Biology of reproduction

Shed menstrual endometrium is viable and has the ability to implant and grow in women, who eventually develop endometriosis. Many of the cell-to-cell or cell-to-extracellular matrix (ECM) connections are mediated by integrins. Monocyte chem…

To explore the identity and possible function of endometriosis protein-I (ENDO-I), which is an acidic glycoprotein synthesized and secreted by endometriotic lesions, partial amino acid sequence and cDNA sequence were determined. Partially p…

Administration of 4 mg of the antiprogestogen RU-486 on proestrus (Day 1) to 4-day-cyclic rats advances the pituitary desensitization to negative estrogen feedback and enhances pituitary responsiveness to LHRH. These effects of RU-486 lead …

A possible relationship between transforming growth factor beta receptor type I (TbetaRI) and type II (TbetaRII) protein expression in human granulosa cells and the quality of preimplantation embryo development in vitro was studied using im…

To determine whether local estrogen production takes place in endometriotic or adenomyotic tissues, in eutopic endometrium from patients with endometriosis or adenomyosis, and in normal endometrium, tissue specimens were examined by immunoh…

The purpose of this study was to find out differences in the levels of antibodies to distinct antigens in the serum of fertile versus infertile patients with and without endometriosis and to identify these antigens. Blood was collected from…

Ovulation is accompanied by a large increase in the permeability of the capillaries surrounding the follicle, beginning a few hours after the ovulatory stimulus. The resulting edema may play a role in ovulation as well as in the formation a…

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the presence and cellular distribution of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR), and IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) in human uterine tissue at various reproductive s…

Intestinal calcium (Ca) absorption was measured under noninvasive conditions in both normally cycling and ovariectomized rats by determining the decrease in 47Ca/47Sc ratio between diet and feces. In 32-wk-old rats fed a 1.4% Ca diet, both …

Unique endometriosis-specific secretory proteins would be of paramount importance as noninvasive markers for diagnosis and evaluation of therapeutic approaches for endometriosis. Furthermore, identification of endometriosis-specific secreto…

The prevalence of spontaneous endometriosis was investigated by laparoscopy in 52 baboons (Papio anubis and Papio cynocephalus) of proven fertility. Clinical endometriosis was diagnosed in 9 (17%) and 4 (8%) baboons with or without a previo…

When rat endometrial stromal cells from uteri sensitized for decidualization are cultured in vitro, there is an increase in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity paralleling that seen in vivo during decidualization. The addition of indomethac…

On the basis of their recent studies, several researchers have suggested that the infertility associated with mild endometriosis is due to the alteration of peritoneal fluid, resulting in impairment of the viability of gametes or embryos. E…

An early event of the decidual cell reaction in response to either natural or artificial deciduogenic stimuli is an increase in the activity of alkaline phosphatase in endometrial stromal cells. Since it is known that prostaglandins have a …

Decidualization of the endometrial stroma occurs in rats in response to implanting blastocysts or after the application of an appropriately timed artificial stimulus. It is well established that decidualization is regulated by estrogens and…

In rats, prostaglandins (PGs) have an essential role in the decidual cell reaction (DCR), but their mechanism of action at the cellular level within the endometrium is at present uncertain. To test the hypothesis that both protein kinase C …

Small muscle strips were dissected from the circular and longitudinal muscle layers of the human oviduct. The preparations showed rhythmic spontaneous activity when perfused by Krebs-Ringer buffer. Excitatory effects of the prostaglandin (P…

Transport of 3H-labeled prostaglandins (PGs) E2 and F2 alpha from the uterine lumen across the uterine wall has been studied in rabbit uteri in vitro in incubations lasting up to 180 min, in relation to sexual state of the rabbit, incubatio…

Alzet Osmotic minipumps, attached to the ovarian end of the uterine horn, were used to infuse prostaglandins unilaterally into the uterine lumen of mature ovariectomized rats which had been treated with a regimen of estradiol and progestero…

The facilitatory and inhibitory effects of prostaglandins PGE2 and PGF2α on lordosis behavior were compared in guinea pigs and rats. In the first part of experiment 1, PGE2 or PGF2α (500 µg) failed to facilitate significantly lordosis behav…

Orally administered danazol decreased the concentration of parenterally administered [3H]-estradiol in pituitary and hypothalamus, but not in cerebral cortex, relative to plasma levels of labeled hormone in adult, ovariectomized rats. Simil…

Hysterectomy of mice on Days 12–15 and on the 18th day of pregnancy induced lactation as assessed by weight gain of 1-day old foster young. Lactation did not develop following hysterectomy on the 10th and 11th day of gestation. Hysterectomy…

Rats were treated with LH-antisera (LHAS) or ergocryptine (ECR) on day 8 of pseudopregnancy or day 15 of hysterectomized pseudopregnancy to evaluate the role of LH and prolactin in the luteotrophic process at these times. LHAS reduced proge…

Contractility in vitro was studied in strips of tissue from the walls of 35 ovarian follicles from sheep. Thirty-two of these follicles showed contractions either spontaneously or after the administration of drugs. Spontaneous rhythmic cont…

The histological changes occurring in rat ovarian follicle walls prior to ovulation were studied by light and electron microscopy. Follicles were collected at 0, 5, 10, and 11 h after the administration of HCG to stimulate ovulation, and al…