• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2003

Objective : Clomiphene citrate is one of the most commonly used drugs in the treatment of infertility, but the pregnancy rate achieved with clomiphene citrate is significantly lower than the ovulation rate due to its antiestrogenic effect on the endometrium. Endometrial prolactin is considered to be a marker and an inducer of predecidualization that is characteristic of secretory endometrium. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of clomiphene citrate and unsatisfactory endometrial differentiation to secretory endometrium by examining the endometrial expression of prolactin in clomiphene citratetreated infertile women with luteal phase defect. Methods : The endometrial samples from infertile women with luteal phase defect (n=27) were examined. Five cases during secretory phase and six cases during proliferative phase were obtained by biopsy. Sixteen cases were obtained by biopsy during secretory phase after clomiphene citrate treatment. By immunohistochemical staining for prolactin, all obtained endometrial tissues were examined. The differences in the endometrial expression of prolactin were evaluated between proliferative phase and secretory phase, and between clomiphene citrate treated group and no treatment group during secretory phase. Results: The staining of endometrial prolactin was significantly more intense in the glandular epithelial cells and stromal cells in the secretory endometrium than in the proliferative endometrium. The glandular expression of prolactin in the secretory endometrium was not significantly different between the clomiphene citrate-treated group and no treatment group (p=0.719), but the staining of prolactin in the stromal cells was significantly less intense in the clomiphene citrate-treated group than no treatment group (p=0.019). Conclusion: In this investigation, we demonstrated that the endometrial stromal expression of prolactin in the secretory phase was significantly lower in the clomiphene citrate-treated group campared with no treatment group in infertile women with luteal phase defect. And our finding suggests that clomiphene citrate may have an adverse effect on the endometrial predecidualization in infertile women.

• 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.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.253-263
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• 2006

Objective: Identification of the regulatory mechanism for arrest and initiation of primordial follicular growth is crucial for female fertility. Previously, we found 15 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) that were specifically abundant in the day-S-subtracted cDNA library and that the B357 clone was novel. The present study was conducted to obtain the whole sequence of the novel gene including B357 and to characterize its mRNA and protein expression in mouse ovary and testis. Methods: The extended sequence of the 2,965-bp cDNA fragment for the clone B357 was named ${\underline{5}}-{\underline{d}}ay-{\underline{o}}vary-{\underline{s}}pecific\;gene-{\underline{1}}$ (5DOS1) and submitted to GenBank (accession number ${\underline{AY751521}}$). Expression of 5DOS1 was characterized in both female and male gonads at various developmental stages by Northern blotting, real-time RT-PCR, in situ hybridization, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Results: The 5DOS1 transcript was highly expressed in the adult testis, brain, and muscle as compared to the other tissues. In the ovary, the 5DOS1 transcript was detected in all oocytes from primordial to antral follicles, and highly expressed at day 5 after birth and decreased thereafter. In contrast, expression of 5DOS1 showed a gradual increase during testicular development and its expression was limited to various stages of male germ cells except spermatogonia. Conclusions: This is the first report on the expression and characterization of the 5DOS1 gene in the mouse gonads. Further functional analysis of the 5DOS1 protein will be required to predict its role in gametogenesis.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.107-116
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• 2016

In the study, we developed and evaluated a uracil N-glycosylase (UNG)-supplemented single-tube nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (UsnRT-PCR) assay that can carried out first-round RT-PCR and second-round nested PCR in a reaction tube without reaction tube opening and can simultaneously detect EU- and NA-PRRSV. The UsnRT-PCR confirmed to have a preventing ability of mis-amplification by contamination of pre-amplified PRRSV DNA from previous UsnRT-PCR. Primer specificities were evaluated with RNAs extracted from 8 viral strains and our results revealed that the primers had a high specificity for both genotypes of PRRSV. The sensitivity of the UsnRT-PCR was 0.1 $TCID_{50}$/0.1 mL for EU- or NA-PRRSV, respectively, which is comparable to that of previously reported real time RT-PCR (RRT-PCR). Clinical evaluation on 110 field samples (60 sera and 50 lung tissues) by the UsnRT-PCR and the RRT-PCR showed that detection rates of the UsnRT-PCR was 70% (77/110), and was relatively higher than that of the RRT-PCR (69.1%, 76/110). The percent positive or negative agreement of the UsnRT-PCR compared to RRT-PCR was 96.1% (73/76) or 90.9% (30/33), showing that the test results of both assays may be different for some clinical samples. Therefore, it is recommend that diagnostic laboratory workers use the two diagnostic assays for the correct diagnosis for the relevant samples in the swine disease diagnostic laboratories. In conclusion, the UsnRT-PCR assay can be applied for the rapid, and reliable diagnosis of PRRSV without concerns about preamplified DNA carryover contamination that can occurred in PCR process in the swine disease diagnostic laboratories.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.265-276
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• 2011

The aim of the present study is to validate the effects of treatment with different concentration of estrogen receptor alpha agonist, propyl pyrazole triol (PPT) on the weight and histological structure in the accessory reproductive organs (ventral prostate, seminal vesicle and preputial gland) of male mouse. Treated groups received different doses of PPT 0.01 mg, 0.1 mg and 1.0 mg per week respectively, for 3, 5, and 8 weeks. In general, the weight of reproductive organs was increased in PPT 0.01 mg and 0.1 mg treatment, however decreased in PPT 1.0 mg treatment. Epithelial tissues in the ventral prostate were changed from simple columnar epithelium to squamous or cuboidal epithelium in the treated groups. On week 3, PPT groups caused decrease of epithelial cell height in the ventral prostate. Lumen of the seminal vesicle was narrowed in the treated group. Epithelial cell height of seminal vesicle was reduced in the PPT treatment. Acinus tissue of preputial gland in PPT 1.0 mg treatment was dramatically atrophied than that of control group. These results are useful as a reference to determine the administration concentration of PPT in experiments for understanding the physiological functions of estrogen in the male.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.81-88
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• 2001

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) has been known to play a role in the regulation of hCG secretion by human placenta. Recently, a gene encoding the second f개m of GnRH (GnRH-II) was identified in human. Herein, we demonstrate that GnRH-II is expressed in human placenta and assess GnRH-II expression by nested RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry in human placenta during the first trimester. We found that two altematively spliced transcripts of GnW-II mRNA were expressed in human placental tissues of first trimester and the shorter variant had a 21-bp deletion in GnRH-associated peptide (GAP). Immunoreactive GnRH-II was localized in both cytotrophoblastic and syncytiotrophoblastic cytoplasm. The immunostaining intensity was stronger in cytotrophoblast. Villous stromal cells also showed GnRH-II immunoreactiyiry. The results of our study report that the second isoform of GnRH (GnRH-II) is expressed in the first trimester human placenta and we suggest that GnRH-II may also play a regulatory role in maintenance of early pregnancy and hCG secretion in human placenta.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.337-343
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• 2002

Objectives: To investigate the distribution of $ER{\alpha}$, $ER{\beta}$, c-fos and c-jun in the uterine myoma and myometrium in oder to know how the tamoxifen cause the growth of myoma. Methods: Myoma and myometrial tissue were obtained from the postmenopausal women treated with tamoxifen in the patients with breast cancer and in the premenopausal patients, who were undergoing myoma of uterus from 1998 through 2000. The espression of each gene was quantitated with quantitative RT-PCR. Results: The expression of $ER{\alpha}$ was slightly increased in the myoma than the myometrium in the proliferative phase, and was slightly decreased in the myometrium than the myoma in the secretory phase. However it was not significant statistically. In the postmemopausal women treated with tamoxifen, $ER{\alpha}$ was expressed in all myoma and myome1rial tissues and the expression was not statistically significant. The expression ofER~ was slightly increased in the myome1rium than the leiomyoma in the proliferative and secretory phase, but it was not significant statistically. In the postmemopausal women treated with tamoxifen, the expression of ER~ was significantly incresed in the myome1rium than the leiomyoma. The expression of c-fos was significantly increased in the myome1rium than the leiomyoma in the proliferative and secretory phase. In the postmemopausal women treated with tamoxifen, the expression of c-fos was slightly increased in the leiomyoma than the myomelrium, however, it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Tamoxifen may cause the growth of leiomyoma by $ER{\alpha}$ with AP-l pathway reducing the counteraction of 6$ER{\beta}$ to $ER{\alpha}$.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 1998

Normal and abnormal follicular growth and steroidogenesis depend on gonadotropins as well as intraovarian peptides, which may mediate or potentiate gonadotropin action. Inhibin also affect follicular development and steroidogenesis and may play a role in dominant follicle selection and follicular atresia. Therefore, we studied the differences of serum inhibin, gonadotropin and androgen levels in the women with only the ultrasound findings and no disorder, and polycystic ovary (PCO) with ovulatory disturbance. We prospectively analysed forty-three women with PCO. The diagnosis of PCO was based on typical appearance of the ovaries on TVS. Twelve women with regular menstrual cycle and normal ovarian morphology were selected as control. Basal levels of inhibin, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol $(E_2)$, testosterone (T), androstenedione (ADD), dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DS), prolactin and TSH in serum were determined. There were significant differences in basal LH levels and LH/FSH ratio between the control and the women with PCO. The basal levels of inhibin and $E_2$ in the oligo-amenorrheic PCO (N=34) were significantly higher than those in the control. There was higher negative correlation between the inhibin and T levels in the oligo-amenorrheic PCO, but, not in the regular cycling PCO. Also, there was higher positive correlation between the LH and T levels in the oligo-amenorrheic PCO, but not in the regular cycling PCO. These data presume that the initial event of PCO is elevated pituitary LH secretion. Elevated levels of LH may down-regulate LH receptors on granulosa cells and also cause hypertrophy of the thecal layer. High level of androgen secreted by the hypertrophied thecal layer may stimulate inhibin secretion from granulosa cells and can be converted to estrogen by extraovarian tissues and could serve to augment pituitary sensitivity to GnRH with a resultant secretion of more LH than FSH. Inhibin may inhibit FSH action on granulosa cell in the PCO follicle, impairing follicular development and dominant follicle selection resulted in ovulatory disturbance.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.329-337
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• 2020

Cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) is a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily enzymes in mammals and plays a major role in metabolizing endogenous hormones in the liver. In recent days, CYP1A2 expression has been found in not only the liver but also other tissues including the pancreas and lung. However, little information is available regarding the expression of CYP1A2 in the ovary, in spite of the facts that the ovarian follicle growth and atresia are tightly associated with controls of endocrine hormonal networks. Therefore, the expression of CYP1A2 in the ovaries of prepubertal and pubertal rats was investigated to assess its expression pattern and puberty-related alteration. It was demonstrated that the expression level of CYP1A2 was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in the pubertal ovaries than prepubertal counterparts. At the ovarian follicle level in both groups, whereas CYP1A2 expression was less detectable in the primordial, primary and secondary follicles, the strongly positive expression of CYP1A2 was localized in the granulosa cell layers in the antral and pre-ovulatory follicles. However, the ratio of CYP1A2-positive ovarian follicle was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in the ovary of pubertal group (73.1 ± 3.1%) than prepubertal one (41.0 ± 10.5%). During the Immunofluorescence, expression of CYP1A2 was mainly localized in Fas-positive follicles, indicating the atretic follicles. In conclusion, these results suggested that CYP1A2 expression was mainly localized at the atretic follicular cells and affected by the onset of puberty. Further study is still necessary but we hypothesize that CYP1A2 expresses in the atretic follicles to metabolize residue of the reproductive hormones. These findings may have important implications for the fields of reproductive biology of animals.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.258-261
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• 2014

A 4-week-old male piglet being maintained in a research facility was found dead without any previous clinical signs. The piglet had been born from a surrogate mother after somatic nuclear transfer as part of a xenotransplantation study. Ovaries for nuclear transfer were obtained from a private farm outside the research facility. Histopathologically, multifocal to coalescing granulomatous myocarditis was observed in the heart, characterized by infiltration of lymphocytes, macrophages and multinucleated giant cells, and by myocardial necrosis and fibrosis. Lymphoid tissues showed marked lymphoid depletion with infiltration by histiocytes or giant cells. Immunohistochemistry showed PCV-2 antigens in necrotic myocytes, macrophages and multinucleated giant cells in the heart, as well as in macrophages and giant cells in lymphoid depleted areas of lymphoid tissues. Reproductive failure associated with PCV-2 in aborted or stillborn piglets is frequently characterized by myocarditis, and similar lesions were observed in this 4-week-old piglet with PCV-2 infection. The PCV-2 infection in this piglet may have been due to contamination or infection of an ovary from the pig farm.