Protein phosphatase 4 maintains the survival of primordial follicles by regulating autophagy in oocytes.

In mammalian ovary, the primordial follicle pool serves as the source of developing follicles and fertilizable ova. To maintain the normal length of female reproductive life, the primordial follicles must have adequate number and be kept in a quiescent state before menopause. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying primordial follicle survival are poorly understood.

Fangchinoline inhibits mouse oocyte meiosis by disturbing MPF activity.

Fangchinoline (FA) is an alkaloid derived from the traditional Chinese medicine Fangji. Numerous studies have shown that FA has a toxic effect on various cancer cells, but little is known about its toxic effects on germ cells, especially oocytes. In this study, we investigated the effects of FA on mouse oocyte maturation and its potential mechanisms.

The transgenerational effects of maternal low-protein diet during lactation on offspring.

Environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle can influence the health of both mothers and offspring. However, its transgenerational transmission and underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, using a maternal lactation-period low-protein diet (LPD) mouse model, we show that maternal LPD during lactation causes decreased survival and stunted growth, significantly reduces ovulation and litter size, and alters the gut microbiome in the female LPD-F1 offspring.

Loss of UBE2S causes meiosis I arrest with normal spindle assembly checkpoint dynamics in mouse oocytes.

The timely degradation of proteins that regulate the cell cycle is essential for oocyte maturation. Oocytes are equipped to degrade proteins via the ubiquitin-proteasome system. In meiosis, anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C), an E3 ubiquitin-ligase, is responsible for the degradation of proteins.

A heterozygous mutation causes zona pellucida defects and female infertility in mouse and human.

The zona pellucida (ZP) is an extracellular glycoprotein matrix surrounding mammalian oocytes. Recently, numerous mutations in genes encoding ZP proteins have been shown to be possibly related to oocyte abnormality and female infertility; few reports have confirmed the functions of these mutations in living animal models. Here, we identified a novel heterozygous missense mutation (NM_001376231.

NLRP14 Safeguards Calcium Homeostasis via Regulating the K27 Ubiquitination of Nclx in Oocyte-to-Embryo Transition.

Sperm-induced Ca rise is critical for driving oocyte activation and subsequent embryonic development, but little is known about how lasting Ca oscillations are regulated. Here it is shown that NLRP14, a maternal effect factor, is essential for keeping Ca oscillations and early embryonic development. Few embryos lacking maternal NLRP14 can develop beyond the 2-cell stage.

Septin 9 controls CCNB1 stabilization via APC/C during meiotic metaphase I/anaphase I transition in mouse oocytes.

The anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and its cofactors CDH1 and CDC20 regulate the accumulation/degradation of CCNB1 during mouse oocyte meiotic maturation. Generally, the CCNB1 degradation mediated by APC/C activity is essential for the transition from metaphase to anaphase. Here, by using siRNA and mRNA microinjection, as well as time-lapse live imaging, we showed that Septin 9, which mediates the binding of septins to microtubules, is critical for oocyte meiotic cell cycle progression.

Miro1 regulates mitochondrial homeostasis and meiotic resumption of mouse oocyte.

Miro1, a mitochondrial Rho GTPase1, is a kind of mitochondrial outer membrane protein involved in the regulation of mitochondrial anterograde transport and its subcellular distribution. Mitochondria influence reproductive processes of mammals in some aspects. Mitochondria are important for oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryonic development.

Epitalon protects against post-ovulatory aging-related damage of mouse oocytes .

The developmental potential of oocytes decreases with time after ovulation or . Epitalon is a synthetic short peptide made of four amino acids (alanine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and glycine), based on a natural peptide called epithalamion extracted from the pineal gland. It is a potent antioxidant, comparable to melatonin, that may confer longevity benefits.

Zebrafish blood disease models and applications.

Hematopoiesis is a complex, orderly and conserved developmental process, coordinated by multiple factors including transcription factors and signaling pathways. Dysregulation of any of these factors may cause developmental or functional defects in the blood system, leading to the pathogenesis of blood diseases. Zebrafish hematopoiesis and the underlying molecular mechanisms are highly conserved with those in mammals.

Small nucleolar host gene 6 promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell proliferation and inhibits cell apoptosis.

Esophageal cancer (ESCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-associated mortality in China. The present investigation reveals that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including long ncRNAs (lncRNAs), exert a significant effect on the initiation, development and metastasis of malignant tumors, including ESCC. However, to the best of our knowledge, the function of non-protein-coding genes that host small nucleolar RNAs has not been investigated in cancer, particularly in ESCC.

Comprehensive profile of differentially expressed circular RNAs reveals that hsa_circ_0000069 is upregulated and promotes cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in colorectal cancer.

Background: Nowadays, despite great progress in cancer research, the detailed mechanisms of colorectal cancer (CRC) are still poorly understood. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a new star of the non-coding RNA network, have been identified as critical regulators in various cancers, including CRC.

Methods And Results: In this study, by using unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis, a novel dysregulated circRNA, hsa_circ_0000069, was found.

AFAP1-AS1 is upregulated and promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell proliferation and inhibits cell apoptosis.

Recent findings indicate that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were dysregulated in many kinds of tumors including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). LncRNA AFAP1-AS1 was found to be upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), lung cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, while its clinical value and potential function in ESCC are still unknown. Expression of AFAP1-AS1 was measured in 65 ESCC tissues and corresponding noncancerous tissues by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, which revealed that AFAP1-AS1 expression was markedly elevated in ESCC tissues and significantly associated with advanced TNM stage (P = 0.