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Human newborns exposed in utero to maternally administered SSRIs such as fluoxetine (FX) have an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes including poor neonatal adaptation. This comprises respiratory difficulty, jitteriness, cyanosis when feeding and persists for several days after birth. Seve…
The distintegrin-like and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin repeats (ADAMTS) are members of a gene family of secreted, multidomain and multifunctional proteinases that are able to proteolytically degrade a diverse array of cellular, extracellular and extracellular matrix (ECM) substrates. We ex…
The gonadotropin - releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor is a plasma membrane associated receptor and a member of the GTP - binding protein coupled receptor family. The interaction of the ligand, GnRH, and the GnRH receptor is a critical event in the endocrine control of reproduction. This coupling sti…
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer in the Western world, but comparatively little is known about its development. Epithelial ovarian carcinomas are thought to originate in the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE), i.e. the mesothelium covering the ovary, but experimental evidence fo…
Activin A (homodimer of inhibin βA-subunit) is known to increase inhibin βB-subunit and inhibin B (heterodimer of inhibin α- and βB-subunit) levels and decrease progesterone accumulation in human granulosa cells. Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) is a potent paracrine regul…
It is increasingly apparent that GnRH-II acts as an autocrine/paracrine regulator in non-pituitary tissues, in addition to its role in the regulation of gonadotropin synthesis, and is an important player in cancer cell biology. High levels of GnRH-II and GnRHR in malignant ovarian tumors as compare…
The common epithelial ovarian tumors appear to arise from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE), which is a simple squamous-to-cuboidal meso^helium covering the ovary. The exact mechanism of ovarian tumorigenesis is not well known even though this disease is the most frequent cause of cancer death i…
There is increasing evidence to suggest that activin can function as an autocrine/paracrine regulator in various tissues, including the reproductive system. At the cellular level, activin acts via a family of activin receptor (ActR) subtypes which includes two type I (ActRI and ActRLB) and two type…
Light microscopy has remained the primary tool for the assessment of embryo quality and the selection of embryos for transfer in clinical IVF practice. Recent studies have suggested that metabolomic profiling of embryo culture media can distinguish human embryos with better implantation potential. …
These studies examined the effects of prostaglandin-F[sub 2a] (PGF[sub 2a]) on progesterone and 178-estradiol (estradiol) production, as well as DNA and PGF[sub 2a]-receptor (PGF[sub 2a]-R) mRNA levels, in the human granulosa-luteal cell (GLC). Additionally, the interactions of PGF[sub 2a] with hum…
Pre-eclampsia remains one of the most common causes of maternal mortality in the developed world, and we still have no known effective prophylaxis and proven modifiers. The recent successful clinical trial of recombinant human activated protein C (rhAPC) in the management of SIRS (systemic inflamma…
This thesis investigated the expression and regulation of cytochrome P450s, aromatase (P450arom) and cholesterol side chain cleavage (P450scc) enzyme mRNAs in human granulosa-luteal cells using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The two enzymes are instrumental in steroid hor…
It is well established that LH action is mediated primarily by adenylate cyclase/cAMP. Conversely, the role of inositol phosphate/calcium in LH signalling has only recently been investigated. We examined the effects of gonadotrophins on intracellular calcium mobilisation in HEK293 cells transiently…