Endocrine Abstracts

Mild symptoms of pre-eclampsia (PE) include hypertension and proteinuria, but more severe cases develop cerebrovascular accident, liver capsule distention, platelet pathology, pulmonary oedema and renal failure. As we have recently reported neurokinin B (NKB) levels to be significantly raised in the plasma of women with PE, the aim of this study is to establish the pathological role of NKB in this disease.NKB acts predominantly through the NK3 receptor, ...

There is evidence that the 'large offspring syndrome' of in-vitro produced ruminant fetuses results from altered expression of imprinted genes which regulate fetal growth. DNA was isolated from tissue samples which were obtained at a public slaughterhouse, and a new length polymorphism was identified in the 3`UTR of the bovine IGF2-gene. This polymorphism was used to identify heterozygous animals and to characterize IGF2-imprinting in normal fetal and adult bovine tissues. Tot...

The role of prolactin in the regulation of ovarian folliculogenesis and in particular it's relationship to follicular atresia is as yet unclear; although a decline in prolactin concentrations in bovine follicular fluid appears to be related to morphological signs of atresia. In addition to the pituitary and endometrium sources of prolactin, there is also a local ovarian source of prolactin. Hence a potential autocrine mechanism of prolactin action may exist in the ovary. We in...

Ligands have different binding affinities for mammalian and non-mammalian GnRH receptors. We have investigated whether this is due to differences in ligand contact sites and/or configuration of the receptors.The majority of residues that are contact sites in the mammalian receptor are conserved across species and are located in the extracellular loops (ECL's). The different binding affinities of ligands to non-mammalian receptors may be due to different ...

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) supply precursors for prostaglandin (PG) synthesis and PGs in turn influence many aspects of reproduction. We have previously demonstrated that supplementation of the diet of dairy cows with the n-6 PUFA [linoleic acid (LA)] significantly inhibited uterine PG production. In this study we have investigated the effects of various n-6 PUFAs in vitro on PG production by ovine endometrial cells.Endometrial tissue was...

Numerous investigations have shown that FSH can induce aromatase in granulosa cells obtained from natural ovarian cycles. In contrast granulosa luteal (GL) cells obtained from patients undergoing procedures for IVF are generally insensitive to FSH-induction of aromatase. A few studies, however, have reported that GL cells can be sensitized to this gonadotrophin. In these experiments we compared the conversion of various steroid substrates - namely pregnenolone and androstenedi...

PGE2 stimulates progesterone synthesis in the primate corpus luteum, apparently via cAMP. Human GL cells express functional EP1 and EP2 receptors via which PGE2 elevates the intracellular calcium and cAMP concentrations respectively (Harris et al, 2001, BBRC 285:1089). In the present study, we have determined the involvement of EP1 and EP2 receptors in the stimulation of cAMP accumulation and progesterone synthesis in these human ovarian cel...

PREGNANCY OUTCOMES IN POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROMEGarg S1,2, Brady J1, Ivison F2, Sief MW1 and Laing I2.Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Manchester University, at St Mary's Hospital1, and Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Manchester Royal Infirmary M13 9WL2.To evaluate pregnancy outcomes in women with PCOS we studied a single pregnancy in 46 women with PCOS using 46 controls matched for maternal age,...