Mouse female genital tract was transfected in vivo using the ss-galactosidase reporter gene. To transfect the female tract, DNA/liposome complexes were injected through the infundibulum of the oviducts of adult, immature, and pseudopregnant females. Females which were in different stages of the ovarian cycle were also employed. Transfection was analysed using histochemical, immunological and mo...

The ability to store sperm in the female genital tract is frequently observed in vertebrates as well as in invertebrates. Because of the presence of a system that maintains the ejaculated sperm alive in the female reproductive tract in a variety of animals, this strategy appears to be advantageous for animal reproduction. Although the occurrence and physiological reasons for sperm storage have ...

Pain from the female reproductive tract (FRT) is a significant clinical problem for which there are few effective therapies. The complex neuroanatomy of pelvic organs not only makes diagnosis of pelvic pain disorders difficult but represents a challenge to development of targeted therapies. A number of potential therapeutic targets have been identified on sensory neurons supplying the FRT but o...

Molecular analyses in several taxa have consistently shown that genes involved in reproduction are rapidly evolving and subjected to positive selection. The mechanism behind this evolution is not clear, but several proposed hypotheses involve the coevolution between males and females. In Drosophila, several male reproductive proteins (Acps) involved in male-male and male-female interactions sho...

It has been 50 years since Sir Peter Medawar kindled scientific interest in the unique problem posed by the existence of the fetal allograft within the uterus [1]. The resultant efforts of immunologists and reproductive physiologists to understand the mechanisms by which the conceptus successfully evades rejection by the maternal immune system has led to a richer understanding of the nature of ...

•LCH of the female reproductive tract has four patterns of involvement.•A comprehensive literature review revealed 35 cases of pure genital LCH.•We report two new cases of pure LCH lesions of the vulva and one of the cervix.•Treatment of LCH varies and there is no standard for pure genital involvement.•Prognosis of LCH confined to the gynecologic tract appears to be favorable.

Background: The presence of immune system within the female reproductive tract is increasingly being recognized as an important element for maintaining host protection and promoting reproductive functions. The Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs) family plays an important role in innate immune responses against microbial pathogens within the genital tract. These receptors recognize distinct pathogen-asso...

After natural or artificial insemination, the spermatozoon starts a journey from the site of deposition to the place of fertilization. However, only a small subset of the spermatozoa deposited achieves their goal: to reach and fertilize the egg. Factors involved in controlling sperm transport and fertilization include the female reproductive tract environment, cell-cell interactions, gene expre...

BACKGROUND Rapid innate immune defences against infection usually involve the recognition of invading pathogens by specific pattern recognition receptors recently attributed to the family of Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Reports from our laboratory and others have demonstrated the existence of TLRs 1-6 in the female reproductive tract. However, little has been done to identify TLRs 7-10 in the fe...