Clinical and neonatal outcomes of complete zona pellucida removal by laser-assisted hatching after single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer.

Laser-assisted hatching (LAH) is a widely used and unavoidable technique in assisted reproductive technology after frozen embryo transfer (FET). We aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of completely ZP (zona pellucida) removed by an assisted laser group compared to an intact group after FET. This retrospective study involved 320 SVBT  single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfers of 213 patients who underwent clomiphene citrate (CC) based minimal stimulation protocol.

The trophectoderm could be better predictable parameter than inner cellular mass (ICM) for live birth rate and gender imbalance.

Selection of best blastocyst is crucial in single blastocyst transfer cycles, which is based on blastocyst morphological parameters such as inner cell mass (ICM), trophectoderm (TE) and its inner diameter. We aimed to study relation between morphological parameter and sex ratio after single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer (SVBT). Current study based on data of single-center and performed by retrospective analysis of 1563 SVBT (911 patients) with minimal stimulation on 5th and 6th days.

Developmental changes in the responsiveness of hypothalamic ER alpha mRNA levels to food deprivation.

Objective: Estrogen plays an important role in feeding and energy balance, and the critical role of estrogen in the control of appetite and energy balance is mediated by hypothalamic estrogen receptor (ER) alpha. In undernourished rodents, hypothalamic ER alpha mRNA expression are decreased. Responses of some hypothalamic factors to negative energy balance develop during the early neonatal period.

Changes in central and peripheral inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide in ovariectomized female rats.

Obesity leads to increases in inflammatory responses in a site-specific manner. Ovariectomized animals, usually used as menopause models, exhibit obesity; however, their inflammatory responses have not been fully examined. In the present study, we investigated whether ovariectomy had site-specific effects on inflammatory responses.

Prepubertal exposure to glucocorticoid delays puberty independent of the hypothalamic Kiss1-GnRH system in female rats.

Secretion of glucocorticoids is widely known as a key endocrine response to stresses. Prenatal dexamethasone administration induces intrauterine growth retardation and delayed onset of puberty in female rats independent of the hypothalamic Kiss1-gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of chronic intracerebroventricular (central, CD) or subcutaneous (peripheral, PD) dexamethasone administration to prepubertal female rats on the onset of puberty and body weight change.

Delay in the onset of puberty of intrauterine growth retarded female rats cannot be rescued with hypernutrition after birth.

Perinatal undernutrition is known to disturb reproductive development, in particular by delaying the onset of puberty in certain species. Using a rat model, we studied whether hypernutrition after birth can rescue the delayed onset of puberty in intrauterine undernourished female rats. Pregnant rats were divided into two groups: the maternal normal nutrition (mNN, n = 8) and maternal undernutrition (mUN, n = 9) groups.

Effects of lipopolysaccharide exposure at different postnatal time points on the response of LH to homotypic stress in adulthood.

Early-life immune stress may have long-lasting effects, known as programming effects, on the physiological response to stress in adulthood. There may be a critical window after birth during which such a challenge can induce long-lasting alterations. However, there are few reports regarding the consequences of this phenomenon for later reproductive function.

Developmental changes in the mammalian gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) ortholog RFamide-related peptide (RFRP) and its cognate receptor GPR147 in the rat hypothalamus.

The mammalian gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) ortholog RFamide-related peptide (RFRP) is considered to act on gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons and on the pituitary to inhibit gonadotropin release and synthesis. To understand the functional significance of this neuropeptide, we investigated the physiological changes in RFRP at mRNA and peptide levels, as well as at the mRNA level of its cognate receptor, G protein-coupled receptor 147 (GPR147), in the rat hypothalamus during development. We also investigated the effects of gonadal steroids on mRNA expression levels of these molecules.

Fasting reduces the kiss1 mRNA levels in the caudal hypothalamus of gonadally intact adult female rats.

Kisspeptin, which is the product of the kiss1 gene and its receptor kiss1r, have emerged as the essential gatekeepers of reproduction. The present study used gonadally intact female rats to evaluate fasting-induced suppression of the KiSS-1 system of anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV) and arcuate nucleus (ARC) under normal physiological conditions. Starting on the day of estrous, one group of rats was subjected to 72 h of food deprivation, while the other group of rats was able to continue feeding ad libitum.

Effect of immune stress on body weight regulation is altered by ovariectomy in female rats.

It has been suggested that obesity and loss of ovarian function alter the inflammatory response to immune stress. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats, which are used as a model of human menopause, exhibit both hyperphagia-induced obesity and gonadal steroid deficiency. To evaluate the effects of ovariectomy on inflammatory responses, we compared the anorectic response to LPS in OVX rats and gonad intact female rats.

Changes in responsiveness of appetite, leptin and hypothalamic IL-1β and TNF-α to lipopolysaccharide in developing rats.

In addition to its role as a regulator of energy homeostasis, leptin plays a pivotal role in some immune/inflammatory responses. Synthesis and secretion of leptin are increased under immune stress conditions, and increased leptin may participate in the development of anorexia and fever. These actions are partially mediated by up-regulation of hypothalamic IL-1β.

Changes in the responsiveness of serum leptin and hypothalamic neuropeptide Y mRNA levels to food deprivation in developing rats.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an important orexigenic peptide that acts in the brain. The increase in hypothalamic NPY mRNA expression induced by fasting is mainly caused by a decrease in the effects of leptin. We investigated the developmental changes in the sensitivities of leptin and hypothalamic neuropeptide Y to fasting.

Delayed puberty in prenatally glucocorticoid administered female rats occurs independently of the hypothalamic Kiss1-Kiss1r-GnRH system.

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is an important risk factor for the pathogenesis of diseases after birth. Long-lasting alterations in the structure and function of tissues and the neuroendocrine system, which are known as 'programming effects', increase the risks of these diseases. To investigate the pathophysiology of programming effects, several kinds of IUGR rodent models have been used in experiments.

Sensitivities of mRNA expression levels of Kiss1 and its receptor, Kiss1r, to nutritional status are changed during the developmental period in female rats.

Decreased activity of kisspeptin, the product of the hypothalamic Kiss1 gene, is the major cause of the suppression of reproductive function in subnutritional conditions. The sensitivities of the endocrine and the hypothalamic neuronal systems to nutritional status develop during the neonatal period. We examined the developmental changes in the sensitivity of hypothalamic mRNA expression of Kiss1 and its receptor, Kiss1r, to nutritional status in female rats.