Opioid and Progesterone Signaling is Obligatory for Early Human Embryogenesis

P-24: Opioid and Progesterone Signaling Is Obligatoryfor Early Human Embryogenesis

Background: The growth factors that drive the division and differentiation of stem cells during early human embryogenesis are unknown. The secretion of endorphins, progesterone (P(4)), human chorionic gonadotropin, 17beta-estradiol, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone by trophoblasts that lie adjacent to the embryoblast in the blastocyst suggests that these pregnancy-associated factors may direc...

Xenopus nodal-related signaling is essential for mesendodermal patterning during early embryogenesis.

Previously, we showed that Xenopus nodal-related factors (Xnrs) can act as mesoderm inducers, and that activin induces Xnr transcription, suggesting that Xnrs relay or maintain induction processes initiated by activin-like molecules. We used a dominant negative cleavage mutant Xnr2 (cmXnr2) to carry out loss-of-function experiments to explore the requirement for Xnr signaling in early amphibian...

Mcm10 is required for oogenesis and early embryogenesis in Drosophila

Efficient replication of the genome and the establishment of endogenous chromatin states are processes that are essential to eukaryotic life. It is well documented that Mcm10 is intimately linked to both of these important biological processes; therefore, it is not surprising that Mcm10 is commonly misregulated in many human cancers. Most of the research regarding the biological roles of Mcm10 ...

Trophoblastic hormones direct early human embryogenesis

Hepatocystin is Essential for TRPM7 Function During Early Embryogenesis

Mutations in protein kinase C substrate 80K-H (PRKCSH), which encodes for an 80 KDa protein named hepatocystin (80K-H, PRKCSH), gives rise to polycystic liver disease (PCLD). Hepatocystin functions as the noncatalytic beta subunit of Glucosidase II, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident enzyme involved in processing and quality control of newly synthesized glycoproteins. Patients harboring het...