• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2014

Plasminogen activators (PAs) are serine proteases that convert plasminogen to plasmin. Two type of PAs are urokinase-type PA (uPA) and tissue-type PA (tPA). Plasminogen is present in most extracellular fluids. PAs play in various reproductive processes including implantation, ovulation and fertilization. In the spermatozoa, PAs and PAIs play a role in sperm motility and fertilization. PAs in the sertoli cell are stimulated spermatozoa maturation and sperm activation through the phospholipase A2. The oocyte maturation is the process for fertilization and implantation. PAs in cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) are related to oocyte maturation by protein kinase A and C. In the ovulatory process, PAs activity are changed and it are related to reducing the tensile strength of ovarian follicle wall. The uterine environment is important for reproduction and the uterus undergo tissue remodeling. In the uterus and oviduct of mammals, expression and activity of PAs are changed during estrous cycle. Thus, expression and activity of PAs are concerned to many reproductive functions. Therefore, PAs seem to important factor of regulator in reproductive events.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2003

For probing the importance of planarity of imidazolidinone motif of 4-phenyl-1-(benzenesulfonyl)imidazolidinones 1 for their cytotoxicity, 4-phenyl-2-(benzoyl)[1,2,5]thiadiazolidine-1,1-dioxide (2a), 4-phenyl-2-(p-toluoyl)[1,2,5]thiadiazolidine-1,1-dioxide (2b), 4-phenyl-2-(phenylcarbamoyl)[1,2,5]thiadiazolidine-1,1-dioxide (3a), and 4-phenyl-2-(p-tolylcarbamoyl)[1,2,5]thiadiazolidine-1,1-dioxide (3b) were prepared along with their regioisomers (5a, 5b, 9a, 9b) and their cytotoxicity were measured against human lung carcinoma (A549), human colon carcinoma (COLO205), human ovarian cancer (SK-OV-3), human leukemic cancer (K562), and murine colon adenocarcinoma (Colon26) cell lines in vitro. All compounds prepared do not show any activity against all five cancer cell lines unlike 1. Compounds 1 possess planarity of imidazolidinone, especially in sulfonylurea moiety ($-SO_2$NHCONH-). However compounds 2 and 3 have nonplanar 5-membered ring, [1,2,5]thiadiazolidine-1,1-dioxides. Such structural differentiation might result in the loss of activity. Therefore the inactivity of 2 and 3 could also be an indication for the necessity of planarity of imidazolidinone ring of 1 for their cytotoxic activity.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.77-81
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• 2004

Petroleum ether, benzene and alcohol extracts of seeds of C. juncea administered orally at the dose level of 25mg/100g body weight to adult female mice for 30 days, resulted in irregular estrous cycle with prolonged estrus and metaestrus and reduced diestrus and proestrus during the experimental period. Histological studies of the ovary indicate increases in the number of atretic follicles but decreases in the number of developing follicles, Graafian follicles and corpora lutea. The total cholesterol content of the ovary is increased, whereas ascorbic acid content is decreased. The weight of the uterus and its micrometric measurement in all experimental mice are increased significantly. The alcoholic extracts showed estrogenic activity in immature mice by early opening of the vagina, premature cornification of the vaginal epithilium and increases in uterine weight. However, alcohol extract of seeds of C. juncea was more effective in causing these changes compared to other extracts. After subjecting to preliminary phytochemical screenings alcohol extract showed positive; test for alkaloids, steroids, glycosides, flavones, phenols and tannins.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.425-432
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• 1993

Alkaline phosphatase from Culex pipiens pallens was examined to determine the optimal assay condition and to assay the activity during ovarian development. The activity of alkaline phosphatase in a male and a nongravid female continuously were declined after eclosion. But by the stimulus of a blood meal, the enzyme activity was increased dramatically. At 30 hr. after a blood meal, the maximal activity was reached and then declined. And after 48 hr. after a blood meal, the second activity increase was revealed. This second increase was maintained up to oviposition. The first activity increase was revealed in the midgut and the second increase was done in the ovary to assay the organ distribution of alkaline phosphatase. In electrophresis data, it was shown 5 isozyme bands, ALP-1 and ALP-2 in the ovary, ALP-3 in the thorax and the midgut, and ALP-4 and ALP-5 in the thorax, the fatbody and the midgut in crude extract at 30 hr. after a blood meal. One the same ovary pattern were shown at 72 hr. after a blood meal.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8177-8186
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• 2016

The present study was aimed at determining the effects of alkylating and oxidative stress inducing agents on a newly identified variant of DNA polymerase beta ($pol{\beta}{\Delta}_{208-304}$) specific for ovarian cancer. $Pol{\beta}{\Delta}_{208-304}$ has a deletion of exons 11-13 which lie in the catalytic part of enzyme. We compared the effect of these chemicals on HeLa cells and HeLa cells stably transfected with this variant cloned into in pcDNAI/neo vector by MTT, colony forming and apoptosis assays. $Pol{\beta}{\Delta}_{208-304}$ cells exhibited greater sensitivity to an alkylating agent and less sensitivity towards $H_2O_2$ and UV when compared with HeLa cells alone. It has been shown that cell death in $Pol{\beta}{\Delta}_{208-304}$ transfected HeLa cells is mediated by the caspase 9 cascade. Exon 11 has nucleotidyl selection activity, while exons 12 and 13 have dNTP selection activity. Hence deletion of this part may affect polymerizing activity although single strand binding and double strand binding activity may remain same. The lack of this part may adversely affect catalytic activity of DNA polymerase beta so that the variant may act as a dominant negative mutant. This would represent clinical significance if translated into a clinical setting because resistance to radiation or chemotherapy during the relapse of the disease could be potentially overcome by this approach.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.617-622
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• 2014

Voacanga globosa (Blanco), a plant endemic to the Philippines, is traditionally used especially by indigenous people of Bataan in the treatment of ulcers, wounds and tumorous growths. This study aimed to provide scientific evidence to therapeutic properties by determining cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic activity of HPLC fractions from leaves on HCT116 human colon carcinoma and A549 human lung carcinoma cell lines. Ethanolic extraction was performed on V globosa leaves followed by hexane and ethyl acetate partitioning. Silica gel column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) produced MP1, MP2 and MP3 fractions. Cytotoxic activity of the fractions was determined through MTT assay against the cancer cell lines HCT116 and A549 and the non-cancer AA8 Chinese hamster ovarian cell line. Pro-apoptotic activities of the most active fractions were further assessed through DAPI staining, TUNEL assay and JC-1 mitochondrial membrane potential assay with HCT116 cells. While the MPI fraction exerted no significant activity against all cell lines tested, MP2 and MP3 fractions demonstrated high toxicity against HCT116 and A549 cells. The MP3 fraction induced formation of apoptotic bodies, condensed DNA and other morphological changes consistent with apoptosis of HCT116 cells and TUNEL assay showed significant increase in DNA fragmentation over time. In these cells, the MP3 fraction also induced mitochondrial membrane destabilization, which is generally associated with the beginning of apoptosis. Phytochemical analysis demonstrated the presence only of saponins and terpenoids in the MP3 fraction. The results indicate that the MP3 fraction exerts cytotoxic activity on HCT116 cells via induction of apoptosis triggered by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential crucial for cell survival.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.555-560
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• 2008

The effects of utilizing evaporative cooling system equipped with tunnel ventilation on postpartum ovarian activities, energy balance and milk production of early lactating dairy cows under hot and humid climates were studied from parturition to 22 wk postpartum. Thirty-four crossbred Holstein-Friesian (93.75% HF$\times$.25% Bos indicus) primiparous cows were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Cooled cows (n = 17; treatment) were housed in the tunnel ventilated barn equipped with evaporative cooling system and uncooled (n = 17; control) were housed in the naturally ventilated barn without supplemental cooling system. Cooled cows had greater (p<0.05) dry matter intake and milk production than uncooled cows. Days to the energy balance (EB) nadir did not differ between groups. However, days to equilibrium EB for uncooled cows was longer (p<0.05) than for cooled cows. There was no significant difference in postpartum anovular condition between cooled and uncooled cows. The interval from parturition to first postpartum ovulation did not differ between groups ($31.4{\pm}4.3$ and $26.1{\pm}3.6$ day, respectively). These results suggest that the evaporative cooling and tunnel ventilation has the potential to decrease the severity of heat stress and improve both milk production and metabolic efficiency during early lactation without affecting reproductive function in dairy cows under hot and humid climates.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 1989

Six cases of ovarian fibrous stromal neoplasm were studied clinically, light microscopically and ultrastructurally for the clinico-pathological evidences of hormone production. Of the six cases, two cases were fibroma, three cases were fibrothecoma, and one case was thecoma. Two cases of fibroma and one fibrothecoma were associated with clinical history of menstrual abnormality, however fat staining of the tumor was negative or weakly positive. Two cases of fibrothecoma and one thecoma were negative for the clinical history of hormone imbalance. Fat stain of those cases revealed positive in varying intensity. Ultrastructural examination of fibroma-thecoma group revealed dark and pale cells by their nuclear characteristics. The dark cells had indented nucleus and abundant cytoplasmic organelles of rough ER, Golgi apparatus and mitochondria. Intracytoplasmic cisternal spaces were seen in the dark cell cytoplasm and some lipid droplets were seen around the cisternae. Pale cells had pale swollen nucleus and fine chromatins. Their cytoplasm showed scanty amount of organelles. Fibroma-thecoma spectrum showed varying degree of population of dark cells, light cells and intervening collagenous stroma. Lipid droplet was structurally associated with intracytoplasmic cisterna and they were frequently seen in thecoma and two of the fibrothecoma. But clinical history of hormone imbalance was poorly related to the light microscopic morphology and ultrastructural organization.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.469-474
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• 1995

The effects of sperific inhibitors of $3\beta-hydroxy-\Delta^5-steroid\;dehydrogenase$ $(3\beta-HSD;\;an\;enzyme\;catalyzing\;conversion\;of \Delta^5\;steroids\;to\;\Delta^4 steroids),$ cyanoketone and trilostane, on $^3H-pregnenolone$ metabolism in isolated ovarian thecal layers have been investigated in vitro. At all doses of cyanoketone $(10^{-5}\;and\;10^{-4}\;M)$ and trilostane $(10^{-5}\;and\;10^{-4}\;M)$ $(3\beta-HSD$ enzyme activity that transforms pregnenolone to $17\alpha-hydroxyprogesterone$ was inhibited in the thecal layers. Trilostane appeared to be more efficient than cyanoketone. Trilostane at doses of $10^{-8},\;10^{-7},\;10^{-6},\;and\;10^{-5},\;M/ml$ caused a dose-response inhibition of $\Delta^4$ steroids accumulation in the medium from pregnenolone, but not completely blocked the conversion of $\Delta^5\;to\;\Delta^4$ steroids.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.192-196
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• 2004

The in vitro effect of bisphenol A (BPA) on ovarian steroidogenesis of the longchin goby (Chasmichthys dolichognathus) was investigated. Oocytes taken during the maturing phase (vitellogenic, fully vitellogenic or germinal vesicle breakdown stage) were incubated with BPA (100 ng/mL) in the presence of exogenous precursor $^{3}H-17\alpha\;hydroxyprogesterone\;(^{3}H-17\alphaOHP).$ Steroids were extracted from the media and the isolated oocytes, and the extracts were separated and identified by thin layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The identities of the major metabolites were progestogens $[17{\alpha}-hydroxy,20{\alpha}-dihydroprogesterone\;(17{\alpha}20{\alpha}OHP)\;and\;17{\alpha}-hydrxy,20{\beta}-dihydroprogesterone\;(17{\alpha}20{\beta}OHP),$ androgens [androstenedione (A4) and testosterone (T)] and estrogens [estrone $(E_1)\;and\;estradiol-17{\beta}(E_2)].$ BPA treatment inhibited production of estrogens in all the maturing phases and progestogens in the germinal vesicle migrating stage. Percentage yield of estrogens was decreased with increased yield of androgens. In conclusion, BPA had an inhibitory effect on the conversion of $^3H-17\alphaOHP$ to estrogens and progestogens. These results demonstrate that BPA can act either estrogenic or anti-estrogenic effects.