Search results for "Polymerase"

Hormonal and molecular characterization of follicular fluid, cumulus cells and oocytes from pre-ovulatory follicles in stimulated and unstimulated cy…

2012

background: The use of ovarian stimulation, to stimulate a multi-follicular response for assisted reproduction treatments, may force the production of oocytes from follicles that do not reach optimal maturation, possibly yielding oocytes that are not fully competent. The present study aimed to define the follicular environment and oocyte competence of unstimulated pre-ovulatory follicles, to compare it with that of similar-sized stimulated follicles. For this purpose, we analyzed the follicular hormonal milieu, the oocyte meiotic spindle, the embryo development and the cumulus cells gene expression (GE) profiles. methods and results: The study population was divided in two groups: (i) 42 oo…

The effect of hormonal status on the expression of estrogen and progesterone receptor in vaginal wall and periurethral tissue in urogynecological pat…

2009

Abstract Objective Our objective was to study the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) isoforms ER alpha (α) and ER beta (β) and of progesterone receptor (PR) in the vaginal wall and in periurethral tissue of women who underwent urogynecological surgical treatment with reference to estrogen status. Study design The study included 89 patients undergoing vaginal surgery for urogynecological conditions. Patients’ history and clinical data including estrogen status and body mass index (BMI) were evaluated. Biopsies from the vaginal wall and from periurethral tissue were obtained during surgery. The expression of ER α and β and of PR in vaginal wall and periurethral tissue was measured by RT-PCR…

Aging Negatively Affects Estrogens-Mediated Effects on Nitric Oxide Bioavailability by Shifting ERα/ERβ Balance in Female Mice

2011

AIMS: Aging is among the major causes for the lack of cardiovascular protection by estrogen (E2) during postmenopause. Our study aims to determine the mechanisms whereby aging changes E2 effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in a mouse model of accelerated senescence (SAM). METHODS AND RESULTS: Although we found no differences on NO production in females SAM prone (SAMP, aged) compared to SAM resistant (SAMR, young), by either DAF-2 fluorescence or plasmatic nitrite/nitrate (NO2/NO3), in both cases, E2 treatment increased NO production in SAMR but had no effect in SAMP. Those results are in agreement with changes of eNOS protein and gene expression. E2 up-regulated eNOS expression in SAMR…

A53T-Alpha-Synuclein Overexpression Impairs Dopamine Signaling and Striatal Synaptic Plasticity in Old Mice

2010

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most frequent neurodegenerative disorder at old age, can be caused by elevated expression or the A53T missense mutation of the presynaptic protein alpha-synuclein (SNCA). PD is characterized pathologically by the preferential vulnerability of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal projection neurons. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we used two mouse lines overexpressing human A53T-SNCA and studied striatal dysfunction in the absence of neurodegeneration to understand early disease mechanisms. To characterize the progression, we employed young adult as well as old mice. Analysis of striatal neurotransmitter content demonstrated that dopamine (DA…

Influence of gene action across different time scales on behavior.

2002

Genes can affect natural behavioral variation in different ways. Allelic variation causes alternative behavioral phenotypes, whereas changes in gene expression can influence the initiation of behavior at different ages. We show that the age-related transition by honey bees from hive work to foraging is associated with an increase in the expression of the foraging ( for ) gene, which encodes a guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cGMP)–dependent protein kinase (PKG). cGMP treatment elevated PKG activity and caused foraging behavior. Previous research showed that allelic differences in PKG expression result in two Drosophila foraging variants. The same gene can thus exert different types of influe…

Functional regulation of the Werner protein by poly(ADP-ribose) and PARP-1

2013

The role of gonadotropin-releasing hormone in murine preimplantation embryonic development.

1999

Previous studies have established the presence of an extrahypothalamic GnRH in a variety of tissues. GnRH receptor is known to be present in the placenta, which produces and secretes the decapeptide from the very early stages of placentation. We hypothesized that GnRH may play a role in the preimplantation development of embryos. To examine this hypothesis, we assessed GnRH and GnRH receptor messenger RNA (mRNA; RT-PCR) and protein expression (Immunohistochemistry) in preimplantation murine embryos at various developmental stages. Furthermore, preimplantation murine embryos were cultured with GnRH agonist and antagonist in vitro to assess the influence of GnRH analogs on embryo development.…

Postnatal alterations of the inhibitory synaptic responses recorded from cortical pyramidal neurons in the Lis1/sLis1 mutant mouse

2006

Mutations in the mouse Lis1 gene produce severe alterations in the developing cortex. We have examined some electrophysiological responses of cortical pyramidal neurons during the early postnatal development of Lis/sLis1 mutant mice. In P7 and P30 Lis1/sLis1 neurons we detected a lower frequency and slower decay phase of mIPSCs, and at P30 the mIPSCs amplitude and the action potential duration were reduced. Zolpidem (an agonist of GABAA receptors containing the alpha1 subunit) neither modified the amplitude nor the decay time of mIPSCs at P7 in Lis1/sLis1 neurons, whereas it increased the decay time at P30. The levels of GABAA receptor alpha1 subunit mRNA were reduced in the Lis1/sLis1 brai…

Prevalence and genetic diversity of Aichi virus strains in stool samples from community and hospitalized patients.

2008

ABSTRACT Aichi virus has been proposed as a causative agent of gastroenteritis. A total of 457 stool specimens from children hospitalized with acute diarrhea and 566 stool specimens from adults and children involved in 110 gastroenteritis outbreaks were screened for the presence of Aichi virus by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) amplification of the genomic region of the 3C and 3D (3CD) nonstructural proteins. Our results show a low incidence of Aichi virus in pediatric samples and the existence of mixed infections with other microbiological agents in some cases. From the outbreak survey, it appears that the presence of Aichi virus is an indicator of mixed infections causing gastroenterit…

Change in expression of MGMT during maturation of human monocytes into dendritic cells.

2005

Dendritic cells (DCs) maturated from monocytes play an important role in the immune system, not only in defense against conventional infections but also in cancer rejection. Because of the central role of DCs in tumor host defense it is highly important that DCs as well as the progenitor cell population are protected during cancer therapy. Since most anticancer drugs target DNA, the DNA repair capacity is most importance for the response of DCs and their precursor cells. Here, we studied the expression of the DNA repair protein O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) in monocytes obtained from peripheral blood of healthy donors and DCs maturated from monocytes (moDCs). We show that MG…