• Animal cells and systems
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.439-445
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• 2009

Cytochrome P450 aromatase (P450arom) catalyzes the conversion of androgens to estrogens and plays an important role in reproduction and development in vertebrates. We investigated the expression patterns of ovarian P450arom (P450aromA) and brain P450arom (P450aromB) mRNA during sex change in black porgy. Maturity was divided into seven stages from male to female (immature testis, mature testis, testicular portion of mostly testis, ovarian portion of mostly testis, testicular portion of mostly ovary, ovarian portion of mostly ovary, and mature ovary). P450aromA expression was significantly higher in the ovarian portion of mostly-ovarian stage fish, and P450aromB expression was highest in the brain of black porgy with mostly-ovarian gonads. Histology showed that testicular tissues were disintegrated with the development of ovarian tissue associated with an increase in the expression of the two P450arom mRNAs during sex change. Interestingly, among various tissues, P450aromA was only expressed in the ovary, and P450aromB was only expressed in the brain. To understand the role of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and estradiol ($E_2$), we injected exogenous hormone (GnRH analogue [GnRHa] and $E_2$) into immature black porgy. In the GnRHa group, expression of the two P450arom genes decreased 12 h after injection, and expression of the two P450arom genes were significantly higher at 6 dafter $E_2$ injection. These results provide useful baseline knowledge on the mechanism of natural sex change in black porgy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8599-8604
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• 2016

Ovarian cancer is the main cause of mortality in gynecological malignancy and extensive studies have been conducted to study the underlying molecular mechanisms. The BRCA2 gene is known to be an important tumor suppressor in ovarian cancer, thereby BRCA2 alterations may lead to cancer progression. However, the BRCA2 gene is rarely mutated, and loss of function is suspected to be mediated by epigenetic regulation. In this study we investigated the methylation status and gene expression of BRCA2 in ovarian cancer patients. Ovarian cancer pateints (n=69) were recruited and monitored for 54 months in this prospective cohort study. Clinical specimens were used to study the in situ expression of aberrant BRCA2 proteins and the methylation status of BRCA2. These parameters were then compared with clinical parameters and overall survival rate. We found that BRCA2 methylation was found in the majority of cases (98.7%). However, the methylation status was not associated with protein level expression of BRCA2 (49.3%). Therefore in addition to DNA methylation, other epigenetic mechanisms may regulate BRCA2 expresison. Our findings may become evidence of BRCA2 inactivation mechanism through DNA methylation in the Indonesian population. More importantly, from multivariate analysis, BRCA2 expression was correlated with better overall survival (HR 0.32; p=0.05). High percentage of BRCA2 methylation and correlation of BRCA2 expression with overall survival in epithelial ovarian cancer cases may lead to development of treatment modalities specifically to target methylation of BRCA genes.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1766-1775
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• 2021

Objective: The oxidative stress status and changes of chicken ovary tissue after shading were studied, to determine the mechanism of the effect of shading on follicular development. Methods: Twenty healthy laying hens (40 weeks old) with uniform body weight and the same laying rate were randomly divided into two groups (the shading group and normal light group). In the shading group, the cage was covered to reduce the light intensity inside the cage to 0 without affecting ventilation or food intake. The normal lighting group received no additional treatment. After 7 days of shading, oxidative stress related indicators and gene expression were detected. Results: Analysis of paraffin and ultrathin sections showed that apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) increased significantly after light shading. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay results revealed that the levels of total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione, catalase (CAT), and other substances in the sera, livers, ovaries, and follicular GCs of laying hens increased significantly after shading for 7 days; and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in the livers of laying hens also increased significantly. ROS in the serum, ovarian and GCs also increased. After shading for 7 days, the levels of 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine in the sera and ovarian tissues of laying hens increased significantly. Cell counting kit-8 detection showed that the proliferation activity of GCs in layer follicles decreased after shading for 7 days; the expression level of the anti-apoptotic gene B-cell lymphoma-2 in ovarian tissue and follicular GCs was significantly reduced, and the expression levels of pro-apoptotic caspase 3 (casp3), and SOD, glutathione peroxidase 2 (GPX2), and CAT were all significantly increased. Conclusion: Oxidative stress induced by shading light has a serious inhibitory effect on follicular development during reproduction in laying hens.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2021

Kisspeptin, a neuropeptide and the master controller of reproductive axis upstream to GnRH neurons, and its receptor are also expressed in extra-hypothalamic tissues, such as ovaries. As systemic kisspeptin has been shown to modulate follicular dynamics in cattle, we hypothesized that kisspeptin has direct actions on the ovarian follicular development. We also hypothesized that kisspeptin regulation of primordial follicle development is via modulation of VEGF expression. In order to test these hypotheses, we cultured caprine ovarian cortical strips in vitro for 7 days with supplementation of kisspeptin at 1, 10 and 100 µM concentration and observed the development of primordial follicles into intermediate, primary and secondary follicles. We also studied the alteration in the expression profile of VEGF and VEGF transcript variant 2 mRNA during follicular development in the presence of kisspeptin. We confirmed the presence of GPR54 in goat ovaries in our preliminary studies. Supplementation of kisspeptin at 1 and 10 µM concentration facilitated the development of primordial follicles into intermediate, primary and secondary follicles with less number of degenerated follicles while the same at 100 µM resulted in degeneration of follicles. We observed a drastic increase in the expression profile of VEGF and VEGF transcript variant 2 mRNA upon culture which was independent of kisspeptin treatment. In conclusion, our studies show that kisspeptin facilitates ovarian primordial development in vitro.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9939-9943
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• 2014

Lobaplatin, one of the third - generation platinum compounds, has shown encouraging anticancer activity in a variety of tumor types. However, the efficacy of lobaplatin in ovarian cancer has not been systemically evaluated. In this study, lobaplatin as a single agent and in combination with taxanes was investigated in - vitro and in an in vitro model of ovarian carcinoma. Using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay, the cytotoxic effects of lobaplatin alone and in combination with taxanes were compared with cisplatin and carboplatin in seven ovarian cancer cell lines. In addition, in - vitro antitumor activities were evaluated with cisplatin - sensitive and cisplatin - resistant human ovarian cancer xenografts in nude mice. The cytotoxicity of lobaplatin was similar to or higher than that of cisplatin and carboplatin, with $IC_{50}$ values from 0.9 to $13.8{\mu}mol/L$ in a variety of ovarian cancer cells. The combination of lobaplatin with docetaxel yielded enhanced cytotoxic activity in vitro. In addition, in platinum - sensitive ovarian cancer xenografts, lobaplatin alone showed similar antitumor activity to cisplatin and carboplatin. Furthermore, lobaplatin alone or in combination with docetaxel exhibited significant activity in platinum - resistant ovarian cancer xenografts. These results indicate that the use of lobaplatin alone or in combination with docetaxel might be a rational and novel therapeutic strategy for ovarian cancer. Further clinical development of lobaplatin is clearly warranted.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.695-699
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• 1996

This experiment was to determine the effect of sialoadenectomy on the ability of the mammary gland development to response to ovarian steroids, estrogen and progesterone, stimulus in vivo. Body weights did not differ between sham-operated and sialoadenectomized mice within 0 to 18 day estradiol + progesterone (E + P) injection (p > 0.05). Sialoadenectomy reduced mammary development scores from 4.6 to 3.9 or from 4.4 to 3.8 in comparison with those of sham-operated mice for the 12 or 18 day E + P injection ($P{\leq}0.05$), however, sialoadenectomized mice with 0, 1, 3 or 6 day of E + P injection slightly decreased mammary development scores relative to those of sham-operated mice. These results indicate that the endocrine factor secreted from submandibular salivary gland appears to be required for the mammary development to respond fully to estradiol and progesterone. Similar results were obtained in the measurement of mammary DNA contents. Mammary DNA contents of sialoadenectomized mice were significantly decreased relative to those of sham-operated mice for the 6, 12 or 18 day E + P injections. Overall results suggest that salivary gland-secreted endocrine factor, presumably epidermal growth factor (EGF), was mammogenic and should interact with ovarian steroids in mammary development.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.79-84
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• 1989

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of LH-RH and Gn-RH treatment in Holstein cows with ovarian quiescence and follicular cystic ovaries. The cows with ovarian quiescence and follicular cystic ovaries injected intramuscularly with 100$\mu\textrm{g}$, 200$\mu\textrm{g}$ and 400$\mu\textrm{g}$ of LH-RH and 200$\mu\textrm{g}$ and 400$\mu\textrm{g}$ of Gn-RH respectively. The cows was diagnosed by repeated rectal palpation. The plasma progesterone and estradiol-17$\beta$ concentrations were assayed by radioimmunoassay methods. The resutls of this study were summarized as follows : 1. Ovulations were induced after treatment of LH-RH and Gn-RH. The concentrations of progesterone reached small peak level at luteal phase and estradiol-17$\beta$ reached obvious peak level with the development and maturation of the follicle during the periods of degeneration of the corpus luteum, and normal ovarian cycle activity started subsequently. 2. The cows with ovarian quiescence and follicular cystic ovaries were induced ovulation at 38.9$\pm$5.3 hrs. after treatment of LH-RH in 66.7% cows and at 52.7$\pm$7.9 hrs after treatment of Gn-RH in 60.0% cows respectively. 3. The good ovarian responses were indicated in treatment with 200$\mu\textrm{g}$ to 400$\mu\textrm{g}$ of LH-RH than those treated with 100$\mu\textrm{g}$ in cows with ovarian quiescence, and did not show difference of ovarian responses between treatments with 200$\mu\textrm{g}$ to 400$\mu\textrm{g}$ of Gn-RH in cows with follicular cystic ovaries.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2005

With the development of fetal ultrasonography, detection of fetal ovarian cysts has been increased. Although ovarian cyst formation during the perinatal period is a self limiting process, there is still considerable controversy regarding the best treatment of the fetal ovarian cyst. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the natural history of fetal ovarian cysts and to analyze the result of treatment. From 1995 to 2004, 31 consecutive fetuses with ovarian cysts were followed by ultrasonography during the perinatal period. The fetal ovarian cyst was diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography between 25weeks and 38 weeks and the mean size of the cysts was 5cm (ranged from 2 to 8cm). At birth, 3 cysts disappeared. In 2 cases, the diagnoses were changed to multicystic kidney disease and intestinal duplication. During following up of 26 cysts, 15 cysts have resolved completely. Seven cysts required oophorectomy because of cyst torsion (n=3), differentiation of tumorous condition (n=2), increased size of cyst (n=1), and large size (8cm) of cyst at birth (n=l). Fetal ovarian cyst should primarily be observed, and only in the limited cases, surgical treatment would be required for the risk of complications such as torsion and differentiation from benign to malignant pathology.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1333-1340
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• 2012

Epithelial ovarian cancer represents the most lethal gynecological cancer, and the high mortality rate makes this malignancy a major health concern. Poor prognosis results from an inability to detect ovarian cancers at an early, curable stage, as well as from the lack of an effective therapy. Thus, effective and novel strategies for prevention and treatment with non-toxic agents merit serious consideration. Resveratrol, obtained from grapes, berries, peanuts and red wine, has been shown to have a potent growth-inhibitory effect against various human cancer cells as well as in in vivo preclinical cancer models. The objective here was to evaluate potential antitumor effects of resveratrol in both in vitro and in vivo NuTu-19 ovarian cancer models. In vitro an invasion assay was performed. After 48 h, the numbers of viable cells that invaded the extracellular matrix layer were reduced by 94% with resveratrol in comparison to control. For the in vivo anti-tumor assessment, 10 rats were injected with NuTu-19 cells into the ovarian bursa. Thereafter, half were provided with a diet mixed with a dose of 100 mg resveratrol/kg body weight/day for 28 days. Following sacrifice, anticancer effects were assessed by histological evaluation of ovarian as well as surrounding tissues, and immunohistochemical detection of cell proliferation and apoptosis, but there were no observable differences between the control and resveratrol-treated groups for any of the biological endpoints. While resveratrol is effective in suppressing the in vitro cellular invasion of NuTu-19 ovarian cancer cells, these effects do not appear to impact on in vivo NuTu-19 ovarian cancers in rats.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.241-245
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• 1994

Despite increasing success rate of IVF, poor response to ovarian stimulation remains a problem. So, attempts to improve ovarian responses, for example, by using combined gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue(GnRH-a) and human menopausal gonadotropin(hMG) have shown limited success. It is reported that response of granulosa cells in vitro to FSH is stimulated by co-incubation with IGF-l, and IGF-l production can be increased by growth hormone. This suggest that combination regimen of G.H. and hMG may augment follicle recruitment. In fifteen patients who had previous history of poor ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation after pituitary suppression with mid -luteal GnRH-a, the effectiveness of cotreatment with G.H. in IVF program was evaluated using a combination regimen of G.R. and hMG at Korea University Hospital IVF Clinic. Ovarian responses to gonadotropin stimulation in control and GH-treated cycles assessed by total dose and duration of hMG treatment, follicular development and peak $E_2$ level, number of eggs retrieved, and fertilization rates were also assessed. In each group, serum and follicular fluid IGF-1 concentrations on day of egg collection were measured by RIA after acidification and extraction by reveresed phase chromatography. Patients receiving G.H. required fewer days and ampules of gonadotropins, developed more oocytes, and more embryos transferred. But, the differences were not statistically significant, except the duration of hMG treatment. Our data showed a significantly higher concentration of IGF-l in the serum, not in the follicular fluid, of patients treated with G.H. compared with control group. These data suggest that growth hormone treatment does not improve the ovarian response in women with limited ovarian reserve to gonadotropin stimulation for IVF.