ESR1 inhibits hCG-induced steroidogenesis and proliferation of progenitor Leydig cells in mice.

Oestrogen is an important regulator in reproduction. To understand the role of oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) in Leydig cells, we investigated the expression of ESR1 in mouse Leydig cells during postnatal development and the effects of oestrogen on steroidogenesis and proliferation of progenitor Leydig cells (PLCs). In Leydig cells, the ESR1 expression was low at birth, increased until postnatal day 14 at which PLCs were predominant, and then decreased until adulthood.

Effects of bilateral vasectomy on the interleukin 1 system in mouse epididymis.

Problem: Regional difference in the inflammatory response in vasectomized (VAX) epididymis remains unraveled.

Method Of Study: Epididymal expression of interleukin 1α (IL1α), IL1β, IL1 receptor antagonist (IL1ra), IL1 receptor 1 (IL1R1), IL6, IL10, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) was examined in bilateral VAX mice by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.

Results: IL1α, IL1β, IL1ra, and IL1R1 were expressed in the epididymal epithelia of normal mice.

Coxsackievirus and Adenovirus Receptor, a Tight Junction Protein, in Peri-Implantation Mouse Embryos.

To understand the role of Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR), a tight junction (TJ) protein, in peri-implantation embryos, developmental expression of CAR and its role in paracellular permeability were examined in mouse embryos. Splice variants for transmembrane CAR, Car1, Car2, and Car3 mRNA, were expressed from 2-cell, morula, and blastocyst stages onward, respectively, whereas mRNA for soluble CAR was expressed in MII oocytes and 4-cell stage onward. On Western blot, ∼46 kDa CAR proteins were detected in blastocysts.

Changes in Inflammatory Cytokines Accompany Deregulation of Claudin-11, Resulting in Inter-Sertoli Tight Junctions in Varicocele Rat Testes.

Purpose: To elucidate the changes that occur in the blood-testis barrier during varicocele we examined changes in Cldn11 (claudin-11), an element of the blood-testis barrier, as well as steroidogenesis and proinflammatory cytokines in a model of varicocele rat testes.

Materials And Methods: Male rats with experimentally induced varicocele were sacrificed 4 weeks after operation. Testicular histology and blood testosterone concentrations were examined.

Changes in aquaporin 5 in the non-ciliated cells of mouse oviduct according to sexual maturation and oestrous cycle.

Aquaporin (AQP) water channels play an important role in fluid homeostasis and the control of epithelial cell volume. To understand the oviductal fluid homeostasis, the expression of aqp5 was examined in mouse oviduct. In the oviduct of cycling females, aqp1, aqp3, aqp4, aqp5, aqp6, aqp7, aqp8, and aqp11 mRNA were detected.

A new 2-pyrone derivative, 5-bromo-3-(3-hydroxyprop-1-ynyl)-2H-pyran-2-one, suppresses stemness in glioma stem-like cells.

Glioma cells with stem cell properties, termed glioma stem-like cells (GSCs), have been linked to tumor formation, maintenance, and progression and are responsible for the failure of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Because conventional glioma treatments often fail to eliminate GSCs completely, residual surviving GSCs are able to repopulate the tumor. Compounds that target GSCs might be helpful in overcoming resistance to anticancer treatments in human brain tumors.

PTTG1 oncogene promotes tumor malignancy via epithelial to mesenchymal transition and expansion of cancer stem cell population.

The prognosis of breast cancer patients is related to the degree of metastasis. However, the mechanisms by which epithelial tumor cells escape from the primary tumor and colonize at a distant site are not entirely understood. Here, we analyzed expression levels of pituitary tumor-transforming gene-1 (PTTG1), a relatively uncharacterized oncoprotein, in patient-derived breast cancer tissues with corresponding normal breast tissues.

Expression of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor isoforms in developing mouse bladder uroepithelium.

Objectives: Tight junctions are important for uroepithelial paracellular permeability barriers. In the present study, we examined the developmental changes in the expression of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) isoforms in mouse bladder uroepithelium.

Methods: Multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction using CAR isoform-specific primer sets and Western blotting were conducted on gestational day 19 and postnatal days 1, 7, and 55.