Journal of reproductive health and medicine最新文献

Background/aims

Antenatal depression may have adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth (PTB) and small-for-gestational-age neonates. Serotonin as a neurotransmitter is intimately related to stress and depression. The purpose of this study was to assess variants of the serotonin receptor (5-HT1A) gene and serotonin transporter promoter (5-HTTLPR) gene as potentially directly involved in adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs), especially PTB.

Methods

A pilot case-control study over two years identifying 78 women delivered at <35 weeks gestational age (PTB) and 265 women with uncomplicated singleton term delivery who were evaluated for APO and early pregnancy loss (EPL) in a division for maternal and fetal medicine in a single tertiary center.

Results

Women with the s/s serotonin transporter 5-HTTLPR genotype experienced significantly more EPLs but there was no significant association between serotonin polymorphisms and preterm birth.

Conclusion

Two serotonin gene polymorphisms, known to be associated with depression, are hereby shown to be associated with APO. EPL, but not preterm birth, is significantly linked to an s/s serotonin transporter 5-HTTLPR genotype.

Background/aims

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) belongs to the class of hydrocarbons characterize by its cyclic structure. Due to their persistence nature OCP gets accumulated in the food chain and cause possible adverse health effects specifically various hormone mediated disorders. Ovarian cancer is also one of the hormone dependant cancer and begins with the transformation of cells that comprises the ovaries including surface epithelial, germ cells, etc. It has been suggested that endocrine disruption, exposure to xenobiotic and subsequent oxidative stress may antedate ovarian cancer and contribute to its pathogenesis. However, no report regarding any association of OCP level with etiology of epithelial ovarian cancer is so far available among North Indian population.

Methods

A total of 120 subjects were included in this case control study, consisting of 60 histological proven cases of epithelial ovarian cancer and 60 controls subjects. Quantification of OCP levels was done by Perkin Elmer Gas Chromatograph (GC) equipped with 63Ni selective Electron Capture Detector.

Results

Levels of β-HCH, endosulfan I, p'p'-DDT, p'p'-DDE and heptachlor were found significantly high in cases of epithelial ovarian cancer as compare to control. A significant association was also observed between higher levels of β-HCH and heptachlor and EOC with odds ratio of 2.76 and 2.97 respectively.

Conclusion

Results indicate the plausible role of OCPs with the pathogenesis of epithelial ovarian cancer among north Indian population. Moreover, it is one of the first report suggesting significant level of heptachlor among north Indian women population with epithelial ovarian cancer.

Background

Reproductive dysfunctions induced by various environmental toxicants are the prime concern in the today's changing global scenario. Living systems are constantly exposed to ionizing radiation that cause cellular as well as genetic alterations leading to mutations and cell death. To evaluate the deleterious effects of low dose of gamma radiation on testicular tissue and their possible inhibition by Tinospora cordifolia root extract (TCE).

Methods

One group of Swiss albino mice was exposed to 2.5 Gy gamma radiation to serve as the irradiated control, while the other group received TCE (75 mg/kg b. wt./day) orally for 5 consecutive days half an hour before irradiation to serve as experimental.

Results

Irradiated animals experienced more severe testicular histopathological lesions and a considerable depletion in different spermatogenic cell counts as compared to that of normal animal. Furthermore, TCE pretreatment effectively prevented radiation-induced alterations in body weight, tissue weight, weight index, tubular diameters and anti oxidative parameter viz. lipid peroxidation, glutathione and catalase activity in testes and restored almost a normal structure of testes.

Conclusion

T. cordifolia root extract can be potentially used as an effective radio-protector against radiation induced testicular injuries in mammals.

Women carry a heavy and disproportionate burden in human reproduction. Biological, medical, and social determinants account for this burden. An evolutionary perspective can shed additional light. For the evolution of our brain, the human female took major risks to her health and life, to nourish and develop this spectacular brain in utero, to deliver its large size safely through a relatively narrow and irregular bipedal pelvis, and to care for its development for a long time after birth. It is high time for this human brain to pay women back in the currency of science, and to ease their sexual and reproductive health burden.

Evidence for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance has accumulated in recent years. However, the perceived implausibilities of epigenetic memory survival across chromatin remodeling and reprogramming, and phenotypic information transfer from soma to germline have caused skepticism about its existence, especially in mammals. Importantly, these supposed fundamental impediments seem to be disappearing with recent advances. Evolutionary significance of epigenetic inheritance is another area of debate. Notably, the idea that induced variations may play a role in evolution is gaining ground with newer analysis. Overall, emerging concepts are increasingly calling for integration of nongenetic inheritance in the contemporary evolutionary theory that does not completely explain heritability of complex traits and diseases. Interestingly, a conceptual framework of “evolutionary transgenerational systems biology” has recently been proposed to integrate epigenetics and physiology with inheritance and evolution. A proof of concept analysis is warranted to test the future prospects of this unified theory of biology.

Epigenetics refers to the acquisition and maintenance of heritable states of gene expression that occurs above the level of genetics through alterations in chromatin structure and accessibility. The field of epigenetics has moved much ahead from an emerging science and is growing at a faster pace, as there is increased realization about nutriment and nurture–epigenetic–phenotype relationship. Scientific studies concerning epigenetic changes in the genome in a systematic and genome-wide way provide clinching evidence for epigenetic interactions of environmental and lifestyle factors with genes and determine the reproductive outcomes and health. The epigenetic mechanisms are traditionally studied as DNA methylation, histone modifications, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling, and noncoding RNA-mediated regulation. In the present review, we have presented an overview of the epigenetics evolved from the interaction and confluence of reproduction and nutrient environment. Besides, our experience with DNA methylation and chromatin modification of the cytochrome P450 aromatase (CYP19) gene is also presented. Understanding the emergence of paradigm shift in the reproductive epigenetics appears important as it will open up new vistas for viewing the impact of environment and dietary components on regulation of gene expression concerning the reproductive events and health conditions.

Background/aims

Indirect evidence suggests that eutopic endometrium of women suffering from endometriosis shows differential physiological characteristics as compared to normal endometrium in unaffected women. We have evaluated this issue by using hypothesis-neutral proteomics approach.

Methods

In order to examine the differential display of steady state expressed proteins between control endometrium from infertile women with no detectable endometriosis disease and that from infertile women with proven stage IV ovarian endometrioma, a large-scale gel-free 2D proteomic analysis, followed by QTOF LC-MS system and immunohistochemistry for subsequent validation was employed in the present study.

Results

We could identify several dysregulated endometrial proteins in women suffering from stage IV ovarian endometriosis, which included proteins involved in regulating cellular redox states, cellular signaling, cytoskeletal functions, stress response, apoptosis, salt-water balance, and heme metabolism. Additionally, an overt indication of telomere maintenance and that of neoplastic potential of eutopic endometrium of infertile women with stage IV ovarian endometriosis was observed in post hoc bioinformatics-based analysis. This was further substantiated by consistent high immunopositive expression of four cancer-associated specific proteins (annexin A2, HSP90, PDGFRa, and Tubulin-a) in endometrium of infertile patients with stage IV ovarian endometriosis.

Conclusion

It appears highly plausible that endometrial cells in women with stage IV ovarian endometriosis cannot adequately support embryo implantation process due to innate molecular inadequacies. Furthermore, these cells with molecular defects on their reflux into pelvic peritoneal niche may result in endometriotic lesion. Most importantly, pathognomonic characteristics showing marked indication of neoplastic potential in endometrium of infertile patients with stage IV ovarian endometriosis bear a possibility of inducement of oncogenic transformation especially in the high-risk population in the course of endometriosis disease progression.

Background

Sertoli cells (Sc) regulate spermatogenesis under the control of FSH and testosterone (T). Functional maturation of Sc for supporting the spermatogenic onset during pubertal development is prerequisite for male fertility. However, the effect of hormone driven maturational changes in Sc is not well known.

Objectives and experimental model

In this present study we have compared hormone induced gene expression of immature and mature Sc isolated from neonatal (9-days old) and prepubertal (18-days-old) rat testes, respectively, to investigate the developmental difference of hormone responsiveness of Sc during postnatal maturation as well as influence of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), a nonspecific inhibitor of phosphodiesterase in primary culture of Sc.

Results and conclusion

Our results suggested that FSH responsiveness of Sc obtained from 18-days-old rats were more prominent in terms of augmentation of lactate, cAMP and gene transcription as compared to Sc from 9-days of age. Our result also indicated that although the use of IBMX in primary culture of Sc generates a better readout in terms of FSH induced cAMP response, the presence of such pharmacological agent mellows down FSH stimulated gene expression profile. Our data indicated further that immature Sc are capable of differentiating in vitro if cultured with continuous supplementation of FSH and T (in combination). Taken together, we also concluded that for accurate evaluation of the modulation of gene expression by hormones, use of IBMX should be avoided in primary cultures of Sc.

The hypothesis that there exists a differential association between total free VEGF (fVEGF) and soluble VEGF-receptor1 (sVEGFR1) in follicular fluid obtained from GnRH-agonist (GnRH-a) versus GnRH-antagonist (GnRH-ant) protocols was examined. It was observed that: (i) concentration of total fVEGF in follicular fluid retrieved from GnRH-ant group was higher than that in GnRH-a group, (ii) it was three-times higher than that of VEGF-A alone as reported in the previous study, and (iii) follicular concentration of sVEGFR1 showed no significant difference between two groups. Finally, our hypothesis that ratios of follicular sVEGFR to fVEGF might show differential profiles between two protocols was not found tenable. We conclude that the physiological balance between sVEGFR1 and total fVEGF is maintained within a ratio of 2–3 in ovarian follicles in normoresponder women irrespective of GnRH-a and GnRH-ant protocols.