Molecular human reproduction

Several studies have suggested a possible etiological association between ovarian endometriosis and ovarian cancer. Evidence has shown that KIF20A overexpression might confer a malignant phenotype to ovarian tumors by promoting proliferatio…

Human blastocyst nidation in the uterus and successful pregnancy require coordinated endometrial expression of estrogen receptor (ER)-α, progesterone receptors (PR)-A and -B and the gap junction protein, connexin (Cx)43. Our prior work esta…

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is known to reduce invasiveness in some cancer cells by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR pathway. A previous study from our laboratory suggested that ER stress is promoted by progesterone in human endometrial cells,…

Aquaporins (AQPs) are involved in cell migration, proliferation and carcinogenesis in tumor development and physiologic inflammatory processes, but their associations with endometriosis have not been fully evaluated. In this study, tissue s…

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease, characterized by growth of endometrial tissue in ectopic sites due to alteration of peritoneal homeostasis and deregulation of apoptosis. Here we have examined whether TNFRp55 deficiency mod…

Fibrotic tissue may contribute to the origin of some endometriosis-related symptoms, such as chronic pelvic pain and infertility. Alterations in the H19/miR-216a-5p/ACTA2 pathway may mediate the regulation of eutopic endometrial stromal cel…

STUDY QUESTION: Is there a specific mechanism underlying the association between lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) and endometriosis-related infertility? SUMMARY ANSWER: The down-regulation of MALAT1 in endometriosis granulosa cell…

STUDY QUESTION: Is it possible to improve fibrosis in endometriosis by microRNA-214 delivery in exosomes? SUMMARY ANSWER: Upregulation of miR-214 may inhibit fibrogenesis and its delivery by exosomes derived from ectopic endometrial stroma…

STUDY QUESTION: Do exosomes play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis in a murine model? SUMMARY ANSWER: Exosomes from endometriosis (EMS) can alternatively activate macrophages and thus contribute to the development of lesions in m…

STUDY QUESTION: Can endometrial mesenchymal stromal cells (E-MSCs) differentiate into endothelial cells in an in vitro co-culture system with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs)? SUMMARY ANSWER: E-MSCs can acquire endothelial m…

STUDY QUESTION: Is oxidative stress associated with the A disintegrin and metalloproteases (ADAM) metallopeptidase domain 17 (ADAM17)/Notch signalling pathway and fibrosis in the development of endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: Oxidative stre…

STUDY QUESTION: Is Growth Regulation by Estrogen in Breast Cancer 1 (GREB1) required for progesterone-driven endometrial stromal cell decidualization? SUMMARY ANSWER: GREB1 is a novel progesterone-responsive gene required for progesterone-…

STUDY QUESTION: How does hCG signal in human endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) and what is its role in regulating ESC function? SUMMARY ANSWER: hCG signaling in ESCs activates the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (Erk1…

STUDY QUESTION: Does the flavonoid naringenin inhibit proliferation of human endometriosis cells? SUMMARY ANSWER: Naringenin suppresses proliferation and increases apoptosis via depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and genera…

STUDY QUESTION: Is resveratrol able to prevent the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced preterm labor in 15-day pregnant BALB/c mice? SUMMARY ANSWER: Resveratrol prevented the LPS-induced onset of preterm labor in 64% of the cases and showed a…

STUDY HYPOTHESIS: Do estrogen and Wnt/β-catenin signaling promote vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in endometriosis and how? STUDY FINDING: 17β-Estradiol (E2)-drives β-catenin triggered up-regulation of VEGF in effector…

STUDY QUESTION: How do NR4A receptors drive decidualization of human endometrial stromal cells (hESCs)? SUMMARY ANSWER: NR4A receptors modulate endometrial decidualization by transcriptional activation of FOXO1A, and in adenomyosis patient…

STUDY QUESTION: Is inhibitor of DNA-binding protein 2 (ID2) a mediator of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-induced Warburg-like effect seen in the peritoneum of women with endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: The TGF-β1-induced changes in…

STUDY QUESTION: Does the changing molecular profile of the endometrium during menstruation correlate with the histological profile of menstruation. SUMMARY ANSWER: We identified several genes not previously associated with menstruation; on…

STUDY HYPOTHESIS: Loss of protein BAF250a (ARID1A) expression is present in women with rectovaginal deep-infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) and endometriosis affecting the pelvic sentinel lymph nodes (PSLN). STUDY FINDING: Partial loss of pr…

STUDY HYPOTHESIS: The mouse endometrium harbours stem/progenitor cells that express the stem cell marker mouse telomerase reverse transcriptase (mTert). STUDY FINDING: We used a mouse carrying a transgenic reporter for mTert promoter activ…

STUDY QUESTION: Can the activity of the IκB kinase (IKKβ) complex in endometriotic cells contribute to endometriotic lesion survival? SUMMARY ANSWER: There is a constitutive activity of the IKKβ catalytic complex in peritoneal and deeply i…

STUDY QUESTION: Can RNA sequencing of human cumulus cells (CC) reveal molecular pathways involved in the physiology of reproductive aging? STUDY FINDING: Senescent but not young CC activate gene pathways associated with hypoxia and oxidati…

Preterm birth remains the leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity worldwide. There are currently few effective therapies and therefore an urgent need for novel treatments. Although there is much focus on trying to alter gestation …

Retinoids are essential for ovarian steroid production and oocyte maturation in mammals. Oocyte competency is known to positively correlate with efficient gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) among granulosa cells in the cumulus-…