Control of source fertility on the eruptive activity of Piton de la Fournaise volcano, La Réunion.

The eruptive activity of basaltic hotspot volcanoes displays major fluctuations on times scales of years to decades. Theses fluctuations are thought to reflect changes in the rate of mantle melt supply. However, the crustal filter generally masks the mantle processes involved.

Follicular fluid anti-Müllerian hormone: a predictive marker of fertilization capacity of MII oocytes.

Purpose: The present study aimed to correlate anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels in follicular fluid (FF) with oocyte maturity stages, morphological quality of metaphase II (MII) oocyte and fertilization capacity of MII oocytes.

Methods: A total of 92 infertile women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation and intracytoplasmic sperm injection were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups according to age: <35 years (n = 43) and ≥35 years (n = 49).

Tumor-associated glycoprotein (TAG-72) is a natural ligand for the C-type lectin-like domain that induces anti-inflammatory orientation of early pregnancy decidual CD1a+ dendritic cells.

Tumor-associated glycoprotein-72 (TAG-72) is physiologically present in secretory phase endometrium, but its presence and possible immunological role in early normal human pregnancy decidua has not received attention. The double labeling of paraffin-embedded early pregnancy decidua sections using B-72.4 anti-TAG-72 mAb and MNF 116 anti-cytokeratin mAb revealed the absence of TAG-72 in uterine decidua of normal and pathological pregnancies (non-embryonic pregnancy and missed abortion) at the implantation sites, although it was present in epithelial cells at and away from the tubal implantation site of an ectopic pregnancy.

Decidual natural killer cell tuning by autologous dendritic cells.

Problem: Dendritic cells (DC)/natural killer (NK) cells interactions in the deciduas of early human pregnancies were analyzed in vitro.

Method Of Study: Phenotype, cytokine expression and/or cytolytic mediators' expression were measured by flow cytometry in NK and DC from the freshly isolated decidual mononuclear cells or after their purification and co-culture in vitro. Proliferation of 5(6)-Carboxyfluorescein diacetate N-succinimidyl ester (CFSE)-labeled CD56(+) cells was analyzed by flow cytometry after the co-culture with CD1a(+) or CD83(+) DC.

The impact of hemochromatosis mutations and transferrin genotype on gonadotropin serum levels in infertile men.

Objective: To address the possibility that HFE mutations and TF gene polymorphism cause dysfunction of spermatogenesis and/or the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis via contribution to long-term iron overload in the testes and brain.

Design: Case-control and association study.

Setting: Clinic of obstetrics and gynecology and university-based research laboratory.