Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “OVARY”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Fertility of mice receiving vitrified adult mouse ovaries.

Cryopreservation of the ovaries is a useful technology for preservation of germ cells from experimental animals, because if the female founder is infertile or has mutated mitochondrial DNA, preservation of female germ cells is necessary. Although it is possible to cryopreserve immature mouse ovaries with a high degree of viability by vitrification with a mixture of several cryoprotectants, the viability of cryopreserved adult mouse ovaries is still unknown. Here, we investigated the viability of mouse ovaries at various ages after cryopreservation by vitrification techniques. Donor ovaries were collected from 10-day-, 4-week-, 10-week- and 7-month-old, female, nulliparous, green fluorescence protein (GFP)-transgenic mice and cryopreserved by vitrification. The vitrified-warmed ovaries were orthotopically transplanted to 4- or 10-week-old mice. GFP-positive pups were obtained in all experimental groups. In the 4-week-old recipients, the percentages of GFP-positive pups among the total pups from recipients transplanted with ovaries of 10-day-, 4-week-, 10-week- and 7-month-old donors were 44%, 9%, 12% and 4% respectively. In the 10-week-old recipients, the percentages of GFP-positive pups among the total pups from recipients transplanted with ovaries of 10-day-, 4-week-, 10-week- and 7-month-old donors were 36%, 16%, 2% and 9% respectively. Furthermore, GFP-positive pups also were obtained from recipients transplanted with ovaries of donors without normal estrous cyclicity. Our results indicate that cryopreservation of mouse ovaries by vitrification is a useful method for the preservation of female germ cells from mice of various ages.

Aging↗
PubMed2000

Temporal and hormonal regulation of inhibin protein and subunit mRNA expression by post-natal and immature rat ovaries.

The contribution of specific follicle populations to dimeric inhibin production and inhibin subunit mRNA expression by the rat ovary has been investigated in two model systems, granulosa cells isolated from 25-day-old diethylstilboestrol (DES)-treated rats and post-natal rat ovaries, dispersed in culture or whole ovaries, using specific two-site immunoassays and 'real time' PCR. Media from FSH-stimulated granulosa cell cultures fractionated by gel filtration and RP-high performance liquid chromatography revealed two predominant peaks of alpha subunit activity which were attributed to alpha subunit and 31 k dimeric inhibin-A. The corresponding inhibin-B levels were low. FSH stimulation did not alter the ratio of inhibin-A:alpha subunit produced by granulosa cells. All three inhibin subunit mRNAs were expressed by granulosa cells, with eight-fold more alpha subunit mRNA relative to either of the beta subunits. Administration of DES to immature rats prior to the isolation of granulosa cells from the ovary led to beta(A) and beta(B) mRNA expression being down-regulated in the absence of any significant change in alpha subunit expression by the granulosa cells. Inhibin-A, -B and -alpha subunit were produced by basal and stimulated cultures of ovarian cells prepared from 4-, 8- and 12-day-old rats, indicating that primary, preantral and antral follicles contribute to total inhibin production. Consistent with these results, follicles within these ovaries expressed all three inhibin subunit mRNAs, with maximal expression observed in the ovaries of 8-day-old rats. The appearance of antral follicles in the ovary at day 12 led to a decline in the mRNA levels of each of the subunits but was most evident for the beta subunits. There was a profound influence of secondary preantral follicles on dimeric inhibin-A production, with FSH stimulation increasing inhibin-A relative to alpha subunit levels in cultures of ovarian cells prepared from 8-day-old rats. Thus, preantral follicles exposed to FSH contribute significantly to beta(A) subunit production by the ovary. In contrast, primary and preantral follicles did not produce inhibin-B in response to FSH stimulation. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) enhanced, in a time-dependent manner, the production of the inhibin forms by ovarian cells in culture, although inhibin-B production was not responsive until day 8. The simultaneous treatment of ovarian cell cultures with FSH and TGF-beta elicited the greatest increases in production of all the inhibin forms. In summary, ovaries of 4-, 8- and 12-day-old rats expressed inhibin subunit mRNAs and produced dimeric inhibin-A and -B and free alpha subunit. Preantral follicles (day-8 ovarian cell cultures) were particularly sensitive to stimulation by FSH and TGF-beta and had a substantial capacity for inhibin production. The production of oestrogen by follicles may be instrumental in regulating inhibin production given that beta subunit mRNA expression was down-regulated by DES. The mechanisms by which inhibin-A and inhibin-B are individually regulated are likely to be similar during the post-natal period, when folliculogenesis is being established, and diverge thereafter, when inhibin-A becomes the predominant form in the fully differentiated ovary.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Association between polycystic ovaries and extent of coronary artery disease in women having cardiac catheterization.

BACKGROUND: Women with polycystic ovaries have associated risk factors for coronary artery disease. It is unknown whether women with more extensive coronary artery disease are more likely to have polycystic ovaries. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether women who have more extensive coronary artery disease as seen on coronary angiography are more likely to have polycystic ovaries appearing on ultrasonography than are women with less severe coronary disease. DESIGN: Prevalence study of women who had had coronary angiography. SETTING: Women referred for coronary angiography for assessment of chest pain or valvular disease in Auckland, New Zealand, during a 2-year period. PATIENTS: 143 women 60 years of age or younger who had had coronary angiography. Women who had previously had bilateral oophorectomy were excluded. MEASUREMENTS: The extent of coronary artery disease assessed by quantitative angiography was compared with the presence or absence of polycystic ovaries. Pelvic ultrasonography was done without knowledge of the extent of coronary artery disease. Assessment of angiograms was blinded. Insulin resistance and gonadotropin, testosterone, and serum lipid levels were also measured. RESULTS: Polycystic ovaries were found in 42% of women and were associated with hirsutism; previous hysterectomy; higher free testosterone, triglyceride, and C-peptide levels; and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Women with polycystic ovaries had more extensive coronary artery disease than women with normal ovaries (number of segments with > 50% stenosis, 1.7 [95% CI, 1.1 to 2.3] compared with 0.82 [CI, 0.54 to 1.1]; P < 0.01). On logistic regression analysis, the extent of coronary artery disease (P = 0.032) and family history of heart disease (P = 0.022) were predictors of the presence of polycystic ovaries. CONCLUSIONS: In women having coronary angiography, those with more extensive coronary artery disease were more likely to have polycystic ovaries on ultrasonography than were those with less extensive disease. Visualization of polycystic ovaries by sonography was associated with distinct metabolic and endocrine abnormalities. Further study is required to evaluate whether surgery or hormone replacement therapy can modify the risk.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Delayed expression of the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) gene in the XY sex-reversed female mouse ovary.

When the Y chromosome of Mus musculus domesticus (YDOM) mouse strain from Tirano (Italy) or Mus musculus poschiavinus (YPOS) from Poschiavo (Switzerland), is placed onto the C57BL/6J (B6) inbred background, the YDOM chromosome fails to induce normal testicular differentiation and instead allows development of ovaries and ovotestes in embryonic life. During postnatal development some hermaphroditic males become fertile whereas the XY females lack normal estrus cyclicity, produce low levels of gonadal steroids and cannot carry pregnancy to term. Here we studied the transcription of the IGF-I gene known to be involved in steroidogenesis. RNA was isolated from the XX and the XY ovaries at 1 to 40 d.p.p. and subjected to RT-PCR analysis. Immunocytochemical staining for IGF-I was performed to identify the cell type of IGF-I peptide localization, and protein expression was examined by Western blot analysis. The present results indicate that the IGF-I transcript was expressed at 1 d.p.p. in the XX ovary throughout the studied stages whereas in the XY ovary mRNA IGF-I was not detected until 15 d.p.p. IGF-I protein was identified in theca cells in the whole XX control ovary, while in the XY ovary, strong staining for IGF-I was found in the theca cells of the cortex. Faint staining was also seen around the medullary sterile cords. Western blot analysis showed normal onset in the XX and the XY ovary, but a different staining pattern for IGF-I in the XY ovary at 11 and 26 d.p.p. compared to the XX control ovary. We propose that delayed expression of IGF-I in the XY mouse ovary may be responsible for low steroid production and fertility problems in the XY sex-reversed adult female mouse.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Clinical significance of combined use of macrophage colony-stimulating factor and squamous cell carcinoma antigen as a selective diagnostic marker for squamous cell carcinoma arising in mature cystic teratoma of the ovary.

OBJECTIVES: Mature cystic teratoma of the ovary transforms into malignant tumors, mostly squamous cell carcinomas, at an incidence of approximately 2%. Preoperative diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma arising in mature cystic teratoma of the ovary is a difficult task. The present study aims to assess whether combined use of two serum tumor markers, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC), is effective in preoperatively diagnosing squamous cell carcinoma arising in mature cystic teratoma of the ovary, distinguishing it from mature cystic teratoma without malignant transformation. METHODS: Serum levels of M-CSF and SCC were assayed using blood samples collected preoperatively from 31 patients with squamous cell carcinoma arising in mature cystic teratoma of the ovary and 133 patients with mature cystic teratoma of the ovary without malignant transformation. RESULTS: In 22 of the 31 (71.0%) patients with squamous cell carcinoma arising in mature cystic teratoma of the ovary, the serum M-CSF levels exceeded the upper limit of the normal level (1056 U/ml). This positive incidence of the elevated serum M-CSF levels was significantly higher compared with that (13.5%, 18/133) observed in patients with benign cystic teratoma of the ovary (P < 0.0001). Regarding the serum levels of SCC, 13 of 31 (41.9%) patients with malignant tumors showed positive values exceeding the cutoff value of 2.0 ng/ml. Again, this incidence of positive cases was significantly higher compared with that (15.0%, 20/133) observed in patients with benign tumors (P < 0.01). There was no correlation between the serum levels of M-CSF and SCC among patients with squamous cell carcinoma arising in mature cystic teratoma of the ovary. Patients with malignant tumors testing positive for elevated M-CSF did not necessarily test positive for SCC. Patients with positive values for excess M-CSF and/or SCC constituted 87.1% of the total (27/31). Even when patients were restricted to those with stage I tumors, a value as high as 83.3% (15/18) was still obtained for those testing positive for elevated M-CSF and/or SCC. CONCLUSION: Serum M-CSF was proven to be useful as a tumor marker for detecting squamous cell carcinoma arising in mature cystic teratoma of the ovary. Combined use of serum M-CSF and SCC as a marker seemed to be useful in the selective diagnosis of mature cystic teratoma of the ovary harboring malignant squamous carcinoma, discriminating it from that without malignant carcinoma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Steroidogenic activities of follicle-stimulating hormone in the ovary of Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica.

To clarify the physiological functions of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) during oogenesis in Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, the steroidogenic activities of recombinant Japanese eel FSH (rjeFSH) were assessed in the eel ovary. Female eel were injected with salmon pituitary homogenate to enhance the ovarian development, and the ovaries at different developmental stages were subjected to steroidogenic bioassay. These ovaries could be classified into three types according to oocyte growth and development of ovarian follicular cells. The type-A ovary possessed poorly developed follicular cells around pre- or early vitellogenic oocytes, and rjeFSH did not induce sex steroid secretion. Testosterone (T) secretion was stimulated by rjeFSH in the type-B ovary with developed theca cells and undeveloped granulosa cells around early to mid-vitellogenic oocytes, whereas estradiol-17beta (E2) secretion was not enhanced. The rjeFSH stimulated both T and E2 secretion in a dose-dependent manner from the type-C ovary with fully developed theca and granulosa cells around mid-vitellogenic oocytes. Salmon GTH fraction (sGTH) and a membrane permeable cAMP analogue, 8-bromo-cAMP (8-Br-cAMP) also enhanced T and E2 secretion from the type-C ovary. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) similarly enhanced T secretion, but failed to stimulate E2 secretion from the type-C ovary, suggesting different effects on steroidogenic activities between eel FSH and hCG in eel ovary. There was a positive correlation between the oocyte diameter and E2 secretion from eel ovaries stimulated by rjeFSH. These results suggest that aromatase activity is accelerated by eel FSH in the granulosa cells, which develop following theca cell development in this species.

Anguilla↗
PubMed2003

The outcomes of assisted reproductive technology cycles in patients with one or two ovaries.

AIM: To provide a comparison between the follicular response to ovulation induction, and the pregnancy rate of women with a single or two ovaries, undergoing assisted reproductive technology. METHODS: To evaluate the outcome of assisted reproductive technology, 46 treatment cycles in women with one ovary were compared to 123 cycles in women with two ovaries. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients in the two groups were not similar (34.4 +/- 3.8 and 33.1 +/- 4.0, respectively). The one ovary-group had significantly higher mean baseline Follicle Stimulating Hormone levels and required more ampoules for induction. Although the induction period was longer in the one-ovary group, the outcome of the assisted reproductive technology in both groups was similar. The maximum E2 levels on the day of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin administration were significantly lower in the one-ovary group, although endometrial thickness appeared to be the same in both groups. The patients with two ovaries had a significantly higher mean number of mature or immature oocytes aspirated, as well as embryos transferred. Although there was no statistical difference between the two groups following assisted reproductive technology, the pregnancy rate in the two-ovary group was more than double that of the one-ovary group. CONCLUSION: The potential for success after in vitro fertilization is not impaired in women with one ovary.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Glucose localization in maize ovaries when kernel number decreases at low water potential and sucrose is fed to the stems.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Around the time of anthesis, young ovary development in maize (Zea mays) is vulnerable to 2 or 3 d of water deficits that inhibit photosynthesis. Abortion can result, and fewer kernels are produced. A breakdown of stored ovary starch is associated with the abortion and was investigated in the present study by localizing the breakdown product glucose in the ovaries. METHODS: Ovary glucose was localized with fluorescent Resorufin. Insoluble invertase was localized in vivo and soluble invertase in situ. Sucrose was infused into the stems to vary the sugar flux to the ovaries. KEY RESULTS: At high water potential (high Psi(w)), photosynthesis was rapid in the parent. The upper pedicel of the ovaries had a high activity of insoluble acid invertase and a large amount of glucose and starch. Because the invertase was wall-bound, sucrose hydrolysis appeared to occur in the pedicel apoplast. Soluble invertase was undetected inside the pedicel cells but was present in the nucellus cells where low concentrations of glucose occurred. This created a glucose gradient between pedicel and nucellus that favoured glucose uptake by the developing ovary. At low Psi(w), photosynthesis was inhibited, pedicel glucose and starch were depleted, the glucose gradient became negligible, and abortion occurred. When sucrose was fed, glucose, starch and the glucose gradient were maintained somewhat and were normally distributed in the ovaries. Abortion was diminished. CONCLUSIONS: The apoplast hydrolysis of sucrose unloaded from phloem is similar to that described by others during later development when embryo and endosperm are present and separated from the parent by an apoplast. The disappearance of the glucose gradient at low Psi(w) may have inhibited glucose movement into the ovary. The low glucose in the ovaries may have a role in the abortion response.

Gene Expression Regulation, Plant↗
PubMed2000

Rescue of oocytes from antral follicles of cryopreserved mouse ovaries: competence to undergo maturation, embryogenesis, and development to term.

Only primordial and primary follicles of frozen-thawed mouse ovaries survive after grafting to the ovarian bursa; large secondary follicles and antral follicles together with the oocytes contained in them degenerate. This study was undertaken to determine whether fully grown oocytes isolated from the antral follicles of frozen-thawed mouse ovaries are viable and can be rescued to undergo maturation, fertilization, and embryo development in vitro. Ovaries were cryopreserved after removal from 22-day-old (C57BL/6J x SJL/J)F(1) mice, with or without prior priming with equine chorionic gonadotrophin, and fresh non-frozen ovaries were used as controls. Only cumulus cell-denuded oocytes were recovered from frozen unprimed ovaries while both cumulus cell-enclosed and denuded oocytes were retrieved from frozen primed ovaries. Oocytes from both groups of frozen-thawed ovaries were able to undergo maturation, fertilization, and development to the blastocyst stage in vitro, though at lower percentages than oocytes from control unfrozen ovaries. Moreover, 19% of 2-cell stage embryos derived from frozen-thawed primed ovaries, compared with 42% of embryos derived from control primed ovaries, developed to term after transfer to pseudopregnant foster mothers (not significantly different). Therefore, fully grown oocytes in antral follicles survive the cryopreservation protocol, as demonstrated by maturation, fertilization and embryo development in vitro, and development to term after embryo transfer.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Expression of WT1, CA 125, and GCDFP-15 as useful markers in the differential diagnosis of primary ovarian carcinomas versus metastatic breast cancer to the ovary.

Metastatic breast carcinoma to the ovary is sometimes difficult to differentiate from primary ovarian carcinoma. This problem is often encountered in breast carcinoma patients who develop adnexal masses. ER and PR can be positive in a high percentage of breast and ovarian carcinomas, and therefore cannot be used in the differential diagnosis of these entities. WT1 and CA125 have been identified as possible markers for ovarian cancer. However, no studies have been done that specifically compare the immunophenotype of breast carcinoma metastatic to ovary with that of primary ovarian cancer. Thirty-nine cases of metastatic breast carcinoma to the ovary, 36 primary breast carcinomas, and 42 primary ovarian carcinomas were examined immunohistochemically for the expression of WT1, CA125, carcinoembryonic antigen, MUC2, MUC1, and GCDFP. The percentage of cells stained and the intensity of staining were recorded. Thirty-two ovarian carcinomas (76%) were positive for WT1, including 31 of 33 (94%) serous carcinomas. Most of them had strong and diffuse staining. None of the breast cancers either primary or metastatic to the ovary expressed WT1. Thirty-eight (90%) ovarian carcinomas were positive for CA125, most of them with strong and diffuse staining. Most breast carcinomas were negative for CA125, with only 6 (16%) of the primary ones and 5 (12%) of the metastatic showing weak and focal positivity. All ovarian carcinomas were negative for GCDFP. Five primary breast cancers (14%) and 17 (43%) metastatic to the ovary were positive for GCDFP. Nine (21%) ovarian carcinomas, 8 (22%) primary breast carcinomas, and 13 (33%) metastatic to the ovary were positive for carcinoembryonic antigen. Almost all tumors examined were positive for MUC1 (100% ovarian carcinomas, 100% primary breast carcinomas, and 95% metastatic breast carcinomas to ovary). MUC2 was positive in 10 (24%) ovarian carcinomas, 3 (8%) primary breast cancers, and 12 (30%) metastases to the ovary. The presence of immunoreactivity for WT1 and CA125 in a carcinoma involving ovary strongly favors a primary lesion. Most ovarian carcinomas are positive for both markers, whereas the majority of metastatic breast carcinomas to the ovary are negative. GCDFP can be complementary in this differential diagnosis.

Antigens↗
PubMed2003

Polyamine metabolism is altered in unpollinated parthenocarpic pat-2 tomato ovaries.

Facultative parthenocarpy induced by the recessive mutation pat-2 in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) depends on gibberellins (GAs) and is associated with changes in GA content in unpollinated ovaries. Polyamines (PAs) have also been proposed to play a role in early tomato fruit development. We therefore investigated whether PAs are able to induce parthenocarpy and whether the pat-2 mutation alters the content and metabolism of PAs in unpollinated ovaries. Application of putrescine, spermidine, and spermine to wild-type unpollinated tomato ovaries (cv Madrigal [MA/wt]) induced partial parthenocarpy. Parthenocarpic growth of MA/pat-2 (a parthenocarpic near-isogenic line to MA/wt) ovaries was negated by paclobutrazol (GA biosynthesis inhibitor), and this inhibition was counteracted by spermidine. Application of alpha-difluoromethyl-ornithine (-Orn) and/or alpha-difluoromethyl-arginine (-Arg), irreversible inhibitors of the putrescine biosynthesis enzymes Orn decarboxylase (ODC) and Arg decarboxylase, respectively, prevented growth of unpollinated MA/pat-2 ovaries. Alpha-difluoromethyl-Arg inhibition was counteracted by putrescine and GA(3), whereas that of alpha-difluoromethyl-Orn was counteracted by GA(3) but not by putrescine or spermidine. In unpollinated MA/pat-2 ovaries, the content of free spermine was significantly higher than in MA/wt ovaries. ODC activity was higher in pat-2 ovaries than in MA/wt. Transcript levels of genes encoding ODC and spermidine synthase were also higher in MA/pat-2. All together, these results strongly suggest that the parthenocarpic ability of pat-2 mutants depends on elevated PAs levels in unpollinated mutant ovaries, which correlate with an activation of the ODC pathway, probably as a consequence of elevated GA content in unpollinated pat-2 tomato ovaries.

Carboxy-Lyases↗
PubMed2004

Small echogenic foci in the ovaries: correlation with histologic findings.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the histologic correlate of small echogenic foci in the ovary and to assess for any association with endometriosis or endosalpingiosis. METHODS: Women planning to have a normal ovary surgically removed were scanned preoperatively with transvaginal sonography. If echogenic foci were present in either normal ovary on the preoperative scan, the removed ovary was scanned in a saline bath, and the surface was marked with india ink over an echogenic focus. Histologic sections were then obtained at the marked site. RESULTS: Echogenic foci were detected in 23 ovaries of 16 women. Possible causes were found in 17 of the 23 ovaries: hemosiderin in 6 cases, calcification in 5 cases, hemosiderin and calcification in 2 cases, clusters of inclusion cysts in 2 cases, 1 of which also had hemosiderin, and dense cortical nodules in 2 cases. Histologic findings were benign in all cases except in 1 patient who had primary peritoneal carcinoma unrelated to the echogenic foci. One ovary in another patient had both endosalpingiosis and endometriosis. One other patient had endometriosis involving a fallopian tube but not the ovary. There were no other cases of endometriosis or endosalpingiosis. CONCLUSIONS: Small echogenic foci in the ovaries are most frequently due to hemosiderin or calcification. A few small echogenic foci in the ovaries are associated with benign histologic changes and do not appear to be reliable indicators of endosalpingiosis or endometriosis.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Occasional transsynaptic viral labeling in the central nervous system from the polycystic ovary induced by estradiol valerate.

Increased density of catecholaminergic nerves in the human polycystic ovary has been observed. The aim of the present study was to investigate the distribution of transsynaptically virus-labeled neurons in the central nervous system from the rat polycystic ovary to see whether is it different or not from that of cycling control rats. To induce a polycystic ovary, a single injection of estradiol valerate was given to adult female rats and 30 days later a neurotropic virus was injected into the right ovary. Rats were sacrificed 72 or 96 hours after viral infection. Weight of the ovaries of the estradiol valerate-treated rats was significantly lower compared to controls, and the histology of the ovaries of the treated rats displayed severely atretic large antral follicles. There was almost no viral labeling in the central nervous system from the ovaries showing precystic morphology, in spite of the fact that such altered organs are rich in nerve fibres. It is assumed that presently unidentified factors in the precystic ovary, presumably related to the link between the immune and the nervous system, might be involved in the infectivity of the virus, and thus be responsible for the lack of viral labeling from such an ovary.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Polycystic ovary syndrome: it is always bilateral?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether patients with unilateral polycystic ovary showed different ovarian and uterine blood flow from those with bilateral polycystic ovaries, and to investigate whether there was a correlation between the ultrasonographic aspect and different hormonal parameters. DESIGN: An observational study. SUBJECTS: Sixteen patients with unilateral polycystic ovary and twenty patients with bilateral polycystic ovaries underwent clinical, biochemical, gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasonographic evaluation. METHODS: The following parameters were evaluated: hormonal (luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), LH/FSH concentration ratio, estradiol, prolactin, androstenedione, testosterone), clinical (body mass index, Ferriman-Gallwey score), ultrasonographic (ovarian volume, number and distribution of subcapsular follicles, stromal score) and Doppler (uterine artery and intraparenchymal vessel pulsatility index, ovarian stromal vascularization), in oligomenorrheic patients in the early follicular phase (cycle days 3-5) or in amenorrheic patients at random. RESULTS: Significantly higher androstenedione plasma levels and LH/FSH concentration ratios were observed in bilateral polycystic ovaries. In unilateral polycystic ovaries, gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasonography showed different features in the affected and the unaffected ovary, similar to the appearance of a polycystic and normal ovary, respectively. CONCLUSION: Polycystic ovary syndrome does not predetermine a single ultrasonographic and Doppler pattern.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Histologic study of ovaries from young women with endometrial adenocarcinoma.

A histologic study of 15 ovaries from patients in whom endometrial adenocarcinoma developed before the age of 40 years was performed. These ovaries were randomized with control groups of 21 age-matched normal ovaries and 25 ovaries from patients who had Stein-Leventhal syndrome. The study was done in an attempt to determine whether the ovaries from these young patients showed any histologic feature that would indicate abnormal ovarian function resulting in unopposed estrogenic stimulation of the endometrium. Histologic features assessed included type and size of cysts, presence and number of primary follicles, corpora lutea, corpora albicantia, and presence of stromal luteinization and sclerosis. Analysis of the results indicated that from a histologic point of view ovaries of patients less than 40 years old who have endometrial adenocarcinoma are more similar to normal ovaries than to polycystic ovaries. Only 11.1% of ovaries of the study group had features suggestive of polycystic ovarian disease.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Distribution of steroidogenic enzymes involved in androgen synthesis in polycystic ovaries: an immunohistochemical study.

To find an explanation for the possible working mechanism of laparoscopic ovarian electrocautery for the treatment of anovulation in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), we evaluated the distribution of steroidogenic enzymes involved in the synthesis of ovarian androgens in surgical pathology specimens of entire polycystic ovaries. A total of 13 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples of the ovaries of patients with clinically proven PCOS were immunostained with specific antibodies against cholesterol side-chain-cleavage enzyme (P450scc), 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD), 17alpha-hydroxylase (P450c17) and adrenal 4-binding protein (Ad4BP), a transcription factor of steroidogenic enzymes. Follicular theca cells of all ovaries demonstrated marked immunoreactivity for Ad4BP, P450scc, 3beta-HSD and P450c17. Granulosa cells of seven ovaries expressed Ad4BP, while granulosa cells of three ovaries also showed P450scc. In the granulosa cells of all ovaries, 3beta-HSD and P450c17 immunoreactivity was not observed. In the stroma, luteinized cells of most ovaries demonstrated Ad4BP, P450scc, 3beta-HSD and P450c17 immunoreactivity, but at a much lower level compared with the follicular theca cells. Non-luteinized stromal cells sporadically demonstrated Ad4BP, P450scc, 3beta-HSD and P450c17 immunoreactivity. The stromal steroidogenic cells were mainly located in the ovarian cortex, except for some hilus steroidogenic cells. These data demonstrate that in polycystic ovaries, androgens are mainly produced in the follicular theca cells and to some extent in luteinized stromal cells. This suggests that the working mechanism of laparoscopic electrocautery of the ovary is primarily explained through the reduction of ovarian hyperandrogenism by coagulation of follicular theca cells and concomitant stroma.

3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗
PubMed2005

Polycystic ovaries are common in women with hyperandrogenic chronic anovulation but do not predict metabolic or reproductive phenotype.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous disorder of unexplained hyperandrogenic chronic anovulation. Experts have recommended including the morphology and volume of the ovary in the diagnostic criteria for PCOS. We performed this study to determine whether there was an association between the morphology and size of the ovaries and markers of insulin sensitivity as determined by dynamic testing within women with PCOS or compared with a group of control women. We then examined reproductive parameters. We studied 88 unrelated PCOS women and 21 control women, aged 17-45 yr. All were in the early follicular phase or its equivalent (no follicle with > 10 mm diameter and anovulatory serum progesterone level < 3 ng/ml). Subjects underwent on the same day a phlebotomy for baseline hormones, a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test, and transvaginal ultrasound to determine the morphology and volume of the ovaries. Ninety-five percent (84 of 88) of women with PCOS and 48% (10 of 21) of the control women had polycystic ovaries using the criteria of at least one ovary greater than 10 cm3 (PCOV) and/or polycystic ovary morphology (PCOM) using the criteria of 10 or more peripheral follicular cysts 8 mm in diameter or less in one plane along with increased central ovarian stroma. PCOM was a better discriminator than PCOV between PCOS and control women. The odds of women with PCOS having PCOM were elevated 50-fold compared with controls (odds ratio, 50; 95% confidence interval, 10-240; P < 0.0001), whereas the odds of PCOV were elevated 5-fold in women with PCOS (odds ratio, 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-12.6; P = 0.003). Neither the insulin sensitivity index, fasting or 2-h values, or any integrated measures of glucose and insulin varied in women according to either morphology or volume, nor was there an association with circulating androgen levels. Women with PCOS and PCOM had lower FSH levels than women with PCOS and non-PCOM. Women with PCOS and PCOV had a higher LH to FSH ratio than women without PCOV and PCOS. These data support the hypothesis that polycystic ovaries are an abnormal finding. However, neither the morphology nor the volume of the ovaries is associated with distinctive metabolic or reproductive phenotypes in women with PCOS.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Neonatal estrogen exposure inhibits steroidogenesis in the developing rat ovary.

Treatment of newborn female rats with estrogens significantly inhibits the growth and differentiation of the ovary. To understand the molecular mechanism of estrogen action in the induction of abnormal ovary, we examined the expression profiles of steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) and several of its target genes in the developing ovaries after neonatal exposure to synthetic estrogen, estradiol benzoate (EB) by using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry. Morphologic examination indicated inhibitory effects of estrogen on the stratification of follicles and development of theca and interstitial gland during postnatal ovarian differentiation. The expression of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 (P450(SCC)), which are both essential for steroid biosynthesis, markedly decreased in theca and interstitial cells throughout the postnatal development of the EB-treated ovary. However, expression of the transcriptional activator of the two genes, SF-1 was unaffected in theca and interstitial cells, although the number of these cells was lower in the EB-treated ovary than in the control ovary. The expression of the estrogen mediator, estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-alpha), diminished specifically in theca cells at P6 and recovered by P14 in the EB-treated ovary. These results indicate that the effect of estrogens is mediated by means of ER-alpha resulting in the down-regulation of StAR and P450(SCC) genes during early postnatal development of the ovary. These results suggest that the abnormal ovarian development by neonatal estrogen treatment is closely correlated with the reduced steroidogenic activity, and the data obtained by using this animal model may account in part the mechanism for aberrant development and function of the ovary in prenatally estrogen-exposed humans.

Animals↗