Race and genetics versus 'race' in genetics: A systematic review of the use of African ancestry in genetic studies.

Social scientists have long understood race to be a social category invented to justify slavery and evolutionary biologists know the socially constructed racial categories do not align with our biological understanding of genetic variation. The completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 confirmed humans are 99.9% identical at the DNA level and there is no genetic basis for race.

Corrigendum to: "Race and genetics vs. 'race' in genetics: A systematic review of the use of African ancestry in genetic studies".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/emph/eoab018.].

Antenatal and intrapartum risk factors for neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

Objective: To identify antenatal and intrapartum risk factors for neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

Study Design: A single center, retrospective cohort study was conducted for 25,494 singleton births ≥36 weeks' gestation born between 2009 and 2016. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors for HIE.

Strategies for Recruitment of Healthy Premenopausal Women into the African American Nutrition for Life (A NULIFE) Study.

Background: Although African American women have an overall lower incidence of breast cancer, African American women <40 years of age are more likely than Caucasian women of all ages and postmenopausal African American women to be diagnosed with breast cancer and exhibit tumor characteristics associated with poorer survival. To begin to address this disparity, studies must be conducted to examine breast cancer preventive factors in this subpopulation of women. However, the strategies needed to recruit younger African American women have not been well defined.

Nucleotide sequence analyses predict that human pituitary and human placental gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors have identical primary structures.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) interacts with a putative receptor in human placenta to cause the dose-dependent release of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in a manner analogous to hypothalamic GnRH stimulation of luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) by the pituitary gland. However, GnRH agonists bind a placental binding site at a lower affinity than they bind the pituitary GnRH receptor, suggesting the two sites differ. To address this issue, human placental GnRH receptor mRNA from an 8-wk placental sample was amplified using primers based on the sequence of the human pituitary receptor, cloned, and sequenced.

Placental progonadotropin-releasing hormone (pro-GnRH) in the rhesus monkey.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) has been shown to play a role in the regulation of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) secretion by the human placenta. Molecular studies have demonstrated that human placental trophoblast cells synthesize a progonadotropin-releasing hormone (pro-GnRH) identical to its human hypothalamic counterpart. However, far less is known about nonhuman primates.

Localization of epidermal growth factor receptors in first- and third-trimester human placentas.

Studies to date have demonstrated epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors primarily on the outer plasma membrane of the human placental syncytiotrophoblasts facing maternal blood and to a lesser extent on the cytotrophoblast stem cells. In the present studies, first- and third-trimester human placental tissues were immunostained with monoclonal antibodies (MAb) to the EGF binding domain of the human EGF receptor or to the activated (tyrosine-phosphorylated) human EGF receptor. Cytotrophoblasts, syncytiotrophoblasts, and fetal connective tissue cells in first-trimester tissues immunostained with both MAb, with the notable exception of the absence of staining of activated EGF receptor over cytotrophoblast plasma membranes.

In situ demonstration and characterization of progonadotropin-releasing hormone messenger ribonucleic acid in first trimester human placentas.

GnRH has been shown to play a role in the regulation of secretion of hCG by human placenta. Immunocytochemical studies have demonstrated the presence of the peptide, but do not address whether the GnRH is maternal, fetal, or placental in origin. In situ hybridization studies using a biotinylated pro-GnRH cDNA were, therefore, undertaken to determine the distribution of pro-GnRH mRNA in first trimester placental samples.

Ontogeny of the epidermal growth factor receptor during development of the fetal bovine mesonephros and associated organs of the urogenital tract.

A primary cell culture system was developed to study the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor in the fetal bovine mesonephros and its urogenital derivatives. Radioreceptor assays demonstrated EGF binding as early as Day 37 in mesonephric cells and in cells derived from the fetal reproductive ducts, gonads, and metanephros--all mesonephric derivatives. Immunocytochemical studies revealed that EGF receptors were localized in the ductal and tubular epithelium of these urogenital organs.

Estrogen receptors, estradiol, and diethylstilbestrol in early development: the mouse as a model for the study of estrogen receptors and estrogen sensitivity in embryonic development of male and female reproductive tracts.

To date, there is no conclusive evidence that ERs are present in preimplantation embryos. There are reports that estrogen is made by the rabbit blastocyst (61), and estrogens have been used to induce implantation in mice (62), but whether estrogens act through ERs in the embryo or in the maternal uterus is not known. ERs may be present in early embryos, but if so, levels are below the methods of detection used thus far.

Immunodetection of estrogen receptors in fetal and neonatal male mouse reproductive tracts.

Immunodetection methods were used to detect estrogen receptors (ER) in male reproductive tracts on fetal days 13, 15, and 17 and on the day of birth. Immunocytochemistry revealed that most of the cells of the gonad and associated Wolffian duct stained for ER on fetal day 13. During the next 6 days, ER distribution changed, and by the day of birth, ERs were observed only in epithelial cells of the epididymis (derived from the Wolffian duct) and in a portion of cells from the testis.

Expression of prolactin-related hormones in the early bovine conceptus, and potential for paracrine effect on the endometrium.

Hormones related to the pituitary hormones PRL and GH are produced by the utero-placental unit of many species. In the cow, these include bovine placental lactogen (bPL) and a distantly related subfamily including the protein encoded by bovine PRL-related complementary DNA I (bPRCI). In the present studies, we defined the onset of expression of these genes in order to begin to study the regulation of their expression and function before implantation.

Immunodetection of estrogen receptors in fetal and neonatal female mouse reproductive tracts.

An immunocytochemical assay for estrogen receptor (ER) was used to study the distribution of receptor in fetal and immature female mouse reproductive tracts. Immunoblots confirmed that a single band, the size of the ER, immunostained in extracts from day 15 and 17 fetal reproductive tracts. Staining was observed over nuclei of epithelial cells of the Mullerian duct and over nuclei of cells of the developing connective tissue (mesenchymal cells) of the reproductive tract on fetal day 15.

In situ localization of two prolactin-related messenger ribonucleic acids to binucleate cells of bovine placentomes.

The bovine fetal placenta expresses a family of PRL-related genes, consisting of the gene encoding bovine placental lactogen (bPL), and a diverse group of related genes, exemplified by bovine PRL-related cDNA I (bPRCI). bPL and the protein encoded by bPRCI are quite distinct from one another, predicting proteins only about 36% similar in amino acid sequence. To identify the cells responsible for the expression of bPL and bPRCI, in situ hybridization experiments were performed.

Isolation and characterization of multiple forms of bovine placental lactogen from secretory granules of the fetal cotyledon.

Previous work has shown that, unlike other species, placental lactogen (PL) in the bovine (bPL) has a mol wt of approximately 32,000 and exists in several different forms with different isoelectric points. This study was carried out to develop a more rapid purification scheme, whereby the yield of bPL obtained was increased while at the same time the possibility of artifacts from a prolonged purification protocol was decreased. A procedure was developed in which a fraction enriched in bPL-containing granules was obtained after gentle disruption of the binucleate cells of the fetal cotyledon.

Immunohistochemical localization of placental lactogen in binucleate cells of bovine placentomes.

Bovine placental lactogen (bPL) has been isolated from bovine trophoblast and characterized as a 32 K mol wt protein which exists in three different forms which differ in their isoelectric point values and their amino acid compositions. Two of the three forms have been shown to have both bovine GH (bGH)- and bovine PRL (bPRL)-like activities equal on a molar basis to bGH and BPRL in radioreceptor assays. It has been postulated that, in sheep, PL is delivered to the maternal circulation by the migration of fetal binucleate cells from the trophoblast across the fetal-maternal boundary into the uterine epithelium.

Immunocytochemical localization of protein antigens in large sections of tissues embedded in water-soluble embedding media.

JB4 and Immunobed are water-soluble embedding media used for embedding large blocks of tissue. Immunobed was specifically designed for immunocytochemistry because ethanol extraction of an additive in the monomer of the resin is reported to render tissue sections permeable to immunoglobulins. We have modified the manufacturer's protocol to accomplish localization of two protein antigens in tissues embedded in either JB4 or Immunobed.

Immunocytochemistry of prolactin-producing human pituitary adenomas.

Among 92 surgically removed pituitary adenomas immunostained for prolactin and growth hormone, 70 showed positive staining for prolactin. The majority of these (54) was associated with hyperprolactinemia leading to amenorrhea (and often galactorrhea) in women of reproductive age. Similar tumors, asymptomatic or conducive to disturbances of sexual function, were found in six hyperprolactinemic men.

Uptake, localization, and retention of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs in rat gonadotrophs.

Uptake and retention of GnRH by pituitary was compared to that of GnRH-ethylamide (GnRH-EA) and D-Ala6-GnRH-ethylamide (D-Ala6-GnRH-EA) to determine if differences in these parameters might partially account for the increased biopotency of these superactive analogs. Ovariectomized estrogen/progesterone-treated rats were given an intracarotid injection of either 125I-labeled GnRH, -GnRH-EA, or -D-Ala6-GnRH-EA. Maximum uptake occurred at 2 min for GnRH (8000 cpm/pit), 5 min for GnRH-EA (10 000 cpm/pit), and 45 min for D-Ala6-GnRH-EA (24 000 cpm/pit).

Ultrastructural-immunocytochemical localization of growth hormone and prolactin in human pituitaries.

Immunocytochemical staining using the unlabeled antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase method was undertaken to localize and characterize in ultrathin sections of human pituitaries the cells responsible for the secretion of GH and PRL. Somatotrophs in seven pituitaries stained with human (h) PRL-absorbed antiserum to hGH, were abundant, round to ovoid, densely granulated cells, whose mean (+/-SD) granule diameter was 368 +/- 60 nm. Lactotrophs immunostained with antiserum to hPRL were less numerous, angular or branching cells, with fewer round to ovoid granules, the mean diameter (+/-SD) of which was 185 +/- 35 nm in six pituitaries.

Pathogenesis of prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas.

42 women with amenorrhoea and hyperprolactinaemia had trans-sphenoidal surgery and resection of histologically verified pituitary adenomas. 74% of these patients developed amenorrhoea and/or galactorrhoea in immediate association with the use or discontinuation of oral contraceptives or post partum. There was enough adenomatous tissue for immunocytochemical studies in 35 specimens and specific localisation of prolactin was possible in 31.