Previous studies have shown that ripe Xenopus 00cytes, 1.4 mm in diameter and suitable for microinjection, undergo meiotic cell division in response to progesterone by a mechanism involving a decrease in the level of CAMP. In order to investigate the mechanism by which the level of CAMP is reduced by progesterone treatment, adenylate cyclase activity was measured in manually dissected plasma me...

Various studies have shown that pregnancy is associated with gastrointestinal complaints that might result from disturbance of the normal contractile pattern of smooth muscle. Progesterone is an important steroid hormone, which plays a crucial role in female pregnancy. Progesterone affects muscle cells by genomic mechanisms, through nuclear receptors, and non-genomic mechanisms, through unident...

Thirteen mammalian aquaporin (AQP) water channels are known, and few of them play a role in the mammalian reproductive system. In our earlier study, the predominance of AQP5 in the late-pregnant rat uterus was proven. Our current aim was to investigate the effect of estrogen- and gestagen-related compounds on the expression of the AQP5 channel in the late-pregnant rat uterus. Furthermore, we ex...

Background: There are accumulating evidences showing the role of adiponectin, a newly discovered adipocytokine secreted from adipose tissue, in the regulation of the ovarian function in dairy cows. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the pattern of serum adiponectin concentration during a normal estrous cycle in the postpartum dairy cows. Materials and Methods: Coccygeal vein blo...

PURPOSE To determine the sex hormone levels in the serum and aqueous humor in patients with age-related cataract and the corresponding hormone receptors in cataract lens epithelial cells (LECs). SETTING Research Laboratory, International Intraocular Implant Training Center, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. METHODS Serum and aqueous humor were drawn from patients with cataract and...

A vaginal ring made of silicone polymers and barium sulfate, and containing 1 g of pure micronized progesterone, was developed for luteal supplementation in women undergoing cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The ring, modeled on the Estring, was designed as a means of providing continuous intravaginal delivery of progesterone. Bioavailability of progesterone in the blood was demonstrated ...

Rate of decline in plasma progesterone concentration may influence the success of lactogenesis in the sow. The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether progesterone concentration and rate of decline of progesterone in the periparturient sow could be manipulated by changing her feeding level. Forty-two sows received either 1.15 or 2 times maintenance energy daily from day 100 of gestati...

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of progesterone in the meiotic resumption of porcine oocytes. Progesterone production and progesterone receptor (PR) immunoreactivity in cumulus cells were not detected in porcine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) when observations were made either just after collection from the follicles or after 28 h cultivation without LH and FSH. However, the a...