Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) is expressed in both animal and human ovarian tissue, however, the role of vitamin D in human ovarian steroidogenesis is unknown. Cultured human ovarian cells were incubated in tissue culture medium supplemented with appropriate substrates, with or without 50 pM-150 pM or 50 nM-150 nM of 1,25-(OH)2D3, and in the presence or absence of insulin. Progesterone, testosterone...

Advanced ovarian cancer is a devastating disease. Gaining biomarkers of early detection during ovarian tumorigenesis may lead to earlier diagnosis and better therapeutic strategies. Cystatin B (CSTB) functions as an inhibitor to suppress intracellular cysteine proteases and has been implicated in several types of cancers. The present study explored the expression of CSTB in human ovarian tumors...

The aim of the present study was to establish human ovarian stroma within the mouse subcutaneously, in order for the resulting stroma to serve as a useful preclinical tool to study the progression of human ovarian cancer in a humanized ovarian microenvironment. Normal human ovarian tissues were subcutaneously implanted into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice and then the implants were ...

This report describes a case of spontaneous abortion in a 4-year-old Golden Retriever dog with ovarian endometriosis. Clinical findings indicated that there was not any senstivity in the abdomen and the viability parameters were within the reference values. On vaginal examination, serosanguineous discharge was determined. Ultrasonographic examination revealed that no fetus was observed in cornu...

With the evolution of the treatment of malignant neoplasms, the survival rates of patients undergoing chemo- or radiotherapy are increasing. The continuous development of techniques of assisted human reproduction has led to important strategies in an attempt to maintain reproductive function in patients subjected to treatment of neoplastic diseases, among them cryopreservation of embryos, gamet...

BACKGROUND Previous studies showed that immature oocytes stored in ovarian tissue could develop to the mature stage after transplantation. However, the quality and competency of the oocytes developed in xenografted ovarian tissue have never been investigated. As a pilot study to investigate this uncharted issue, we evaluated microtubule organization and chromatin configuration of human oocytes ...

Identification of novel molecular markers and therapeutic targets may improve survival rates for patients with ovarian cancer. In the current study, immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of two human ovarian tumor tissue arrays showed high staining for GDF15 in a majority of tissues. Exogenous stimulation of ovarian cancer cell lines with recombinant human GDF15 (rhGDF15) or stable over-expression...

BACKGROUND Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue can be used to preserve the fertility of patients who are about to receive treatment(s) that could compromise their future ovarian function. Here we evaluate the effectiveness of a vitrification protocol by carrying out a systematic comparison with a conventional slow-freezing method on human ovarian tissue. METHODS Human ovarian samples (mean age...

BACKGROUND Stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) is a secreted glycoprotein hormone. High expression of STC1 has been associated with several cancers including ovarian cancer, but its role in the development of ovarian cancer is not clear. METHODS We used five human ovarian epithelial cancer cell lines (OVCA420, OVCA432, OVCA433, SKOV3, and HEY), immortalized human ovarian surface epithelial cells (T29 and ...

BACKGROUND Ovarian tissue cryopreservation by vitrification is an attractive technique for fertility preservation in women. However, this technique has not been optimized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the baboon as a model for the preclinical study of ovarian tissue cryopreservation by vitrification and thawing. METHODS Ovarian cortical tissues (1-mm cubes) were obtained surgically f...