BCL-6 Overexpression as a Predictor for Endometriosis in Patients Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization.

Objective: To evaluate the positive predictive value (PPV) of endometrial BCL-6 overexpression as a noninvasive screening test endometriosis in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Methods: Retrospective cohort study at a university-affiliated private practice. Inclusion criteria were reproductive age females currently undergoing IVF with a diagnosis of unexplained infertility or unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss.

Bowel endometriosis: diagnosis and management.

The most common location of extragenital endometriosis is the bowel. Medical treatment may not provide long-term improvement in patients who are symptomatic, and consequently most of these patients may require surgical intervention. Over the past century, surgeons have continued to debate the optimal surgical approach to treating bowel endometriosis, weighing the risks against the benefits.

Antagonistic roles of Rac and Rho in organizing the germ cell microenvironment.

The capacity of stem cells to self renew and the ability of stem cell daughters to differentiate into highly specialized cells depend on external cues provided by their cellular microenvironments [1-3]. However, how microenvironments are shaped is poorly understood. In testes of Drosophila melanogaster, germ cells are enclosed by somatic support cells.

A misexpression screen reveals effects of bag-of-marbles and TGF beta class signaling on the Drosophila male germ-line stem cell lineage.

Male gametes are produced throughout reproductive life by a classic stem cell mechanism. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms for lineage production that maintain male germ-line stem cell (GSC) populations, regulate mitotic amplification divisions, and ensure germ cell differentiation. Here we utilize the Drosophila system to identify genes that cause defects in the male GSC lineage when forcibly expressed.

Germ line stem cell differentiation in Drosophila requires gap junctions and proceeds via an intermediate state.

Gap junctions coordinate processes ranging from muscle contraction to ovarian follicle development. Here we show that the gap junction protein Zero population growth (Zpg) is required for germ cell differentiation in the Drosophila ovary. In the absence of Zpg the stem cell daughter destined to differentiate dies.