In mammalian ovary, steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein mediates the true rate-limiting step of transport of cholesterol from outer to inner mitochondrial membrane. Appropriate expression of StAR gene represents an indispensable component of steroidogenesis and its regulation has been found to be species specific. However, limited information is available regarding StAR gene expressio...

The mammalian cochlea is a highly complex structure which contains several cells, including sensory receptor or hair cells. The main function of the cochlear hair cells is to convert the mechanical vibrations of the sound into electrical signals, then these signals travel to the brain along the auditory nerve. Auditory hair cells in some amphibians, reptiles, fish, and birds can regenerate or r...

Biosynthesis of glycosylphosphatidylinositol and N-glycan precursor is dependent upon a mannosyl donor, dolichol phosphate-mannose (DPM). The Thy-1negative class E mutant of mouse lymphoma and Lec15 mutant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are incapable of DPM synthesis. The class E mutant is defective in the DPM1 gene which encodes a mammalian homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dpm1p that i...

Agents that inhibit DNA synthesis increase the frequency of methotrexate resistance and gene amplification in cultured mammalian cells. Chinese hamster ovary cells blocked with hydroxyurea rereplicated dihydrofolate reductase gene sequences within a single cell cycle upon release from the block (Mariani, B.D., and Schimke, R.T. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 1901-1910). Perturbation of DNA synthesi...

BACKGROUND Oxytocin (OT) is produced by granulosa cells (GCs) of pre-ovulatory ovarian follicles and the corpus luteum (CL) in some mammalian species. Actions of OT in the ovary have been linked to luteinization, steroidogenesis and luteolysis. Human IVF-derived (h)GCs possess a functional OT receptor (OTR), linked to elevation of intracellular Ca(2+), but molecular identity of the receptor for...

BACKGROUND Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) hold promise for application in adult stem cell-mediated regenerative medicine in bone remodeling and fracture repair. MSCs in vitro can be directed to osteogenic lineage by dexamethasone (DEX); however, the use of DEX is not practical in clinical settings because of adverse side effects such as glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. For identifying substa...

The mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of five antitumor compounds (ellipticines) were investigated in the Chinese hamster ovary cell hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase assay and in six strains of Salmonella. All five compounds (ellipticine, 9-methoxyellipticine, 9-hydroxyellipticine, 9-aminoellipticine, and 2-methyl-9-hydroxyellipticinium) were cytotoxic and mutagenic in the Chinese ham...

Bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) is secreted by the mammalian oocytes and is indispensable for ovarian follicular development, ovulation, and fertility. To determine the regulation mechanism of BMP15 gene, the regulatory sequence of porcine BMP15 was investigated in this study. The cloned BMP15 promoter retains the cell-type specificity, and is activated in cells derived from ovarian tissu...

Most follicles in the mammalian ovary undergo atresia. Granulosa cell apoptosis is a hallmark of follicle atresia. Our previous study using a microRNA (miRNA) microarray showed that the let-7 microRNA family was differentially expressed during follicular atresia. However, whether the let-7 miRNA family members are related to porcine (Sus scrofa) ovary follicular apoptosis is unclear. In the cur...