• Development and Reproduction
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.83-89
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• 2010

Apoptosis is a crucial mechanism for the proper regulation of homeostasis. BCL-2 family proteins are key molecules which control cellular survival and apoptosis. MCL-1 (myeloid cell leukemia-1) is a pro-survival member of BCL-2 family that promotes the survival of cells, and is highly expressed in diverse cancers including ovarian cancer, leukemia, and cervical cancer. Previously we identified IEX-1 (immediate early response gene X-1) as a binding partner of MCL-1. In the present study, we demonstrated that overexpression of IEX-1 induced apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells. Moreover, IEX-1 significantly attenuated the pro-survival function of MCL-1 in these cells. Also, IEX-1-induced cell death activity was able to be modulated by changes in the expression level of MCL-1. Thus, these results suggest that both IEX-1 and MCL-1 modulate each other's function controlling cellular survival and death and the inhibitory activity of IEX-1 toward MCL-1 may be applied for the development of chemotherapeutics.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.639-648
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• 2008

Purpose: This study was designed to construct and test a structural equation model on sexual function in women with gynecologic cancer. Methods: The model was constructed and tested under the hypotheses that women's physical changes in sexual function after gynecologic cancer treatment did not automatically lead to sexual dysfunctions. Women's psychosocial factors were considered to be mediating variables. Two hundred twelve women with cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancer were recruited and asked to complete a survey on their physical factors, psychosocial factors and sexual function. Data was analyzed using SPSS WIN 12.0 and Amos WIN 5.0. Results: Predictors of sexual function in the final model were sexual attitude affected by physical distress and couple's age, sexual information affected by physical distress and couple's age, depression affected by physical distress, and marital intimacy affected by physical distress. Tumor stage and time since last treatment directly affected women's sexual function without any mediating psychosocial variables. However, body image did not affect women's sexual function. Conclusion: Nursing professionals should develop a tailored educational program integrating both physical and psychosocial aspects, and apply it to women and their spouses in order to promote sexual function in women with gynecologic cancer.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.135-144
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• 1980

The reproductive cycle and the breeding season of the freshwater clam, Anodonta (Sinanodonta) woodiana (Lea) have been investigated by histological examination of the gonadal development under photomicroscopy. The materials were monthly collected from the Nakdong River for one year from September 1979 to August 1980. Sexuality of Anodonta (Sinanodonta) woodiana is dioecious, and the species are ovoviviparous. The gonads are irregularly arranged from the subregion of mid-intestinal gland in visceral cavity to reticular connective tissue of foot. The ovary is composed of a number of small ovarian sacs, The epithelium of ovarian sac has a function of the germinal epithelium. Oogonia actively proliferate along the germinal epithelium of the ovarian sac, in which young oocytes are growing. The testis is composed of a number of seminiferous tubules, and the epithelium of the tubule has function of germinal epithelium, along which spermatogonia actively proliferate. A great number of undifferentiated mesenchymal tissue and eosinophilic granular cells are abundantly distributed between the growing oocytes and spermatocytes in the early development stages. With the further development of the ovary and testis these tissues and cells gradually disappear. Then the undifferentiated mesenchymal tissue and granular cells are considered to be related to the growing of the oocytes and spermatocytes. The gonads had function year-round the individuals which have various developmental stages of gonads appearing all the time. Spawning continued year-round except for the period of high temperature of water, during August and September. The peak spawning seasons appeared twice a year between January and March, and between June and July in 1980. Individuals which have trochophore larvae in the marsupium of the adult appeared year-round except September 1579 and August 1980. The rate of individuals which have glochidia in the marsupium was 72.7 percent in May 1980 which was the highest brooding fate.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.38-56
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was designed to evaluate the effect of administration of Foeniculi Fructus on ovarian functions and differential gene expressions related cell viability such as caspase-3, MAPK and MPG in female mice. Methods: We administered the Foeniculi Fructus to 6-week-old female CF-1 mice for 4, 8, 12 days. After administration of Foeniculi Fructus with 0.1, 1, 10, $100\;mg/m{\ell}$ concentration in the comparison of control group with $0\;mg/m{\ell}$, we observed the mean number of total ovulated oocytes and the number of morphologically normal oocytes. After entosomatic fertilization, we observed the rate of fertilized 2-cell embryos to blastocyst stage in vitro. Also we chose the caspase-3 for cell apoptosis, MAPK and MPG genes for cell viability and DNA repair by RT-PCR. Results: 1. In case of 4, 8, 12day administration of Foeniculi Fructus with 0.1, 1, 10, $100\;mg/m{\ell}$, the mean number of total ovulated oocytes and the number of morphologically normal oocytes were increased in the comparison of control group. 2. In case of 4, 8, 12day administration of Foeniculi Fructus with 0.1, 1, 10, $100\;mg/m{\ell}$, the rates of blastocyst formation from 2-cell stages were increased in the comparison of control group. 3. In case of 4, 8, 12day administration of Foeniculi Fructus with 0.1, 1, 10, $100\;mg/m{\ell}$, the gene expression of caspase-3, MAPK, MPG didn't show significant result in the comparison of control group. Conclusion: This study shows that Foeniculi Fructus has significant effects on the increase of the function on ovulation and embryonic development of female mice. But this results have nothing to do with caspase-3, MAPK and MPG genes. So we need a further study for which genes are related to the activation of reproductive functions of Foeniculi Fructus.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.1215-1224
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• 2017

Objective: To assess the differences in ovarian transcriptomes in Shan Ma ducks between their peak and late stages of egg production, and to obtain new transcriptomic data of these egg-producing ducks. Methods: The Illumina HiSeq 2000 system was used for high throughput sequencing of ovarian transcriptomes from Shan Ma ducks at their peak or late stages of egg production. Results: Greater than 93% of the sequencing data had a base quality score (Q score) that was not less than 20 (Q20). From ducks at their peak stage of egg production, 42,782,676 reads were obtained, with 4,307,499,083 bp sequenced. From ducks at their late stage of egg production, 45,316,166 reads were obtained, with 4,562,063,363 bp sequenced. A comparison of the two datasets identified 2,002 differentially expressed genes, with 790 upregulated and 1,212 downregulated. Further analysis showed that 1,645 of the 2,002 differentially expressed genes were annotated in the non-redundant (NR) database, with 646 upregulated and 999 downregulated. Among the differentially expressed genes with annotations in the NR database, 696 genes were functionally annotated in the clusters of orthologous groups of proteins database, involving 25 functional categories. One thousand two hundred four of the differentially expressed genes with annotations in the NR database were functionally annotated in the gene ontology (GO) database, and could be divided into three domains and 56 categories. The three domains were cellular component, molecular function, and biological process. Among the genes identified in the GO database, 451 are involved in development and reproduction. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes with annotations in the NR database against the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes database revealed that 446 of the genes could be assigned to 175 metabolic pathways, of which the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathway, insulin signaling pathway, fructose and mannose metabolic pathways, gonadotropin releasing hormone signaling pathway and transforming growth factor beta signaling pathway were significantly enriched. Conclusion: The differences in ovarian transcriptomes in Shan Ma ducks between their peak and late stages of egg production were elucidated, which greatly enriched the ovarian transcriptomic information of egg-producing ducks.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.957-966
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• 2021

Objective: Ovarian follicular development, which dependent on the proliferation and differentiation of granulosa cells (GCs), is a complex biological process in which miRNA plays an important role. Our previous study showed that miR-458b-5p is associated with ovarian follicular development in chicken. The detailed function and molecular mechanism of miR-458b-5p in GCs is unclear. Methods: The luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the targeting relationship between miR-458b-5p and catenin beta-1 (CTNNB1), which is an important transcriptional regulatory factor of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. The cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, flow cytometry with propidium iodide (PI) and annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeling were applied to explore the effect of miR-458b-5p on proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of chicken GCs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels. Results: We demonstrated that the expression of miR-458b-5p and CTNNB1 showed the opposite relationship in GCs and theca cells of hierarchical follicles. The luciferase reporter assay confirmed that CTNNB1 is the direct target of miR-458b-5p. Using CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry with PI and Annexin V-FITC labeling, we observed that transfection with the miR-458b-5p mimics significantly reduced proliferation and has no effects on apoptosis of chicken GCs. In addition, miR-458b-5p decreased the mRNA and protein expression of CD44 molecule and matrix metallopeptidase 7, which are the downstream effectors of CTNNB1 in Wnt/β-Catenin pathway and play functional roles in cell proliferation. Conclusion: Taken together, the data indicate that miR-458b-5p regulates ovarian GCs proliferation through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by targeting CTNNB1, suggesting that miR-458b-5p and its target gene CTNNB1 may potentially play a role in chicken ovarian follicular development.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2021

Under the stressed condition, a complex feedback mechanism for stress is activated to maintain homeostasis of the body and secretes several stress hormones. But these stress hormones impair synthesis and secretion of the reproductive hormones, followed by suppression of ovarian function. Cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) plays a major role in metabolizing exogenous substances and endogenous hormones, and its expression is recently identified at not only the liver but also several organs with respect to the pancreas, lung and ovary. Although the expression of CYP1A2 can be also affected by several factors, understanding for the changed pattern of the ovarian CYP1A2 expression upon stress induction is still limited. Therefore, CYP1A2 expression in the ovaries from immobilization stress-induced rats were assessed in the present study. The stress-induced rats in the present study exhibited the physiological changes in terms of increased stress hormone level and decreased body weight gains. Under immunohistological observation, the ovarian CYP1A2 expression in both control and the stressed ovary was localized in the antral to pre-ovulatory follicles. However, its expression level was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in the stress-induced group than control group. In addition, stress-induced group presented more abundant CYP1A2-positive follicles (%) than control group. Since expression of the ovarian CYP1A2 was highly related with follicle atresia, increased expression of CYP1A2 in the stressed ovary might be associated with changes of the ovarian follicular dynamics due to stress induction. We hope that these findings have important implications in the fields of the reproductive biology.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.24-32
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was done to identify psychosocial factors that might be predictive of sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain in women with gynecologic cancer. Methods: Two hundred and twelve women with cervical, ovarian, or endometrial cancer completed questionnaires on the Female Sexual Function Index including sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain, and data on their psychosocial factors including body image, sexual attitude, sexual information, depression, and marital intimacy. Stepwise multivariable regression analysis was performed to explore psychosocial predictors of women’s sexual function domains. Results: Predictors were identified as sexual attitude, depression, sexual information, and body image for sexual desire; sexual information, depression, and sexual attitude for sexual arousal; sexual information, marital intimacy, and depression for lubrication; sexual information, marital intimacy, depression, and body image for orgasm; marital intimacy, sexual information, sexual attitude, and depression for satisfaction; sexual information, depression, and marital intimacy for pain. Conclusion: The results indicate that women’s sexual function needs to be approached to domains of female sexual function psychosocially as well as to general sexual function. These factors should be considered in future interventions to positively promote sexual function in women with gynecologic cancer.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.109-114
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• 2000

The present study was undertaken to examine the effects of ethanol on the ovarian steroidogenic acute regulatory protein(StAR) gene expression during prepubertal and onset of puberty. From day 25, each rat began receiving either a control saline or ethanol. Animals were sacrificed on day 27 and 32, and their ovaries and blood were collected. In the present results, ethanol treatment significantly decreased serum luteinizing hormone contents at both time points. Uterine weights of ethanol-treated group were significantly lighter than control group at early time point while there was no noticeable discrepancy at late time point. Vaginal openings, a marker of onset of puberty, also clearly delayed in ethanol-treated group. Using an in situ hybridization histochemistry, we determined the expression of mRNAs encoding StAR. Ovaries from ethanol-treated rats showed a suppresed expression of StAR mRNA. These results demonstrate that ethanol can disturb the prepubertal ovarian function and onset of puberty, at least in part, through the inhibition of ovarian StAR gene expression.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.184-189
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• 2023

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most common gynecological malignancy worldwide, and chemoresistance occurs in most patients, resulting in treatment failure. A better understanding of the molecular processes underlying drug resistance is crucial for development of efficient therapies to improve OC patient outcomes. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) and ferroptosis play crucial roles in tumorigenesis and resistance to chemotherapy. However, little is known about the role(s) of circRNAs in regulating ferroptosis in OC. To gain insights into cisplatin resistance in OC, we studied the ferroptosis-associated circRNA circSnx12. We evaluated circSnx12 expression in OC cell lines and tissues that were susceptible or resistant to cisplatin using quantitative real-time PCR. We also conducted in vitro and in vivo assays examining the function and mechanism of lnc-LBCSs. Knockdown of circSnx12 rendered cisplatin-resistant OC cells more sensitive to cisplatin in vitro and in vivo by activating ferroptosis, which was at least partially abolished by downregulation of miR-194-5p. Molecular mechanics studies indicate that circSnx12 can be a molecular sponge of miR-194-5p, which targets SLC7A11. According to our findings, circSnx12 ameliorates cisplatin resistance by blocking ferroptosis via a miR-194-5p/SLC7A11 pathway. CircARNT2 may thus serve as an effective therapeutic target for overcoming cisplatin resistance in OC.