Vitamin D3 Controls TLR4- and TLR2-Mediated Inflammatory Responses of Endometrial Cells.

Objectives: Vitamin D has potent immunoregulatory features and modulates innate and adaptive immune responses. There is a significant association between intrauterine infection-associated inflammatory responses and pregnancy complications such as abortion and preterm labor. Here, we investigated how 1,25 (OH)2 D3 could modulate inflammatory responses of endometrial cells.

Placental Kisspeptins Differentially Modulate Vital Parameters of Estrogen Receptor-Positive and -Negative Breast Cancer Cells.

Kisspeptins (KPs) are major regulators of trophoblast and cancer invasion. Thus far, limited and conflicting data are available on KP-mediated modulation of breast cancer (BC) metastasis; mostly based on synthetic KP-10, the most active fragment of KP. Here, we report for the first time comprehensive functional effects of term placental KPs on proliferation, adhesion, Matrigel invasion, motility, MMP activity and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in MDA-MB-231 (estrogen receptor-negative) and MCF-7 (estrogen receptor-positive).

Lipopolysaccharide- and Lipoteichoic Acid-mediated Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Production and Modulation of TLR2, TLR4 and MyD88 Expression in Human Endometrial Cells.

Background: Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated inflammatory processes are supposed to be involved in pathophysiology of spontaneous abortion and preterm labor. Here, we investigated functional responses of human endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) and whole endometrial cells (WECs) to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA).

Methods: Endometrial tissues were obtained from 15 cycling women who underwent laparoscopic tubal ligation.

The same and not the same: heterogeneous functional activation of prostate tumor cells by TLR ligation.

Background: Many types of tumors are organized in a hierarchy of heterogeneous cell populations with different molecular signature. Such heterogeneity may be associated with different responsiveness to microenvironment stimuli. In the present study, the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA), as well-known mediators of inflammation, on cancerous behavior of three prostate tumor cells, LNCaP, PC3 and DU145, were investigated.

A Novel Human Lipid Binding Protein Coding Gene: PERF15, Sequence and Cloning.

Introduction: PERF15 is a testicular germ-cell specific fatty-acid binding protein (FABP) isolated from mammals, originally from rats. It encodes one of the most abundant proteins of rat spermatozoa localized in the perinuclear theca. Northern blot analysis has demonstrated that rat PERF15 mRNA is exclusively transcribed during meiosis and post-meiosis.

Assessment of thyroglobulin expression in reproductive organs at different stages of mouse estrous cycle.

Prevalence of abortion is higher in women with autoimmune thyroid disease. In the majority of cases, however, no abnormality of thyroid function is detected despite the high levels of antithyroid antibodies. The direct influence of such harmful autoantibodies in female reproductive organs may serve a role in pregnancy loss.

Chlamydia trachomatis prevalence in Iranian women attending obstetrics and gynaecology clinics.

This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of Chlamydia infection in women attending Obstetrics and Gynaecology clinics in Tehran, during May 2003 to October 2003. Women attending Obstetrics and Gynaecology clinics aged 15-42 were recruited by Sequential Random Sampling. Those who had not passed urine in the last hour were eligible.

Thrombophilic mutations in Iranian patients with infertility and recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Factor V Leiden (FVL) G1691A, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T, and factor II (FII) G20210A mutations are three important causes of thrombophilia, the condition that might be related to infertility and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). In this study we evaluated the presence of these three mutations in 36 female patients with unexplained infertility, 65 female patients with unexplained RSA, and 62 healthy fertile women as control group. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples and PCR-RFLP was performed for the molecular diagnosis of each mutation.