Reproduction Abstracts

The research in my laboratory is focused on defining the essential factors that regulate the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis in women and men. To investigate this axis, we have been using multiple in vitro and in vivo strategies. In particular, we have created over 60 knockout mouse models, have begun to study over a dozen conditional knockout mouse lines, and have produced several important recombinant growth factors and small molecules. In the...

Introduction: Exposure to an adverse environment around the time of conception can program adult onset disease although mechanisms involved are unclear. Recently we showed that periconceptional alcohol (PC:EtOH) consumption causes placental stress demonstrated by elevated levels of 11βHSD-2, and sex-specific increases in placental glucose transporters and glycogen accumulation. O-linked-N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT), an X-linked gene product, res...

Introduction: Mineral oil is widely used to culture embryos in biomedicine, agriculture, and embryo/stem cell research, yet is poorly defined with significant batch variation causing detrimental effects. The highly hydrophobic nature of this petroleum product attracts polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and other potentially harmful compounds. Industry requirements for screening oil utilize methods that lack the sensitivity necessary to avoid oil that is overtly embryotoxic...

In recent years, advances in molecular biology and reproductive engineering make generation of knockout (KO) animals possible. KO animals are useful and powerful tools for agriculture as well as biomedical research. Zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) and transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) genome editing technology enables site directed engineering of the genome. The aim of the present study was to ZFN and TALEN system could work on editing genome of cultured porcin...

Over the last 30 years concerns have risen about the potential for environmental chemicals to cause reproductive effects on wildlife via disruption of endocrine signaling pathways. There are now hundreds of chemicals known to disrupt the endocrine system and a wide range of examples of adverse effects on wildlife, including the feminisation of fish in UK rivers, egg shell thinning in birds, demasculinisation of reptiles and imposex in mollusks.The aquati...

Introduction: The zona pellucida (ZP) is an extracellular matrix that surrounds mammalian oocytes. Marsupial ZP has been considered formed by three proteins. However, the recent description of four glycoproteins (ZP1, ZP2, ZP3, and ZP4) in the ZP of some species of eutherian (rat, human, hamster, rabbit) suggests the need for a reanalysis of the ZP composition in marsupials.Material and methods: Complementary DNA was obtained from ovaries from one Austra...

Early embryo development is an exquisitely sensitive period of the developmental continuum, profoundly influencing neonatal and adult health. Maternal and paternal hyperglycaemia is associated with long-term health complications including increased risk of miscarriage, altered birth weight, and increased incidence of diabetes and metabolic syndrome in adult life. The mechanisms underlying this intergenerational transmission of disease remain unclear. New evidence has implicate...

Disruptions during epigenetic reprogramming in developing germ cells may result in the introduction of germline epimutations. These epimutations may cause aberrant gene expression in the developing germline and in the parent’s offspring. This project investigates the impacts of functionally depleting the essential epigenetic modifier polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) on germline formation and development in the next generation. To achieve this we are examining a mouse ...

Introduction: Peptide-YY (PYY) is a satiety hormone secreted by the colon. We have previously shown that PYY significantly increases in early lactation in rats, despite hyperphagia. Increased PYY may be associated with significantly increased gut growth by late lactation in dams with average-sized litters. Our aim was to determine whether feeding different litter sizes influences postpartum changes occurring during the maternal adaptation to lactation.Ma...

Exosomes are recognized as new mediators of intercellular cell signaling between neighboring cells and distant tissues, acting independently but synergistically with growth factors and hormones. Trophoblast and stromal cells of the villi were identified as a source of exosomal miRNAs released into the maternal circulation. In this study we hypothesized that miRNAs participating in the embryo–maternal dialog are released into the maternal blood stream during early pregnanc...