The mink corpus luteum (CL) involutes after ovulation and remains dormant, synthesizing low amounts of progesterone until reactivated to terminate embryonic diapause. We examined the mitotic and steroid synthetic capacity of luteal cells from the diapause and postimplantation phases of mink gestation. Cells from diapause divided in vitro, reaching confluence in 7-8 days. Three phenotypes were d...

[Purpose] To evaluate the electrical activity of the pelvic floor muscle in women during the follicular, ovulatory, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle and its correlation with estradiol and total testosterone levels. [Subjects and Methods] This cross-sectional study involved 30 women with ovulatory menstrual cycles. Total testosterone and estradiol levels were measured and the muscle tone...

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), may mediate the dramatic structural and functional changes in the corpus luteum (CL) over the course of its life span. In addition to regulating MMP activity, TIMPs are also involved in a variety of cellular processes, including cell proliferation and steroidogenesis. In a seri...

BACKGROUND Luteal activity is dependent on the interaction of various growth factors, cytokines and hormones, including the thyroid hormones, being that hypo- and hyperthyroidism alter the gestational period and are also a cause of miscarriage and stillbirth. Because of that, we evaluated the proliferation, apoptosis and expression of angiogenic factors and COX-2 in the corpus luteum of hypo- a...

The corpus luteum (CL) is a transient endocrine organ that secretes progesterone to support pregnancy. The CL is formed from an ovulated follicle in a process that involves extensive angiogenesis and tissue remodeling. If fertilization does not occur or implantation is unsuccessful, the CL will undergo regression, which involves extensive tissue degradation. Extracellular proteases, such as ser...

The hormones progesterone and estradiol modulate neural plasticity in the hippocampus, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. These structures are involved in the superior memory for emotionally arousing information (EEM effects). Therefore, fluctuations in hormonal levels across the menstrual cycle are expected to influence activity in these areas as well as behavioral memory performance for ...

A gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-binding inhibitor (GnRH-BI) was purified from bovine ovaries and identified as histone H2A. In the present studies, the biological effects of partially purified and purified ovarian GnRH-BI, as well as calf thymus histone H2A, were examined in rat ovarian cells. Since GnRH has direct antigonadotropic actions on these cells, the effects on luteinizing horm...

This study investigated the relationships of thyroid hormones, serum energy metabolites, reproductive parameters, milk yield and body condition score with the different patterns of postpartum luteal activity in the postpartum period. A total of 75 multiparous healthy (free of detectable reproductive disorders) Holstein dairy cows (mean peak milk yield = 56.5 ± 7.0 kg/day) were used in this stud...

Dopamine (DA) receptor (DR) type 1 (D1R) has been found to be expressed in luteal cells of various species, but the intrinsic role of the DA/DRs system on corpora lutea (CL) function is still unclear. Experiments were devised to characterize the expression of DR types and the presence of DA, as well as the in vitro effects of DA on hormone productions by CL in pseudopregnant rabbits. Immunoreac...

Variations in hormonal levels between the follicular and the luteal phase of the female menstrual cycle are associated with variations in emotional and cognitive aspects of behavior. The functional neural correlates of these cycle-related variations have been explored in previous neuroimaging studies. We summarize the existing findings of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies to ...