Experimentally induced gestational androgen excess disrupts glucoregulation in rhesus monkey dams and their female offspring.

Discrete fetal androgen excess during early gestation in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) promotes endocrine antecedents of adult polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-like traits in female offspring. Because developmental changes promoting such PCOS-like metabolic dysfunction remain unclear, the present study examined time-mated, gravid rhesus monkeys with female fetuses, of which nine gravid females received 15 mg of testosterone propionate (TP) subcutaneously daily from 40 to 80 days (first to second trimesters) of gestation [term, mean (range): 165 (155-175) days], whereas an additional six such females received oil vehicle injections over the same time interval. During gestation, ultrasonography quantified fetal growth measures and was used as an adjunct for fetal blood collections.

Endocrine antecedents of polycystic ovary syndrome in fetal and infant prenatally androgenized female rhesus monkeys.

Experimentally induced fetal androgen excess induces polycystic ovary syndrome-like traits in adult female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Developmental changes leading to this endocrinopathy are not known. We therefore studied 15 time-mated, gravid female rhesus monkeys with known female fetuses.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone II stimulates female sexual behavior in marmoset monkeys.

GnRH II (pGlu-His-Trp-Ser-Try-Gly-Leu-Arg-Pro-GlyNH2), an evolutionarily conserved member of the GnRH family, stimulates reproductive behavior in a number of vertebrates. To explore a role for GnRH II in regulating primate sexual behavior, eight adult female common marmosets, each fitted with an indwelling intracerebroventricular (icv) cannula, were ovariectomized, implanted subcutaneously with empty (n = 4) or estradiol-filled (n = 4) SILASTIC brand capsules, and pair housed with an adult male mate. After icv infusion of vehicle or peptides, females were placed in an observation cage for 90 min, out of visual contact with other marmosets, before the 30-min behavioral test with their male partner.

Nonhuman primates contribute unique understanding to anovulatory infertility in women.

Anovulatory infertility affects a large proportion of reproductive-aged women. Major improvements in successful clinical treatment of this prevalent disorder in women's health have been made possible because of biomedical research employing nonhuman primates. Experiments on female rhesus monkeys were the first to demonstrate that the key hypothalamic neurotransmitter, gonadotropin-releasing hormone, involved in stimulating pituitary gonadotropin synthesis, storage, and release was bioactive only when released in approximately hourly bursts.

Aspects of common marmoset basic biology and life history important for biomedical research.

While common marmosets are increasingly used as alternative primate models in biomedical research, their life history, specialized behavior and unique physiology are not well known. This paper describes important marmoset attributes that are particularly relevant for biomedical research, including reproduction, neurobiology, immunology, endocrine signaling, obesity and aging, in addition to fetal and postnatal development. While common marmosets exhibit characteristic anthropoid primate traits, they clearly differ from Old World primates and humans in a variety of functions, including reproduction, endocrine signaling and immunology.

Reproductive adaptations to a large-brained fetus open a vulnerability to anovulation similar to polycystic ovary syndrome.

During the ovarian or menstrual cycle, prior to ovulation, many female primates exhibit a relatively prolonged follicular phase and terminate the postovulatory luteal phase with menstrual bleeding. The prolonged follicular phase is a trait that distinguishes primate from nonprimate species. It enables extended estrogen-induced proliferation and growth of the uterine endometrium prior to progesterone-induced maturation during the luteal phase to accommodate a potential pregnancy with a rapidly invading placenta.