Addit ion of either 25% or 50% bovine follicular fluid (FF) to Krebs Ringer phosphate buffer, with .5% fructose added (KRPF), maintained higher percentages (P<.05) of motile sperm throughout 9-hr incubation at 37 C than did 100% KRPF or 100% FF. Accelerated sperm moti l i ty and head-to-head agglutination of sperm cells were consistently observed in all diluents that contained FF. The percentag...

BACKGROUND Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder associated with reproductive disorders and metabolic dysfunctions including insulin resistance. The roles of vitamin D in the regulation of metabolic modulations specifically involving insulin and reproduction processing are introduced. In addition, obesity appears to be closely associated with severity of PCOS. T...

The kallikrein-kinin system (KKS) has been described as an important mediator of physiologic processes. Kallikreins use kininogen (KNG) as substrate to generate bradykinin, the main active peptide of the KKS that acts through two types of receptors, the B(1)R and the B(2)R. The goal of this study was to characterize some components of the KKS in different compartments of the ovary during the bo...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to assess the effect of withholding gonadotrophins (coasting) during controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) on individual follicle concentrations of follicular fluid vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in women at high risk of developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). METHODS Twenty-two women who had been coasted and 26 optimally responding ...

We investigated whether cigarette smoking, measured by follicular fluid concentrations of cotinine (a major metabolite of nicotine), affects the maturity of oocytes from women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer. In 234 women, follicular fluid samples were assessed for cotinine and their 2020 oocytes were assessed for maturity stage. Data on individual proportions of ooc...

BACKGROUND Some studies propose that changes in leptin concentrations (above or under the normal range) result in infertility. Therefore, we investigated serum and follicular fluid leptin concentrations in infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). OBJECTIVE To study serum and follicular fluid leptin concentrations in infertile women with PCOS. MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted...

OBJECTIVE To identify aldosterone and precursors in ovarian follicles and to relate levels of mineralocorticoids to previously described renin-angiotensin system follicular fluid content. DESIGN Experimental. SETTING Academic laboratory and affiliated large private practice. PATIENT(S) Women undergoing oocyte retrieval for in vitro fertilization (IVF). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) The concen...

OBJECTIVE Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) is a long pentraxin that plays a key role in female fertility as a structural and essential constituent of the cumulus oophorus extracellular matrix. Despite considerable evidence supporting this role of PTX3 in mice, data in humans are scanty. The aim of the present study was (1) to evaluate follicular fluid concentrations of PTX3; (2) to test the hypothesis that l...

Atrial natriuretic peptides (ANPs) from several species induced the human acrosome reaction. The maximal response was highest for human ANP (18.6% above unstimulated or baseline values) and decreased progressively for peptides derived from animals lower on the phylogenetic scale. ANP concentrations required for a half-maximal effect in noncapacitated spermatozoa ranged from 0.07 to 0.38 nM. ANP...

The follicle is a unique micro-environment within which the oocyte can develop and mature to a fertilisable gamete. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of a panel of follicular parameters, including intrafollicular steroid and metabolomic profiles and theca, granulosa and cumulus cell candidate gene mRNA abundance, to predict the potential of bovine oocytes to develop to the bl...