Articles

Functional role of AKT signaling in bovine early embryonic development: potential link to embryotrophic actions of follistatin

TGF-β signaling pathways regulate several crucial processes in female reproduction. AKT is a non-SMAD signaling pathway regulated by TGF-β ligands essential for oocyte maturation and early embryonic developmen...

Authors: Mohamed Ashry, Sandeep K. Rajput, Joseph K. Folger, Jason G. Knott, Nabil A. Hemeida, Omaima M. Kandil, Refaat S. Ragab and George W. Smith

The role of ACE2, angiotensin-(1–7) and Mas1 receptor axis in glucocorticoid-induced intrauterine growth restriction

Plasma and urine levels of the potent vasodilator Ang-(1–7) are elevated in mid and late pregnancy and are correlated with elevated placental angiogenesis, fetal blood flow, and rapid fetal growth. We hypothes...

Authors: Elham Ghadhanfar, Aseel Alsalem, Shaimaa Al-Kandari, Jumana Naser, Fawzi Babiker and Maie Al-Bader

Evaluation of three-dimensional SonoAVC ultrasound for antral follicle count in infertile women: its agreement with conventional two-dimensional ultrasound and serum levels of anti-Müllerian hormone

Several studies have reported a correlation between antral follicle count by conventional 2D transvaginal sonography and serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels. However, few studies have investigated the effectiv...

Authors: P. A. Peres Fagundes, R. Chapon, P. R. Olsen, A. K. Schuster, M. M. C. Mattia and J. S. Cunha-Filho

Low-dose lymphocyte immunotherapy rebalances the peripheral blood Th1/Th2/Treg paradigm in patients with unexplained recurrent miscarriage

The published results regarding lymphocytes immunotherapy for unexplained recurrent miscarriage (uRM) patients are conflicting due to different screening criteria and therapeutic protocols. The objective of th...

Authors: Mengyuan Liu, Xin Zhen, Hongyan Song, Junhao Chen, Xiaoling Sun, Xiaoqin Li, Jianjun Zhou, Guijun Yan, Lijun Ding and Haixiang Sun

Disruption of postnatal folliculogenesis and development of ovarian tumor in a mouse model with aberrant transforming growth factor beta signaling

Transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) superfamily signaling is implicated in the development of sex cord-stromal tumors, a category of poorly defined gonadal tumors. The aim of this study was to determine pot...

Authors: Yang Gao, Xin Fang, David F. Vincent, David W. Threadgill, Laurent Bartholin and Qinglei Li

Risks, benefits size and clinical implications of combined oral contraceptive use in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex condition with high risk for dyslipidemia, dysglycemia, venous thromboembolism, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Because the combined oral contracept...

Authors: Sebastião Freitas de Medeiros

THBD sequence variants potentially related to recurrent pregnancy loss

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a frequently occurring disease, which is classified as idiopathic in more than 50% of cases. THBD, the endothelial cell receptor for thrombin, has been associated with distinc...

Authors: Paula Quintero-Ronderos, Eric Mercier, Jean-Christophe Gris, Clara Esteban-Perez, Harold Moreno-Ortiz, Dora Janeth Fonseca, Elkin Lucena, Daniel Vaiman and Paul Laissue

Gene expression of bovine embryos developing at the air-liquid interface on oviductal epithelial cells (ALI-BOEC)

We recently developed an air-liquid interface long-term culture of differentiated bovine oviductal epithelial cells (ALI-BOEC). This ex vivo oviduct epithelium is capable of supporting embryo development in co...

Authors: Vera A. van der Weijden, Shuai Chen, Stefan Bauersachs, Susanne E. Ulbrich and Jennifer Schoen

Role of microRNAs in embryo implantation

Failure of embryo implantation is a major limiting factor in early pregnancy and assisted reproduction. Determinants of implantation include the embryo viability, the endometrial receptivity, and embryo-matern...

Authors: Jingjie Liang, Shaoyu Wang and Zhengguang Wang

Making gametes from alternate sources of stem cells: past, present and future

Infertile couples including cancer survivors stand to benefit from gametes differentiated from embryonic or induced pluripotent stem (ES/iPS) cells. It remains challenging to convert human ES/iPS cells into pr...

Authors: Deepa Bhartiya, Sandhya Anand, Hiren Patel and Seema Parte

Gene expression profiling of upregulated mRNAs in granulosa cells of bovine ovulatory follicles following stimulation with hCG

Ovulation and luteinization of follicles are complex biological processes initiated by the preovulatory luteinizing hormone surge. The objective of this study was to identify genes that are differentially expr...

Authors: Jacques G. Lussier, Mame N. Diouf, Valérie Lévesque, Jean Sirois and Kalidou Ndiaye

Serum periostin levels in early in pregnancy are significantly altered in women with miscarriage

Miscarriage is a common complication in pregnancy and there is still a lack of biomarkers usable in asymptomatic patients before the event occurs. Periostin (PER), whose levels rise particularly during injury ...

Authors: A. Freis, J. Schlegel, R. J. Kuon, A. Doster, J. Jauckus, T. Strowitzki and A. Germeyer

Chromatin status and transcription factor binding to gonadotropin promoters in gonadotrope cell lines

Proper expression of key reproductive hormones from gonadotrope cells of the pituitary is required for pubertal onset and reproduction. To further our understanding of the molecular events taking place during ...

Authors: Huimin Xie, Hanne M. Hoffmann, Anita K. Iyer, Melissa J. Brayman, Cindy Ngo, Mary Jean Sunshine and Pamela L. Mellon

Cellular and molecular characterization of gametogenic progression in ex vivo cultured prepuberal mouse testes

Recently, an effective testis culture method using a gas-liquid interphase, capable of differentiate male germ cells from neonatal spermatogonia to spermatozoa has been developed. Nevertheless, this methodolog...

Authors: J. Isoler-Alcaraz, D. Fernández-Pérez, E. Larriba and J. del Mazo

TGFβ superfamily signaling and uterine decidualization

Decidualization is an intricate biological process where extensive morphological, functional, and genetic changes take place in endometrial stromal cells to support the development of an implanting blastocyst....

Authors: Nan Ni and Qinglei Li

Association between TNF, IL1B, IL6, IL10 and IFNG polymorphisms and recurrent miscarriage: a case control study

Approximately half of recurrent miscarriages have unexplained etiology. Recent evidences suggest that cytokines are important determinants in pregnancy maintenance and as such, cytokine gene polymorphisms, whi...

Authors: Jianting Ma, Xingguang Zhang, Gang He and Chunlin Yang

Correction to: Expression of factors involved in apoptosis and cell survival is correlated with enzymes synthesizing lysophosphatidic acid and its receptors in granulosa cells originating from different types of bovine ovarian follicles

After publication of the original article [1] it was noted that the caption of Table two was incorrect. This caption should read “Distribution of ovarian follicles depending on the type (healthy, transitional, an...

Authors: Emilia Sinderewicz, Katarzyna Grycmacher, Dorota Boruszewska, Ilona Kowalczyk-Zięba, Joanna Staszkiewicz, Tomasz Ślężak and Izabela Woclawek-Potocka

Identification of differential genomic DNA Methylation in the hypothalamus of pubertal rat using reduced representation Bisulfite sequencing

There are many variables affecting the onset of puberty in animals, including genetic, nutritional, and environmental factors. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic regulation, especially DNA methylation, pla...

Authors: Lei Luo, Zhiqiu Yao, Jing Ye, Yuan Tian, Chen Yang, Xiaoxiao Gao, Min Song, Ya Liu, Yunhai Zhang, Yunsheng Li, Xiaorong Zhang and Fugui Fang

Dichorionic triplets following frozen-thawed poor-stage embryo transfer: a report of two cases and a review

We describe two cases of dichorionic triplet pregnancy after a frozen-thawed poor-stage embryo transfer.

Authors: Atsushi Yanaihara, Shirei Ohgi, Kenichirou Motomura, Ryoma Taniguchi, Shota Hatakeyama and Takumi Yanaihara

Effect of day 3 embryo morphometrics and morphokinetics on survival and implantation after slow freezing-thawing and after vitrification-warming: a retrospective cohort study

Morphometric and morphokinetic evaluation of in vitro cultured human embryos allows evaluation without time restriction and reduces intra- and inter-observer variability. Even though these technologies have be...

Authors: Elia Fernandez Gallardo, Carl Spiessens, Thomas D’Hooghe and Sophie Debrock

Effects of melatonin administration on embryo implantation and offspring growth in mice under different schedules of photoperiodic exposure

Embryo implantation is crucial for animal reproduction. Unsuccessful embryo implantation leads to pregnancy failure, especially in human-assisted conception. Environmental factors have a profound impact on emb...

Authors: Lu Zhang, Zhenzhen Zhang, Feng Wang, Xiuzhi Tian, Pengyun Ji and Guoshi Liu

Ooplasmic transfer in human oocytes: efficacy and concerns in assisted reproduction

Ooplasmic transfer (OT) technique or cytoplasmic transfer is an emerging technique with relative success, having a significant status in assisted reproduction. This technique had effectively paved the way to a...

Authors: Sara Darbandi, Mahsa Darbandi, Hamid Reza Khorram Khorshid, Mohammad Reza Sadeghi, Ashok Agarwal, Pallav Sengupta, Safaa Al-Hasani and Mohammad Mehdi Akhondi

In vitro progesterone production by luteinized human mural granulosa cells is modulated by activation of AMPK and cause of infertility

Mural granulosa cells from IVF patients were provided by the West Virginia University Center for Reproductive Medicine in Morgantown, WV. The effect of adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) a...

Authors: E. C. Bowdridge, M. W. Vernon, J. A. Flores and M. J. Clemmer

Effect of local endometrial injury in proliferative vs. luteal phase on IVF outcomes in unselected subfertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization

Mechanical endometrial injury prior to IVF has been suggested as a means to increase implantation rates by improving endometrial receptivity. However, the effects of endometrial injury in proliferative vs. lut...

Authors: Wenjie Liu, Reshef Tal, He Chao, Minghui Liu and Ying Liu

A new insight into male fertility preservation for patients with completely immotile spermatozoa

Sperm cryopreservation is the most effective method to preserve male fertility but this is normally used for motile spermatozoa. Thus, only motile spermatozoa are used for cryopreservation in most reproductive...

Authors: Huanhua Chen, Guixue Feng, Bo Zhang, Hong Zhou, Caizhu Wang, Jinhui Shu, Xianyou Gan, Ruoyun Lin, Dongmei Huang and Yingqin Huang

The regulation of ovary and conceptus on the uterine natural killer cells during early pregnancy

Uterine natural killer (uNK) cells are short-lived, terminally differentiated and the most abundant lymphocytes in the uterus which play a crucial role in the spiral arteriole modification and establishment of...

Authors: Han Gong, Yilu Chen, Jingjie Xu, Xingxing Xie, Dainan Yu, Bei Yang and Haibin Kuang

Expression of factors involved in apoptosis and cell survival is correlated with enzymes synthesizing lysophosphatidic acid and its receptors in granulosa cells originating from different types of bovine ovarian follicles

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) regulates reproductive processes in the cow. Ovarian granulosa cells play a pivotal role in follicle growth and development. Nevertheless, the role of LPA in the local regulation of...

Authors: Emilia Sinderewicz, Katarzyna Grycmacher, Dorota Boruszewska, Ilona Kowalczyk-Zięba, Joanna Staszkiewicz, Tomasz Ślężak and Izabela Woclawek-Potocka

Controlled ovulation of the dominant follicle using progestin in minimal stimulation in poor responders

The use of progestin (P) during ovarian stimulation is effective in blocking the luteinizing hormone (LH) surge in women with normal ovarian reserve, however, its effects have not been determined in poor respo...

Authors: Qiuju Chen, Yun Wang, Lihua Sun, Shaozhen Zhang, Weiran Chai, Qingqing Hong, Hui Long, Li Wang, Qifeng Lyu and Yanping Kuang

Does daily co-administration of letrozole and gonadotropins during ovarian stimulation improve IVF outcome?

For the last year we have been treating normal responders with gonadotropins and letrozole during the whole stimulation in order to improve response to FSH by increasing the intrafollicular androgen concentrat...

Authors: Jigal Haas, Rawad Bassil, Jim Meriano, Nivin Samara, Eran Barzilay, Noa Gonen and Robert F. Casper

Plk1 is essential for proper chromosome segregation during meiosis I/meiosis II transition in pig oocytes

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), as a characteristic regulator in meiosis, organizes multiple biological events of cell division. Although Plk1 has been implicated in various functions in somatic cell mitotic proces...

Authors: Zixiao Zhang, Changchao Chen, Liying Ma, Qiuchen Yu, Shuai Li, Benazir Abbasi, Jiayi Yang, Rong Rui and Shiqiang Ju

The decreased expression of TIPE2 protein in the decidua of patients with missed abortion and possible significance

Missed abortion is a common occurrence for otherwise healthy women. Immunological factor is one of the most important reasons. Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein-8 like-2 (TIPE2) is a novel negative immun...

Authors: Yingshuo Sun, Xiaoyan Wang, Yue Li, Han Sun, Lu Wan, Xishuang Wang, Lining Zhang, Zhenghui Fang and Zengtao Wei

Determining optimal gestational weight gain in the Korean population: a retrospective cohort study

The World Health Organization (WHO) international body mass index (BMI) cut-off points defining pre-pregnancy BMI categories in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines are not directly applicable to Asians....

Authors: Sae Kyung Choi, Guisera Lee, Yeon Hee Kim, In Yang Park, Hyun Sun Ko and Jong Chul Shin

NLRP7 contributes to in vitro decidualization of endometrial stromal cells

Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NACHT), leucine rich repeat (LRR) and pyrin domain (PYD) 7 containing protein, NLRP7, is a member of the NLR family which serves as innate immune sensors. Mutations a...

Authors: Jyun-Yuan Huang, Pei-Hsiu Yu, Yueh-Chun Li and Pao-Lin Kuo

The Catsper channel and its roles in male fertility: a systematic review

The Catsper channel is a sperm-specific, Ca²⁺-permeable, pH-dependent, and low voltage-dependent channel that is essential for the hyperactivity of sperm flagellum, chemotaxis towards the egg, capacitation and ac...

Authors: Xiang-hong Sun, Ying-ying Zhu, Lin Wang, Hong-ling Liu, Yong Ling, Zong-li Li and Li-bo Sun

Evaluation of the cervix tissue homogeneity by ultrasound elastography in infertile women for the prediction of embryo transfer ease: a diagnostic accuracy study

Ultrasound elastography is a non-invasive medical imaging technique able to quantitatively characterize the stiffness of a given tissue. It has been shown to predict the risk for cervical insufficiency and pre...

Authors: Antonio Stanziano, Anna Maria Caringella, Clementina Cantatore, Giuseppe Trojano, Ettore Caroppo and Giuseppe D’Amato

Age-associated mRNA expression changes in bovine endometrial cells in vitro

Endometrial cells secrete various cytokines and the dysfunction of endometrial cells may directly lead to infertility. Interferon tau (IFNT) secreted by trophoblast cells, a well-known pregnancy recognition si...

Authors: Nao Tanikawa, Ayaka Ohtsu, Ryouka Kawahara-Miki, Koji Kimura, Shuichi Matsuyama, Hisataka Iwata, Takehito Kuwayama and Koumei Shirasuna

Retraction Note: Intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection versus conventional intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomized controlled trial

Authors: Giovanni Battista La Sala, Alessia Nicoli, Eleonora Fornaciari, Angela Falbo, Ilaria Rondini, Daria Morini, Barbara Valli, Maria Teresa Villani and Stefano Palomba

A novel method to demonstrate that pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome hyper-expose their fetus to androgens as a possible stepping stone for the developmental theory of PCOS. A pilot study

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), whose aetiology is unknown, is predominately a familial syndrome but confirmation of candidate genes has proved elusive. The developmental hypothesis for the origin of PCOS su...

Authors: Roy Homburg, Anil Gudi, Amit Shah and Alison M. Layton

Anti-Mullerian hormone is linked to the type of early pregnancy loss in idiopathic recurrent miscarriage: a retrospective cohort study

We correlated Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels and other parameters for ovarian reserve to the gestational age at the time of pregnancy loss in women with idiopathic recurrent miscarriage. In a retrospectiv...

Authors: Sophie Pils, Natalia Stepien, Christine Kurz, Kazem Nouri, Regina Promberger and Johannes Ott

Testis specific histone 2B is associated with sperm chromatin dynamics and bull fertility-a pilot study

Bull fertility is the degree of sperm’s ability to fertilize and activate the egg and support embryo development, and this is critical for herd reproductive performance. We used the bull as a unique model orga...

Authors: Naseer A. Kutchy, Ana Velho, Erika S. B. Menezes, Marie Jacobsen, Giselle Thibaudeau, Robert W. Wills, Arlindo Moura, Abdullah Kaya, Andy Perkins and Erdogan Memili

Proteomic analysis of human follicular fluid associated with successful in vitro fertilization

Human follicular fluid (HFF) provides a key environment for follicle development and oocyte maturation, and contributes to oocyte quality and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome.

Authors: Xiaofang Shen, Xin Liu, Peng Zhu, Yuhua Zhang, Jiahui Wang, Yanwei Wang, Wenting Wang, Juan Liu, Ning Li and Fujun Liu

Oleic acid induces down-regulation of the granulosa cell identity marker FOXL2, and up-regulation of the Sertoli cell marker SOX9 in bovine granulosa cells

During negative energy balance, the concentration of different fatty acids, especially of oleic acid (OA) increases in the follicular fluid of cattle. Previously, we showed that OA induced morphological, physi...

Authors: Vengala Rao Yenuganti and Jens Vanselow

Evolution of metabolic alterations 5 Years after early puberty in a cohort of girls predisposed to polycystic ovary syndrome

We and others have observed that young girls predisposed to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) display defective insulin sensitivity, beta-cell function and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) suppressibility during ...

Authors: Soren Harnois-Leblanc, Andréanne Trottier, Samuel Leblanc, Marie-Claude Battista, David H. Geller and Jean-Patrice Baillargeon

Response to comment on “Oestrogen-induced angiogenesis and implantation contribute to the development of parasitic myomas after laparoscopic morcellation”

According to the literature review, CO2 insufflation on parasitic myoma implantation is not well studied, and we concur that our study is related to “Morcellation-induced parasitic myomas.” We did not compare ...

Authors: Ben-Shian Huang, Huann-Cheng Horng, Peng-Hui Wang, Muh-Hwa Yang and Yi-Jen Chen

Comment on "Oestrogen-induced angiogenesis and implantation contribute to the development of parasitic myomas after laparoscopic morcellation"

The cause of contamination and dissemination of leiomyoma tissue particles and cells in the peritoneal cavity during myomectomy is a challenging issue for both clinicians and researchers. Therefore, the articl...

Authors: Ospan A. Mynbaev, Antonio Malvasi, Sergei S. Simakov and Andrea Tinelli

Arcyriaflavin a, a cyclin D1–cyclin-dependent kinase4 inhibitor, induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation of human endometriotic stromal cells: a potential therapeutic agent in endometriosis

We previously showed that microRNA-503 (miR-503) transfection into endometriotic cyst stromal cells (ECSCs) induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase by suppressing cyclin D1. This finding prompted us to ev...

Authors: Tomoko Hirakawa, Kaei Nasu, Yoko Aoyagi, Kanetoshi Takebayashi and Hisashi Narahara

Differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells express markers of human endometrium

Modeling early endometrial differentiation is a crucial step towards understanding the divergent pathways between normal and ectopic endometrial development as seen in endometriosis.

Authors: P. Parasar, C. R. Sacha, N. Ng, E. R. McGuirk, S. Chinthala, P. Ozcan, J. Lindsey, S. Salas, M. R. Laufer, S. A. Missmer and R. M. Anchan

Psychological stress is related to a decrease of serum anti-müllerian hormone level in infertile women

Stress exposure has been proved to be linked to reproductive failure. The reproductive potential of women depends on the ovarian reserve. Anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) has been proved a reliable clinical marker...

Authors: Yue-zhi Dong, Fei-jing Zhou and Ying-pu Sun

Polycystic ovary syndrome induced by exposure to testosterone propionate and effects of sympathectomy on the persistence of the syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a complex disorder affecting 6 to 10% of women of reproductive age. In recent years, the cause of the syndrome has been associated with increased androgen serum levels, as well as ...

Authors: Leticia Morales-Ledesma, Juan Antonio Díaz Ramos and Angélica Trujillo Hernández

Towards a better understanding of preimplantation genetic screening for aneuploidy: insights from a virtual trial for women under the age of 40 when transferring embryos one at a time

The aim of this theoretical study is to explore the cost-effectiveness of aneuploidy screening in a UK setting for every woman aged under the age of 40 years when fresh and vitrified-warmed embryos are transfe...

Authors: Paul N. Scriven