Stem cell factor (SCF) is essential for the development of primordial follicles. By using cultured ovaries from neonatal rats, the effect of SCF on early follicular development was investigated. Steroidogenesis is a hallmark of follicular development. Expressions of three key protein factors in steroidogenesis, SF-1, StAR, and P450arom, were investigated using immunohistochemistry and in situ h...

Innate immunity is an ancient defense system used by both vertebrates and invertebrates. Previously characterized innate immune responses in plants and animals are triggered by detection of pathogens using specific receptors, which typically use a leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain to bind molecular patterns associated with infection. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans uses defense pathways cons...

The Small Tailed Han sheep and Hu sheep are two prolific local sheep in China. In this study, the polymorphisms of BMPR-IB (Bone morphogenetic protein receptor IB), BMP-15 (Bone morphogenetic protein 15) and FSHR (follicle stimulating hormone receptor) were investigated to check whether they are associated with litter size in Small Tailed Han sheep and Hu sheep. Consequently, three polymorphism...

The study aimed to investigate the effects of FSH and eCG on the ovarian and follicular development, expression levels of FSHR and caspase-9 of ovaries in vivo. One hundred and five prepuberty mice were allocated into FSH-1, FSH-2, FSH-3, eCG-1, eCG-2, eCG-3 groups and control group (CG). Mice in FSH-1, FSH-2 and FSH-3 were intramuscularly injected with 5, 10 and 20 IU FSH twice (on day 0 and 4...

OBJECTIVE Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) regulates gametogenesis through binding to its receptor (FSHR). In women, the Thr307Ala and Asn680Ser polymorphisms in the FSHR gene affect reproductive function, but it is not clear whether they have any impact on spermatogenesis and have mainly been investigated in infertile men of varying ages. The aim of the present study was therefore to examine...

Recent studies suggest that bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) are promising grafts to treat a variety of diseases, including reproductive dysfunction. Primary ovarian failure is characterized by amenorrhea and infertility in a normal karyotype female, with an elevated serum level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and a decrease level of estrogen caused by a mutation in FSH receptor (FSHR) gene...

Chemotherapy is an important treatment for ovarian cancer. However, conventional chemotherapy has inevitable drawbacks due to side effects from nonspecific biodistribution of the chemotherapeutic drugs. To solve such problem, targeted delivery approaches were developed. The targeted delivery approaches combine drug carriers with the targeting system and can preferentially bring drugs to the tar...

BACKGROUND Bisphenol-A (BPA) is one of the widespread industrial compounds, which has adverse effects on animal and human health. The study was aimed to explore the effects of Crassostrea gigas extracts (CGE) in alleviating ovarian functional disorders of female rats with exposure to BPA and the underlying possible mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighteen four-week-old female Sprague-Dawley ...

BACKGROUND Clomiphene citrate (CC) response in anovulatory women is difficult to predict and patient-tailored treatment would benefit patient care and time-management. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) Ser680Ser-polymorphism as a predictor for CC response. METHODS In this retrospective study, 193 patients, diagnosed with p...

Nanovehicles are promising delivery systems for various vaccines. Nevertheless, different biophysicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs), dominating their in vitro and in vivo performances for vaccination, remain unclear. We attempted to elucidate the effects of NPs and their pH-sensitivity on in vitro and in vivo efficacy of resulting prophylactic nanovaccines containing a contraceptive ...