Day 3 :
- Track 3: Fertility Preservation
Track 5: Vitrifi cation
Track 6: Tissue Screening, Preparation and Antibiotic Sterilization
Track 12: Issues to Future
Session Introduction
Elena Bravo
Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Italy
Title: International Standardisation and implementation of CoBRA guideline: contribution to the future use of samples
Time : 10:00- 10:25
Biography:
Elena Bravo, after graduation in Biochemistry at the University “La Sapienza” in Rome and postgraduate formation in Clinical Chemistry, focused her research on metabolism of cholesterol. She managed several projects contributing to knowledge on the mechanisms by which lipophilic soluble macronutrients and micronutrients carried by postprandial lipoproteins influence foam cells formation and macrophages inflammatory status. She is actually Senior Researcher at the National Health Institute, delegate of the Italian representative in European legal consortium BBMRI-ERIC; member of the BBMRI.it steering committee and of the international ISO-Technical Committee 276 on Biotechology, and co-chair of the BRIF Journal editors subgroup.
Abstract:
In the last decade intensive work and initiatives in biobanking produced great success in the awareness of the importance of sharing bioresources. However, a global recognised standard to compare biospecimens quality and appropriate knowledge on available resources are still missing. Consequently, access to the samples for research and for development of biotechnological applications is still unsatisfactory. The work carried on by the Technical Committee (TC) 276 of Organization for Standardization (ISO) responsible for development and adoption of international standardization for Biotechnology is a further step to facilitate the exchange of goods and services through the elimination of technical barriers to trade. It is expected that TC276’ outcomes in the field of “Biobanking and Bioresources” will give a major impulse to global use of samples and data. The value of sharing bioresources is scarcely recognised and their use is hardly reconducted to the efforts for establishing and maintaining a biobank. Moreover, simple tools to identify the use of biospecimens and data are still lacking. A key element for assessing the use and the research impact of bioresources is their systematic citation in journal articles. In between BRIF (BioResource Impact Factor) initiatives, the journal editors’ subgroup addressed this point and recently published CoBRA (Citation Of BioResources in journal Articles) guideline. The implementation of ISO standards and CoBRA guideline will impact on the future use of resources, improving comparability, rewording biobanking infrastructure organization and favoring the access to the appropriate knowledge of samples, with a marked effect on science reproducibility and scientific reporting.
Vimal Karani S
University of Reading, UK
Title: Title: Nutrigenetics and Metabolic diseases: Towards Personalized Nutrition
Time : 10:25- 10:50
Biography:
Dr Vimal Karani is a Lecturer in Nutrigenetics at the University of Reading, UK. He did his post-doctoral training at the MRC Epidemiology unit (Cambridge, UK) and University College London (UK). He has an interdisciplinary academic background, with qualifications from Medical Genetics, Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology and Genetic Epidemiology. His primary research interests focus on the investigation of gene-nutrient interactions on metabolic- and CVD-related outcomes using combined approaches from genetic epidemiology, statistical genetics and molecular biology. His long term goal is to use the findings from observational studies to carry out human intervention studies with a view towards developing industrial collaborations to facilitate ‘Personalized Nutrition’.
Abstract:
The concept of "Personalized" Medicine is now being extended to the field of Nutrigenetics, which investigates the impact of gene variation responses to intake of different nutrients. The ability of Nutrigenetics to determine what nutrients will produce the desired impact on metabolic balance (as influenced by individual genetic make-up) is at the core of Personalized Nutrition. Obesity is a heritable trait that arises from the interactions between multiple genes and lifestyle factors such as diet and physical inactivity. Dietary factors play an important role in the development of obesity because of the variation in the food that is being consumed in different parts of the world. Although several studies have examined the gene x nutrient interactions, the findings have been quite inconsistent and hence, unable to develop an optimum diet for each ancestral population. Some of the challenges in performing nutrigenetics research are 1) genetic heterogeneity, 2) lack of understanding of the metabolic pathways and 3) insufficient sample size. With genome-wide association study (GWAS) data now available on numerous large cohorts, it has become possible to embed candidate gene studies within GWASs, testing for association on a much larger number of candidate genes than previously possible. The talk will highlight three main aspects: 1). Why do we do gene-diet interaction analysis? – Findings from DiOGenes study, 2). Why large samples are required to conduct genetic epidemiological studies? – Findings from D-CarDia Collaboration and 3). Nutrigenetics in developing countries – Findings from GeNuIne Collaboration
Giulia Scaravelli
National Health Institute, Italy
Title: Fertility Cryopreservation for Cancer Patients among ART Centers, in Italy
Time : 10:50- 11:15
Biography:
Giulia Scaravelli, achieved her MD and her obstetric, gynaecology specialism, and her pharmacology specialism at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. In 1999 she earned her Ph.D. degree in obstetric and gynaecology science at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. Since 2000 she has been a researcher at CNESPS, Istituto Superiore di Sanita’, Rome. From 2005 she has been director of the Italian National ART Register. In 2005, she was named a member of ESHRE’s task-force European Assisted Conception Consortium (EACC).
Abstract:
To describe accessibility and utilization of fertility cryopreservation a voluntary survey was conducted (started in 2013 and ongoing) including all Italian ART centers. The survey collected information regarding the service organization, the number of patients and the number of biological cryopreserved. Of all ART centers (201), 68 (33.8%) participated and 64 (31.8%) had started FC treatments. Of those, 13 public centers provided an “integrated care” coordinating tumor treatment and reproductive medicine. Specifically, 61 centers (95.3%) cryopreserved semen, 53 (82.8%) oocytes and 23 (35.9%) ovarian tissue. Number and type of service varied depending on their geographical location, namely north (27 centers of which 63.0% were public), central (14, 42.9% public) and south (23, 34.8% public). The number of patients treated in public centers was higher than those in private centers: 1344vs.150 (oocytes); 894vs.10 (ovarian tissue), 9872vs.3433 (semen). Our analysis revealed that the number of ART centers is not equally distributed over the national territory, with north showing a greater number of centers, mostly public, as compared to central and southern areas, where the percentage of private centers was higher. In areas where private centers had a higher density, public centers treated higher number of patients, even though NHS did not cover FC treatments. This suggests that public centers either receive higher number of tumor patients and/or are more efficient in informing patients on FC strategies and with their “integrated care model”. Our goal is to promote education in FC to implement cancer treatments and improve future quality of cancer patients’ life.
Joanna Baxter
University of Cambridge, UK
Title: Prescriptive Biobanking for Future Clinical Research in Haemato-Oncology: the Cambridge Blood and Stem Cell Biobank experience
Time : 11:30-11:55
Biography:
Joanna Baxter completed her PhD in 2003 from the University of Southampton, UK, studying rare chromosomal translocations and mutations in myeloid malignancies with Prof Nick Cross. Her postdoctoral studies included the discovery of the JAK2 mutation in MPNs in the lab of Prof Tony Green in Cambridge, before moving into her current role in 2009. She is the Lead Scientist and Custodian at Cambridge Blood and Stem Cell Biobank, a resource for research into Haematological malignancies, stem cells, normal haematopoiesis and immune developement, based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus on the Addenbrookes Hospital site in Cambrdge. Alongside promoting biobanking in blood cancer research she is married with two young children.
Abstract:
The Cambridge Blood and Stem Cell Biobank was created in 2009 with the aim of providing a resource of well-defined blood and stem cell derived products primarily for the study of Haematological Malignancies. The bank consists of large existing cohorts from previous clinical trials alongside collection of fresh samples for current trials and research studies. Following consultation with researchers and clinicians we established an integrated approach of collecting detailed clinical data and a program of cell isolation and/or separation and preservation for each haematological malignancy, such that a sample of tumour and constitutional cells is stored from each patient. For some samples we use the Miltenyi AutoMACS selection platform to isolate rare tumour cell types present in samples at <5% total cells, such as CD34+ stem/progenitor cells.
Our strength lies particularly in banking from chronic myeloid disorders, and we have recently been awarded funding to support the UK Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs) Sample Bank. In collaboration with the Cancer Genome Project at the Sanger Institute, UK and researchers in the University of Cambridge Department of Haematology we have been able to characterise over 200 patient samples for exomic acquired mutations, with subsequent functional analysis on cryopreserved cells from the same samples. As haematological malignancies become more defined by molecular abnormalities than cellular properties, well-characterised samples from these patients are in higher demand. Therefore we are beginning to sustain our biobank by providing enhanced informatics with each sample through careful clinical data collection to define malignancies and molecular testing to supplement established diagnostics.
Farman Ali
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan
Title: Freeze them but not to death: intracellular freezing of an insect-parasitic nematode, Steinernema feltiae.
Time : 11:55-12:20
Biography:
Farman Ali has completed his Masters from University of Gent and PhD from University of Otago at the age of 35 years. He is Assistant Professor at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan in the Department of Agriculture since 2013. Dr. Ali has published 10 research papers in reputed journals and has attended several national and international conferences worldwide, such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Belgium. Besides, he has paid study visits to few other countries including England, Germany, The Netherlands and France. Dr. Ali is interested to share his useful findings (published currently in PLOS ONE and some unpublished) in the upcoming Bio-banking conference.
Abstract:
Entomopathogenic nematodes in the families Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae are effective biological control agents. Their limited shelf-life is, however, the major impediment in their large scale commercial application. Taking advantage of their optical transparency, we clearly observed the third stage infective juveniles (IJs) of Steinernema feltiae freezing under a cryo-stage microscope. The IJs froze when the water surrounding them froze at -2 °C and below. However, they avoid inoculative freezing at -1 °C, suggesting cryoprotective dehydration. Freezing was evident as a sudden darkening and cessation of IJs’ movement. Freeze substitution and transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the IJs of S. feltiae freeze intracellularly. Ice crystals were found in every compartment of the body. IJs frozen at high sub-zero temperatures (-1 and -3 °C) survived and had small ice crystals. Those frozen at -10 °C had large ice crystals and did not survive. However, the pattern of ice formation was not well-controlled and individual nematodes frozen at -3 °C had both small and large ice crystals. IJs frozen by plunging directly into liquid nitrogen had small ice crystals, but did not survive. This study thus presents the evidence that S. feltiae is only the second freeze tolerant animal, after the Antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus davidi, shown to withstand extensive intracellular freezing.
- Young Research Forum
Session Introduction
Bram Vekeman
Ghent University, Belgium
Title: Preservation of microbial pure cultures and mixed communities
Time : 12:20-12:45
Biography:
Bram Vekeman, MSc, is a PhD student working in the laboratory of microbiology (LM-UGent) at the Ghent university. His main focus has been the isolation of novel fastidious bacteria form marine environments and subsequently the successful preservation and safeguarding of these fragile bacteria. From this work he was able to develop a generic preservation protocol for the preservation of microbial pure cultures and mixed communities.
Abstract:
Microorganisms are a valuable and irreplaceable resources for scientific research and biotechnological innovation and should be safeguarded. Therefore, systematic preservation of isolated pure cultures, enriched mixed cultures or environmental samples should become an integral part of good research practice. Cryopreservation of biological material is a low-tech, widely applicable way of long-term and stable storage. Its success is mostly dependent on the cryoprotective agent, used to protect cells from mechanical injuries due to ice formation, the stability of the freezing temperature, and the correct manipulations before and after storage. Although cryopreservation success can be organism-dependent, the protocol distilled from our work (freezing at -80°C using 5% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide as cryoprotective agent) proved successful for the preservation of various fastidious pure and mixed cultures. Numerous parameters of the protocol can be changed or optimized to develop a custom-made cryopreservation protocol.
Ahmed Lotfy
Mansoura University, Egypt
Title: Does the cryopreservation affect stem cells potential?
Time : 12:45-13:10
Biography:
Ahmed Lotfy has completed his MSc at age 24 years from Mansoura University. He is a researcher at Medical Experimental Research Center (MERC), Mansoura University. He is responsible for tissue culture and stem cells lab. He is a member in Mesenchymal Stem Cells Group, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. He has 10 papers in international journals. He is reviewer in Cytotechnology Journal & BioMed Research International Journal.
Abstract:
Stem cells are unspecialized cells, capable of self-renewal and differentiation down one or more lineages to produce specialized cell types. Stem cells have a promising role in regenerative medicine. For this promising role, their cryopreservation and stem cells banking became an ultimate need to save these stem cells to play their role in the future. There are many researches indicate that there is no significant different between the therapeutic effect of frozen/thawed stem cells and non frozen/thawed stem cells. But does this no effect is the same in all stem cells biological properties or it differs? Here we are going to discuss this issue with referring to our research on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the immunomodulatory effect of mesenchymal stem cells.