In glucocorticoid target organs, local concentrations of active glucocorticoid are determined by the relative expression of two 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (HSDs): bi-directional 11beta-HSD type1 (11HSD1) that mainly activates cortisone to cortisol, and dehydrogenase 11beta-HSD type2 (11HSD2) that inactivates cortisol to cortisone. In this study, we examined the expression of mRNA enco...

The early conceptus in sheep and cattle secretes a low molecular weight protein called ovine and bovine trophoblast protein 1 (TP-1) that is critical for establishment of pregnancy. TP-1 is a type I interferon (IFN) and is most related to IFN-omega. Here we have determined if TP-1 genes are regulated similarly to other type I IFNs. Single day 18 bovine conceptuses secrete approximately 10(5) un...

The choriogonadotropin beta subunit is unique in the human glycoprotein hormone family in containing a carboxyl-terminal extension, with four sites of O-glycosylation, that is not present in the other beta subunits. We have used site-directed mutagenesis to define boundaries on the extent to which truncations can be made at the COOH terminus without abolishing subunit assembly and biological ac...

Transfected, nonsteroidogenic COS-1 cells derived from monkey kidney are found to be capable of supporting the initial and rate-limiting step common to all steroidogenic pathways, the side-chain cleavage of cholesterol to produce pregnenolone. Endogenous COS-1 kidney cell renodoxin reductase and renodoxin are able to sustain low levels of this activity catalyzed by bovine cholesterol side-chain...

two-hundred and seventeen subjects underwent transvaginal ultrasound -17 (8%) had unilateral polycystic ovary (pco). twelve percent of subjects with unilateral scan-pea had oligomenorrhea, 24% were amenorrheic, 23% were hirsute and 29% had acne. biochemical parameters were compared between subjects with unilateral scan- pco and those with bilateral scan- pco (n=200) as well as a group of scan-n...

enrichment of cell suspension with germ cells prior to injection into recipient seminiferous tubules is of importance in spermatogonial stem cells (sscs) transplantation. knock-out serum replacement (ksr) has been reported to enhance the proliferation of murine sscs and human embryonic stem cells. the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ksr versus fetal bovine serum (fbs) ...