Barry Behr — Page 2 | PubMed Health

PubMed2002

Follicle development in grafted mouse ovaries after cryopreservation and subcutaneous transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to determine the impact of freezing, thawing, and subcutaneous transplantation on follicular development in grafted mouse ovaries. STUDY DESIGN: The mice were divided into 3 groups: control (group 1), frozen-thawed grafting (group 2), and frozen-thawed grafting with human menopausal gonadotropin injection (group 3). After freezing and thawing, the ovaries were transplanted into the subcutaneous tissue. Two weeks after transplantation, grafted ovaries and blood samples were collected. RESULTS: Ovaries from group 3 contained significantly more follicles (246 +/- 43 follicles) than group 2(P <.05). The pattern and intensity of Cx37 immunohistochemical staining was similar in all groups. Follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations were significantly decreased in group 2 after ovarian grafting. CONCLUSION: In mice, gonadotropin treatment before subcutaneous grafting improved the survival of growing follicles. Subcutaneous ovarian transplantation may restore ovarian function and could obviate many of the problems that are related to ovarian banking for humans.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Phospholipase A(2) and cyclooxygenase gene expression in human preimplantation embryos.

Phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) and cyclooxygenase (COX) are two key enzymes in PG synthesis; the latter has two forms, COX-1 and COX-2. mRNA was extracted from single preimplantation embryos and examined for PLA(2), COX-1, and COX-2 gene expression by RT-PCR to investigate whether PLA(2) and COX genes are expressed in human preimplantation conceptuses from zygote to blastocyst stage and to compare COX-1 and COX-2 gene expression within the same stage of embryonic development. Expression of PLA(2), COX-1, and COX-2 was detected in 48, 37, and 45%, respectively, of total embryos examined. COX-1 was expressed in approximately 66% of early human preimplantation embryos from zygote to two-cell stage, whereas COX-2 was expressed in about 58% of later stage embryos from eight-cell to blastocyst stage (P < 0.05). Furthermore, COX-2 mRNA and protein were localized to trophectoderm in blastocyst stage embryos. In conclusion, PLA(2), COX-1, and COX-2 are expressed during early human embryonic development and may contribute to the production of PGs such as PGE(2) in human embryogenesis. COX-1 and COX-2 are differentially expressed, with COX-2 being primarily expressed by trophectoderm in late-stage human preimplantation embryos, which may promote embryonic differentiation and implantation.

Blastocyst↗