fundamental questions about the effect of cryopreservation on cell function by analysis of cell cycle dynamics, fertilization competency and developmental potential of the cryopreserved starfish gametes and embryos.Scope: This award will allow a US scientist at Mass General Hospital and a scientist at Bosphorus University to collaborate in a project in which both have unique expertise and complementary capabilities. Toner has expertise in the field of cryopreservation of mammalian cells, and most notably has succeeded in the design of a theoretically optimized cryopreservation protocol for mouse oocytes. Sadler has knowledge of starfish oocyte biology as well as the material and the facilities for the studies with the cryopreserved cells. The results would be useful for researchers world-wide who are studying female gametes from marine invertebrates, as well as those who do not have the resources to collect and maintain marine organisms. This proposal meets the INT objective of supporting US-foreign scientific collaboration in areas of mutual benefit.