Decreased expression of Syndecan- 1 (CD138) in the endometrium of adenomyosis patients suggests a potential pathogenetic role.

Introduction: Adenomyosis is a special subtype of endometriosis, affecting the myometrium, affecting about 20% of women in the reproductive age period. Clinical symptoms and intensity are diverse and can vary from heavy menstrual bleeding and dysmenorrhea to infertility and repeated pregnancy losses. Thus, patients often present with a long history of illness pending presumptive clinical or surgical diagnosis.

The indication for fertility preservation in women with Turner syndrome should not only be based on the ovarian reserve but also on the genotype and expected future health status.

Fertility preservation in women with Turner syndrome is highly controversial. Some strongly recommend freezing of ovarian tissue at a young age, others do not. The controversy is partly due to different perspectives and professions.

FSHB -211 G>T Polymorphism as Predictor for TESE Success in Patients With Unexplained Azoospermia.

Context: Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) followed by assisted reproductive techniques often remains the only therapeutic option for men with azoospermia due to spermatogenic failure. Reproductive parameters, such as gonadotropin levels and testicular volume or histopathology, contribute to the prediction of sperm retrieval rate (SRR) in TESE. However, there is an eminent lack of noninvasive predictive factors for TESE outcome.

The endometrial stem cell markers notch-1 and numb are associated with endometriosis.

Previous studies reported increased expression of the notch pathway-associated protein Musashi-1 in endometriosis. This case-control study investigates an association of the endometrial stem cell markers notch-1 and numb with endometriosis. Fifty-one endometriosis patients and 76 controls were recruited in the IVF unit and tertiary endometriosis referral centre of a university hospital.

The Simultaneous measurement of serum testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Background: Simultaneous measurement of testosterone (T) and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is important for diagnosing androgen deficiency states and hyperandrogenism in males and females, respectively. However, immunoassays used for T and DHT determination suffer from inadequate specificity and sensitivity, while tandem mass spectrometry is expensive and demanding in use.

Methods And Results: We developed a selective gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for parallel T and DHT measurement.

Syndecan-4 expression is upregulated in endometriosis and contributes to an invasive phenotype.

Objective: To study the expression and function of syndecan-4 in endometriosis.

Design: Histopathological investigation of eutopic endometrium and experimental laboratory study on a cell line derived from epithelial endometriotic cells (12Z).

Setting: University hospital laboratory.

microRNA miR-200b affects proliferation, invasiveness and stemness of endometriotic cells by targeting ZEB1, ZEB2 and KLF4.

Endometriosis is characterized by growth of endometrial tissue at ectopic locations. Down-regulation of microRNA miR-200b is observed in endometriosis and malignant disease, driving tumour cells towards an invasive state by enhancing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). miR-200b up-regulation may inhibit EMT and invasive growth in endometriosis.

Establishing reference intervals for sex hormones on the analytical platforms Advia Centaur and Immulite 2000XP.

Reliable reference intervals for sex hormones are indispensable in evaluations of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis. This study established reference intervals for estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and prolactin with the immunoassay platforms Advia Centaur and Immulite 2000XP (Siemens Healthcare, Germany). We recruited healthy men (n=220), women in the follicular (n=139) or luteal (n=87) phases of the menstrual cycle, and postmenopausal women (n=103).

Head-To-Head Assessment of Diagnostic Performance of Testosterone Immunoassays in Patients With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Background: Determination of plasma testosterone is critical for the proper diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but the interpretation of biochemical tests is hampered by inadequate specificity and precision of available immunoassays. We here compared the diagnostic performance of three testosterone immunoassays (Advia Centaur, Immulite 2000 XPi, Cobas e411) in PCOS patients using receiver operator characteristics curve analysis.

Methods And Results: Plasma levels of testosterone, androstendione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, estradiol, progesterone, steroid hormone binding globulin, luteinizing hormone, and follicular stimulating hormone were determined in 188 patients with PCOS and 202 controls.

Fertility-preservation counselling and treatment for medical reasons: data from a multinational network of over 5000 women.

Fertility-preservation techniques for medical reasons are increasingly offered in national networks. Knowledge of the characteristics of counselled patients and techniques used are essential. The FertiPROTEKT network registry was analysed between 2007 and 2013, and included up to 85 university and non-university centres in Germany, Austria and Switzerland; 5159 women were counselled and 4060 women underwent fertility preservation.

Xenotransplantation of cryopreserved human ovarian tissue--a systematic review of MII oocyte maturation and discussion of it as a realistic option for restoring fertility after cancer treatment.

Objective: To systematically review the reporting of MII (MII) oocyte development after xenotransplantation of human ovarian tissue.

Design: Systematic review in accordance with the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA).

Setting: Not applicable.

MicroRNA miR-145 inhibits proliferation, invasiveness, and stem cell phenotype of an in vitro endometriosis model by targeting multiple cytoskeletal elements and pluripotency factors.

Objective: To study the function of miR-145, known to be dysregulated in endometriosis, and to identify its target genes in an in vitro endometriosis model.

Design: Experimental laboratory study.

Setting: University medical centers.

Targeting of syndecan-1 by micro-ribonucleic acid miR-10b modulates invasiveness of endometriotic cells via dysregulation of the proteolytic milieu and interleukin-6 secretion.

Objective: To study the function of syndecan-1 (SDC1) and its potential regulator miR-10b in endometriosis.

Design: Experimental laboratory study.

Setting: University medical center.

Effects of the FSH-β-subunit promoter polymorphism -211G->T on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis in normally cycling women indicate a gender-specific regulation of gonadotropin secretion.

Context: A polymorphism in the FSHB promoter (-211G→T, rs10835638) was found to be associated with decreased FSH, elevated LH, reduced testosterone, and oligozoospermia in males. Although FSH is pivotal for ovarian function, no data on consequences of FSHB -211G→T are available in females.

Objective: We studied the effects of FSHB -211G→T on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis in women.

Effects of the FSH receptor gene polymorphism p.N680S on cAMP and steroid production in cultured primary human granulosa cells.

The study was designed to evaluate in vitro the cellular mechanisms of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) p.N680S of the FSH receptor gene (FSHR) in human granulosa cells (GC) and included patients homozygous for the FSHR SNP (NN/SS) undergoing ovarian stimulation. GC were isolated during oocyte retrieval and cultured for 1–7 days.

Characterization of endometrial mesenchymal stem-like cells obtained by endometrial biopsy during routine diagnostics.

Endometrial cell clones derived from in vitro cultured purified stromal cells obtained by endometrial biopsy display characteristic stem cell features, including clonality; long-term culturing properties; multilineage differentiation potential; expression of CD146, CD105, CD90, CD73, MSI1, NOTCH1, and SOX2; and absence of CD34 and CD14 expression. We conclude that adult stem cells are present in endometrial biopsies performed in a routine clinical setting, offering new large-scale approaches for future research, diagnostics, and therapies involving adult stem cells.

Aberrant expression of the pluripotency marker SOX-2 in endometriosis.

Expression of the pluripotency factors SOX-2, OCT-4, KLF-4, and NANOG was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence microscopy in the endometrium, myometrium, and endometriotic tissue of 36 patients. Aberrant expression of SOX-2 may indicate a stem cell origin of endometriosis, whereas the presence of all progenitor markers in endometrial tissue marks the endometrium as a potential source for induced pluripotent stem cell generation.

Perioperative complications in conventional and microsurgical abdominal myomectomy.

Purpose: It has become evident that laparoscopic myomectomy is limited by size, number and location of fibroids. Myomectomy performed by laparotomy can be technically challenging and the surgical benefits have to be weighed against associated risks and impairing fertile potential, especially in multiple and large fibroids that may be positioned close to the cavity. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of microsurgical myomectomy technique on perioperative morbidity in premenopausal women.

Role of syndecan-3 polymorphisms in obesity and female hyperandrogenism.

The heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-3 (SDC3) is a novel regulator of feeding behavior and body weight. Recently, an association of SDC3 polymorphisms with obesity has been observed in Koreans. As female obesity is associated with hyperandrogenism and infertility, we studied the role of SDC3 polymorphisms in female individuals undergoing diagnostics prior to infertility treatment.

Androgens and insulin--two key players in polycystic ovary syndrome. Recent concepts in the pathophysiology and genetics of polycystic ovary syndrome.

Androgens and insulin are endocrine key players in the pathophysiology of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a heterogenic condition of unexplained etiology and a suspected genetic background. Androgens mediate the clinical phenotype of the disease. Therefore,all criteria of the recent PCOS consensus definition are based on their biological effects.

Clinical, endocrinological, and epigenetic features of the 46,XX male syndrome, compared with 47,XXY Klinefelter patients.

Context: The 46,XX male syndrome represents a rare, poorly characterized form of male hypogonadism.

Objective: The objective of the study was to distinguish the 46,XX male syndrome from the more frequent 47,XXY-Klinefelter syndrome in regard to clinical, hormonal, and epigenetic features.

Design: This was a case-control study.

Elevated follicle-stimulating hormone levels and the chances for azoospermic men to become fathers after retrieval of elongated spermatids from cryopreserved testicular tissue.

Objective: To assess individual chances for a live-born child in azoospermic men by performance of testicular sperm extraction (TESE) followed by intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI).

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Setting: An academic fertility care center and research unit.

Metformin alters insulin signaling and viability of human granulosa cells.

Objective: To study whether insulin signaling pathways in the ovary are altered by metformin.

Design: In vitro human granulosa cell culture system.

Setting: Academic research environment.