Melatonin has a wide variety of beneficial actions at the level of the gonads and their adnexa. Some actions are mediated via its classic membrane melatonin receptors while others seem to be receptor-independent. This review summarizes many of the published reports which confirm that melatonin, which is produced in the ovary, aids in advancing follicular maturation and preserving the integrity ...

Male odors can influence a female's reproductive physiology. In the mouse, the odor of male urine results in an early onset of female puberty. Several volatile and protein pheromones have previously been reported to each account for this bioactivity. Here we bioassay inbred BALB/cJ females to study pheromone-accelerated uterine growth, a developmental hallmark of puberty. We evaluate the respon...

The vomeronasal organ (VNO), also know as Jacobson’s organ, is a paired chemosensory organ mediating the perception of chemical stimuli related to social and/or reproductive behavior (for review, see Farbman, 1992). In rodents, it is an elongated tube, with a crescentshaped sensory epithelium (SE) consisting of basal cells, bipolar neurons and supporting cells. Proliferation continues throughou...

Increasing evidence indicates that pollutants may affect the hormone system of humans and wildlife. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals are related to an increased risk of a variety of diseases and disorders, including adverse effects on the reproductive system. By using a sentinel wildlife species, an early warning of adverse health effects due to pollutants in the environment may be provided...

BACKGROUND Hyperglycemia can impair the male reproductive system in experimental animals and in men during reproductive age. Studies have shown that vitamin C has some good effects on male reproductive system, and therefore vitamin C treatment could attenuate the dysfunctions in this system caused by hyperglycemia. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate whether vitamin C treatment cou...

The highly conserved nature of the thyroid gland and the thyroid system among mammalian species suggests it is critical to species survival. Studies show the thyroid system plays a critical role in the development of several organ systems, including the reproductive tract. Despite its highly conserved nature, the thyroid system can have widely different effects on reproduction and reproductive ...

Mating induces changes in female insects, including in egg production, ovulation and laying, sperm storage, and behavior. Several molecules and effects that induce these changes have been identified, but their proximate effects on females remain unexplored. We examined whether vesicle release occurs as a consequence of mating; we used transgenic Drosophila that allow monitoring of secretory gra...

Male South Indian gerbils (T. indica cuvieri), both adults and weanlings, were olfactory bulbectomized (OBX) and changes in male reproductive behaviour were assessed. Consequent to OBX, majority of the adult males failed to ejaculate, and courtship behaviour has also been considerably reduced. All OBX weanlings were rendered incapable of ejaculation. However, maturational parameters, and organ ...

The fate of mosquito sperm in the female reproductive tract has been addressed sporadically and incompletely, resulting in significant gaps in our understanding of sperm-female interactions that ultimately lead to fertilization. As with other Diptera, mosquito sperm have a complex journey to their ultimate destination, the egg. After copulation, sperm spend a short time at the site of inseminat...

Male infertility is one of the biggest concerns of today's health care community. In the US and other developed countries, approximately 70% of infertility among couples is attributed to male reproductive failure. Alterations in reproductive organ development and sperm production have been listed as the major causes of this phenomenon. Sex determination and differentiation, X chromosome inactiv...