HGCS

Tissue engineering advancements have made it possible to modify biomaterials to reconstruct a similar three-dimensional structure of the extracellular matrix (ECM) for follicle development and to supply the required biological signals. We postulated that an artificial polysaccharide hydrogel modified with an ECM mimetic peptide may produce efficient irritation signals by binding to specific integrins providing a suitable environment for follicular development and influencing the behavior of human granulosa cells (hGCs)...

Improving the quality standard system of herbal preparations (HPs) is an arduous task for the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). At present, an urgent task is to establish a comprehensive, scientific and effective evaluation method for improving the safety, effectiveness and quality consistency of HPs. In this study, Hu Gan capsules (HGCs) were used as an example. Firstly, the three quality markers (Q-markers) in 21 batches of HGCs from 4 manufacturers were determined by HPLC and great difference in content of each sample was found...

Background High-grade serous ovarian cancers (HGSCs) display a high degree of complex genetic alterations. In this study, we identified germline and somatic genetic alterations in HGSC and their association with relapse-free and overall survival. Using a targeted capture of 577 genes involved in DNA damage response and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways, we conducted next-generation sequencing of DNA from matched blood and tumor tissue from 71 HGSC participants. In addition, we performed the OncoScan assay on tumor DNA from 61 participants to examine somatic copy number alterations...

QNZ is a quinazoline-type NF-κB inhibitor and is one of the hot anti-inflammatory drug candidates in recent years. With its development and application, QNZ will inevitably enter the aquatic environment posing a threat to aquatic organisms. To investigate the potential toxicity of QNZ in the early life stages of the organism, this study exposed embryos of large-scale loach (Paramisgurnus dabryanus) to 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 nM of QNZ. The hatching of embryos was significantly inhibited and hatching time was delayed...

The present work aims to investigate the ultrastructural changes in the fat body of fifth instar nymphs Schistocerca gregaria (Orthoptera: Acrididae) treated with zinc chromium oxide (ZnCrO). The nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by co-precipitation route and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The ZnCrO NPs exhibited polycrystalline hexagonal structure, composed of spherical-hexagonal shapes with an average size ~ 25 nm...

miRNAs are critical for steroidogenesis in granulosa cells (GCs) during ovarian follicular development. We have previously shown that miR-202-5p displays a stage-dependent expression pattern in GCs from goose follicles of different sizes, suggesting that this miRNA could be involved in the regulation of the functions of goose GCs; therefore, in this study, the effects of miR-202-5p on lipid metabolism and steroidogenesis in goose hierarchical follicular GCs (hGCs), as well as its mechanisms of action, were evaluated...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), characterized by the androgen excess and arrest of antral follicles, is a common endocrine disorder among women lacking specific diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Herein, we studied the molecular mechanism of miR-96-5p in the process of PCOS and its potential applications in PCOS. Clinically, we found that miR-96-5p significantly decreased in serum, follicular fluid and primary human granulosa cells (hGCs) of PCOS patients (n = 70) vs non-PCOS women (n = 60), as well as in the ovaries of 3-types of induced PCOS-like mice...

Hereditary gastric cancers (HGCs) are supposed to be rare and difficult to identify. Nonetheless, many cases of young patients with gastric cancer (GC) fulfill the clinical criteria for considering this diagnosis but do not present the defined pathogenic mutations necessary to meet a formal diagnosis of HGC. Moreover, GC in young people is a challenging medical situation due to the usual aggressiveness of such cases and the potential risk for their relatives when related to a germline variant. Aiming to identify additional germline alterations that might contribute to the early onset of GC, a complete exome sequence of blood samples from 95 GC patients under 50 and 94 blood samples from non-cancer patients was performed and compared in this study...

FASN plays a critical role in lipid metabolism, which is involved in regulating ovarian follicular development. However, the molecular mechanisms of how FASN regulate the function of ovarian follicular cells still remain elusive. In this study, by overexpression or interference of FASN in pre-hierarchical follicle granulosa cells (phGCs) and hierarchical follicle granulosa cells (hGCs), we analyzed their effects on the granulosa cell transcriptome and metabolome profiles using RNA-Seq and LC-MS/MS, respectively...

The inflammasomes are a family of recently described multi-protein cytoplasmic sensors that orchestrate the inflammatory response and participate in a variety of inflammatory conditions. We hypothesized that the activation of pyrin domain‑containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome by granulosa cells (hGCs) may be activated in women with endometriosis and influence oocyte maturation and IVF outcomes. We performed a cross-sectional study to investigate the NLRP3 inflammasome status in follicular fluid (FF) and in hGCs from 44 women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation for IVF/ICSI...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Hepatoid gland neoplasms (HGNs) constitute one of the most common cutaneous tumors that arise from perianal glands in dogs and are clinically characterized by rapid growth. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), the inducible form of the enzyme, is associated with several hallmarks of tumorigenesis. Its expression has been confirmed in several human and animal neoplastic tissues, but there are no reports in hepatoid gland tissues. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate COX-2 immunoexpression in canine HGNs, compare the expression among groups of normal hepatoid glands, hepatoid gland adenomas (HGAs), hepatoid gland epitheliomas (HGEs), and hepatoid gland carcinomas (HGCs), and assess the association of the COX-2 expression with clinicopathological features...

INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Hourglass-like constrictions (HGCs) occur in neuralgic amyotrophy (NA), but the earliest time at which they can be recognized by imaging is poorly understood. We aimed to determine the prevalence of abnormal imaging findings in the acute phase of NA. METHODS: Magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) and high-resolution ultrasound (US) examinations were performed at five sites. The investigation included 39 patients with acute NA who underwent imaging within 31 days of symptom onset...

In non-mammalian vertebrates, the molecular mechanisms involved in the transformation of haploid germ cells (HGCs) into spermatozoa (spermiogenesis) are largely unknown. Here, we investigated this process in the marine teleost gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) through the examination of the changes in the transcriptome between cell-sorted HGCs and ejaculated sperm (SPZEJ ). Samples were collected under strict quality controls employing immunofluorescence microscopy as well as by determining the sperm motion kinematic parameters by computer-assisted sperm analysis...

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory state within the ovaries can disrupt normal follicular dynamics, leading to reduced oocyte quality and infertility. How the production of inflammatory mediators generated by macrophages with different gene expression profile (M1 and M2) might activate inflammatory pathways, such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-, 12-, and 15-lipoxygenase (LOX), in human granulosa cells (hGCs) remains unclear. METHODS: In this study, we evaluated how M1 and M2 macrophages found in the ovaries affect the functions of hGCs isolated from women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) and human ovarian granulosa COV434 cells...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder of unknown etiology that occurs in women of reproductive age. Despite being considered to affect up to one-fifth of women in this cohort, the condition lacks generally accepted diagnostic biomarkers and options for targeted therapy. Hereby, we analyzed the diagnostic, therapeutic, and functional potential of a recently discovered miR-335-5p that was observed to be reduced in the follicular fluid (FF) of PCOS patients as compared with healthy women...

BACKGROUND: Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a refractory disease that seriously affects the reproductive health of women and is increasing in incidence and prevalence globally. There is enormous demand to improve fertility in women with POI, while there is still lack of effective therapeutic methods in clinic. Cell-free fat extract (CEFFE) has been reported to contain thousands of active proteins which possess the ability to promote tissue repair in other diseases. In our study, we aimed to observe the efficacy and biosecurity of CEFFE on the repair of ovarian function and fertility of mice with POI and further explore the underlying mechanism...

PURPOSE: Development of new strategies for oral delivery of existing antibiotics administered exclusively through intravenous route is one of the global priorities of pharmaceutical research. The encapsulation of these active pharmaceutical agents within nanosized natural products offers several traits due to their tunable surface properties. Ceftriaxone (CTX) is an injectable, third-generation cephalosporin that suffers poor oral bioavailability. METHODS: In the present study, ionic gelation of two biopolymers, namely chitosan (CH) and shellac (SH), was implemented to consolidate CTX, within elegant nanoparticles (NPs) for oral administration that would increase its bioavailability and sustainability...

Three-dimensional (3D) culture systems that provide a more physiologically similar environment than conventional two-dimensional (2D) cultures have been extensively developed. Previously we have provided a facile method for the formation of 3D spheroids using non-adhesive N-hexanoyl glycol chitosan (HGC) hydrogel-coated dishes, but with limitations such as low gel stability and weak mechanical properties. In this study, chemically crosslinked hydrogels were prepared by photocrosslinking of methacrylated HGCs (M-HGCs), and their spheroid-forming abilities were evaluated for long-term 3D cell cultures...

Understanding the causes of range expansions in abundant species can help predict future species distributions. During range expansions, animals are exposed to novel environments and are required to cope with new and unpredictable stressors. Glucocorticoids (GCs) are mediators of the hormonal and behavioural mechanisms allowing animals to cope with unpredictable changes in the environment and are therefore expected to differ between populations at expansion edge and the historic range. However, to date, very few studies have evaluated the relationship between GCs and range expansion...

Deregulated full-length anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) overexpression has been found in some primary solid tumors, but little is known about its role in ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). The current study focused on the functional roles of ALK in HGSC. Cytoplasmic ALK immunoreactivity without chromosomal rearrangement and gene mutations was significantly higher in HGSC compared with non-HGSC-type ovarian carcinomas, and was significantly associated with several unfavorable clinicopathologic factors and poor prognosis...