Articles

Retracted Article : Gonadotropin releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) alters the expression and activation of Smad in human endometrial epithelial and stromal cells

Gonadotropin releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa) are often used to regress endometriosis implants and prevent premature luteinizing hormone surges in women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation. In additio...

Authors: Xiaoping Luo, Jingxia Xu and Nasser Chegini

The extracellular matrix of porcine mature oocytes: Origin, composition and presumptive roles

The extracellular matrix (ECM) of porcine mature oocytes was revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after treatment with tannic acid and ruthenium red. Present in the perivitelline space (PVS) and ...

Authors: Jacques E Fléchon, Jeril Degrouard, Václav Kopečný, Juraj Pivko, Antonin Pavlok and Jan Motlik

Potential involvement of the immune system in the development of endometriosis

This article presents an overview of immunological factors and their role in the development of endometriosis, with emphasis on inflammatory cytokines, growth and adhesion factors. Although retrograde menstrua...

Authors: Cleophas M Kyama, Sophie Debrock, Jason M Mwenda and Thomas M D'Hooghe

Immunology of term and preterm labor

During pregnancy there is an alteration in maternal immunity within the uterus where innate, proinflammatory immune responses are tightly regulated to prevent immunological rejection of the fetal allograft. Di...

Authors: Morgan R Peltier

Tolerance of the fetus by the maternal immune system: role of inflammatory mediators at the feto-maternal interface

The adaptive immune system of placental mammals has evolved to tolerate the fetus. Rejection of the fetus by adaptive immune responses is therefore a rare event, with abortion being caused more frequently by i...

Authors: Colette Kanellopoulos-Langevin, Stéphane M Caucheteux, Philippe Verbeke and David M Ojcius

Pregnancy and gamma/delta T cells: Taking on the hard questions

Authors: Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson

Potential role of macrophages as immunoregulators of pregnancy

The role of the maternal immune system during pregnancy has focused mainly on the aspect of immune tolerance to the invading trophoblast and, therefore, fetus. While this is a critical aspect of reproductive i...

Authors: Gil Mor and Vikki M Abrahams

Vaccines against sexually transmitted diseases

Authors: Lynette B Corbeil, Carlos M Campero, Jack C Rhyan and Robert H BonDurant

Steroidal regulation of uterine resistance to bacterial infection in livestock

Postpartum uterine infections reduce reproductive efficiency and have significant animal welfare and economic consequences. Postpartum uterine infections are classified as nonspecific, but Arcanobacterium pyogene...

Authors: Gregory S Lewis

Innate immune defences in the human endometrium

The human endometrium is an important site of innate immune defence, giving protection against uterine infection. Such protection is critical to successful implantation and pregnancy. Infection is a major caus...

Authors: Anne E King, Hilary OD Critchley and Rodney W Kelly

Frontiers in reproductive immunology – Forum introduction

Authors: Peter J Hansen

Immunoexpression of the relaxin receptor LGR7 in breast and uterine tissues of humans and primates

The receptor for the peptide hormone relaxin has recently been identified as the heptahelical G-protein coupled receptor, LGR7. In order to generate molecular tools with which to characterize both in vivo and in ...

Authors: Richard Ivell, Marga Balvers, Yvonne Pohnke, Ralph Telgmann, Olaf Bartsch, Karin Milde-Langosch, Ana-maria Bamberger and Almuth Einspanier

Guinea-pig interpubic joint (symphysis pubica) relaxation at parturition: Underlying cellular processes that resemble an inflammatory response

At term, cervical ripening in coordination with uterine contractions becomes a prerequisite for a normal vaginal delivery. Currently, cervical ripening is considered to occur independently from uterine contrac...

Authors: Horacio A Rodríguez, Hugo H Ortega, Jorge G Ramos, Mónica Muñoz-de-Toro and Enrique H Luque

LCN6, a novel human epididymal lipocalin

The lipocalin (LCN) family of structurally conserved hydrophobic ligand binding proteins is represented in all major taxonomic groups from prokaryotes to primates. The importance of lipocalins in reproduction ...

Authors: Katherine G Hamil, Qiang Liu, P Sivashanmugam, M Anbalagan, Suresh Yenugu, Rama Soundararajan, Gail Grossman, AJ Rao, Charles E Birse, Stephen M Ruben, Richard T Richardson, Yong-Lian Zhang, Michael G O'Rand, Peter Petrusz, Frank S French and Susan H Hall

Thrombophilia and pregnancy

Pregnancy is hypercoagulable state. The field of thrombophilia; the tendency to thrombosis, has been developed rapidly and has been linked to many aspects of pregnancy. It is recently that severe pregnancy com...

Authors: Michael J Kupferminc

Assessment of fetal intracranial pathologies first demonstrated late in pregnancy: cell proliferation disorders

A considerable number of central nervous system pathologies remain undiagnosed during the first two trimesters of pregnancy. This group of disorders includes anomalies of brain proliferation, migration and cor...

Authors: Gustavo Malinger, Dorit Lev and Tally Lerman-Sagie

The management of infertility associated with polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome [PCOS] is the commonest cause of anovulatory infertility. Treatment modes available are numerous mainly relying on ovarian stimulation with FSH, a reduction in insulin concentrations ...

Authors: Roy Homburg

Sperm preparation for ART

The onset of clinical assisted reproduction, a quarter of a century ago, required the isolation of motile spermatozoa. As the indication of assisted reproduction shifted from mere gynaecological indications to...

Authors: Ralf R Henkel and Wolf-Bernhard Schill

Understanding spermatogenesis is a prerequisite for treatment

Throughout spermatogenesis multiplication, maturation and differentiation of germ cells results in the formation of the male gamete. The understanding of spermatogenesis needs detailed informations about the o...

Authors: Adolf-Friedrich Holstein, Wolfgang Schulze and Michail Davidoff

Fertility and pregnancy: Forum introduction and some thoughts on the role of electronic journals in the scientific information evolution

Authors: Marek Glezerman

Will cloned animals suffer premature aging – The story at the end of clones' chromosomes

Authors: Jie Xu and Xiangzhong Yang

Bovine cumulus-granulosa cells contain biologically active retinoid receptors that can respond to retinoic acid

Retinoids, a class of compounds that include retinol and its metabolite, retinoic acid, are absolutely essential for ovarian steroid production, oocyte maturation, and early embryogenesis. Previous studies hav...

Authors: Mahesh Mohan, Nagaraja Ramavadhani Thirumalapura and Jerry Malayer

Specific genetic modifications of domestic animals by gene targeting and animal cloning

The technology of gene targeting through homologous recombination has been extremely useful for elucidating gene functions in mice. The application of this technology was thought impossible in the large livest...

Authors: Bin Wang and Jiangfeng Zhou

Tissue engineering and cell based therapies, from the bench to the clinic: The potential to replace, repair and regenerate

The field of Regenerative Biology as it applies to Regenerative Medicine is an increasingly expanding area of research with hopes of providing therapeutic treatments for diseases and/or injuries that conventio...

Authors: William L Fodor

Skeletal muscle stem cells

Satellite cells are myogenic stem cells responsible for the post-natal growth, repair and maintenance of skeletal muscle. This review focuses on the basic biology of the satellite cell with emphasis on its rol...

Authors: Jennifer CJ Chen and David J Goldhamer

Embryonic stem cell differentiation: A chromatin perspective

Embryonic stem (ES) cells hold immense promise for the treatment of human degenerative disease. Because ES cells are pluripotent, they can be directed to differentiate into a number of alternative cell-types w...

Authors: Theodore P Rasmussen

Neural stem cells and the regulation of adult neurogenesis

Presumably, the 'hard-wired' neuronal circuitry of the adult brain dissuades addition of new neurons, which could potentially disrupt existing circuits. This is borne out by the fact that, in general, new neur...

Authors: Jessica B Lennington, Zhengang Yang and Joanne C Conover

Cloning animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer – biological factors

Cloning by nuclear transfer using mammalian somatic cells has enormous potential application. However, somatic cloning has been inefficient in all species in which live clones have been produced. High abortion...

Authors: X Cindy Tian, Chikara Kubota, Brian Enright and Xiangzhong Yang

Toward therapeutic cloning and regenerative biology research forum: To clone or not to clone

Authors: Xiangzhong Yang

Decreased serotonin level during pregnancy alters morphological and functional characteristics of tonic nociceptive system in juvenile offspring of the rat

Serotonin (5-HT) contributes to the prenatal development of the central nervous system, acting as a morphogen in the young embryo and later as a neurotransmitter. This biologically active agent influences both...

Authors: Irina P Butkevich, Ludmila I Khozhai, Victor A Mikhailenko and Vladimir A Otellin

Multiple roles of TNF super family members in corpus luteum function

The main function of the corpus luteum (CL) is the production of progesterone. Adequate luteal progesterone is crucial for determining the physiological duration of the estrous cycle and for achieving a succes...

Authors: Kiyoshi Okuda and Ryosuke Sakumoto

Chemokines in the corpus luteum: Implications of leukocyte chemotaxis

Chemokines are small molecular weight peptides responsible for adhesion, activation, and recruitment of leukocytes into tissues. Leukocytes are thought to influence follicular atresia, ovulation, and luteal fu...

Authors: David H Townson and Amy R Liptak

The role of major histocompatibility complex molecules in luteal function

Authors: Matthew J Cannon and Joy L Pate

Biochemical and endocrine aspects of oxytocin production by the mammalian corpus luteum

A review of the current state of knowledge of oxytocin production by the preovulatory follicle and corpus luteum is presented. Corpora lutea of a number of mammalian species have been found to synthesize oxyto...

Authors: Fredrick Stormshak

Regulation of intraluteal production of prostaglandins

There is clear evidence for intraluteal production of prostaglandins (PGs) in numerous species and under a variety of experimental conditions. In general, secretion of PGs appears to be elevated in the early c...

Authors: Milo C Wiltbank and Joseph S Ottobre

Cholesterol transport and steroidogenesis by the corpus luteum

The synthesis of progesterone by the corpus luteum is essential for the establishment and maintenance of early pregnancy. Regulation of luteal steroidogenesis can be broken down into three major events; lutein...

Authors: Lane K Christenson and Luigi Devoto

Microvascular endothelial cells of the corpus luteum

The cyclic nature of the capillary bed in the corpus luteum offers a unique experimental model to examine the life cycle of endothelial cells, involving discrete physiologically regulated steps of angiogenesis...

Authors: John S Davis, Bo R Rueda and Katherina Spanel-Borowski

Angiogenesis in the corpus luteum

The corpus luteum (CL) is a site of intense angiogenesis. Within a short period, this is followed either by controlled regression of the microvascular tree in the non-fertile cycle, or maintenance and stabilis...

Authors: Hamish M Fraser and Christine Wulff

Mutant mouse models and their contribution to our knowledge of corpus luteum development, function and regression

The corpus luteum is a unique organ, which is transitory in nature. The development, maintenance and regression of the corpus luteum are regulated by endocrine, paracrine and autocrine signaling events. Defini...

Authors: Luiz E Henkes, John S Davis and Bo R Rueda

Recent advancements in corpus luteum development, function, maintenance and regression: Forum introduction

Authors: John S Davis and Bo R Rueda

Temporal and spatial expression of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases 1 and 2 (TIMP-1 and -2) in the bovine corpus luteum

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), may mediate the dramatic structural and functional changes in the corpus luteum (CL) over ...

Authors: Bo Zhang, Marsha A Moses and Paul CW Tsang

Nuclear transfer: Progress and quandaries

Cloning mammals by nuclear transfer is a powerful technique that is quickly advancing the development of genetically defined animal models. However, the overall efficiency of nuclear transfer is still very low...

Authors: Xuemei Li, Ziyi Li, Alice Jouneau, Qi Zhou and Jean-Paul Renard

Progress toward generating a ferret model of cystic fibrosis by somatic cell nuclear transfer

Mammalian cloning by nuclear transfer from somatic cells has created new opportunities to generate animal models of genetic diseases in species other than mice. Although genetic mouse models play a critical ro...

Authors: Ziyi Li and John F Engelhardt

Creating genetically modified pigs by using nuclear transfer

Nuclear transfer (NT) is a procedure by which genetically identical individuals can be created. The technology of pig somatic NT, including in vitro maturation of oocytes, isolation and treatment of donor cell...

Authors: Liangxue Lai and Randall S Prather

Generation of bovine transgenics using somatic cell nuclear transfer

The ability to produce transgenic animals through the introduction of exogenous DNA has existed for many years. However, past methods available to generate transgenic animals, such as pronuclear microinjection...

Authors: Craig A Hodges and Steven L Stice

Generating and manipulating transgenic animals using transposable elements

Transposable elements, or transposons, have played a significant role in the history of biological research. They have had a major influence on the structure of genomes during evolution, they can cause mutatio...

Authors: David A Largaespada

Phage integrases for the construction and manipulation of transgenic mammals

Phage integrases catalyze site-specific, unidirectional recombination between two short att recognition sites. Recombination results in integration when the att sites are present on two different DNA molecules an...

Authors: Roger P Hollis, Stephanie M Stoll, Christopher R Sclimenti, Jennifer Lin, Yanru Chen-Tsai and Michele P Calos

New technologies for genetic manipulation of animal models: Forum introduction

Authors: Ziyi Li and John F Engelhardt

Biochemical heterogeneity, migration, and pre-fertilization release of mouse oocyte cortical granules

Oocyte cortical granules are important in the fertilization of numerous species including mammals. Relatively little is known about the composition, migration, and pre-fertilization release of mammalian oocyte...

Authors: Min Liu, DeAndrea Sims, Patricia Calarco and Prue Talbot

Activin promotes oocyte development in ovine preantral follicles in vitro

Activins have been implicated as important regulating factors for many reproductive processes. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of activin A on the development of ovine preantral follicles in vit...

Authors: Fiona H Thomas, David G Armstrong and Evelyn E Telfer