The present study investigated serum cortisol in response to postpartum ovarian resumption and luteal function. Postpartum ovarian resumption was detected based on a rise in progesterone (P4) concentrations during three weeks after calving. Twenty two Holstein cows in a semi-closed dairy farm in Qena city, Egypt were used. The study was carried out from late March to early June; the period char...

The process of cumulus mucification in pig preovulatory follicles was examined by scanning electron microscopy. The localization of extracellular material and changes in the granulosa cell surface were observed at 0, 16, 20 and 40 h after hCG injection. At 0 h the pig oocyte cumulus complex was closely attached to the parietal layer of granulosa cells. Cumulus and parietal granulosa cells had m...

This report describes an unusual case of ovarian torsion during an IVF cycle prior to vaginal oocyte retrieval and the subsequent embryo development. A 27-year-old, whose husband carries a balanced translocation, presented on stimulation day 11 (day after human chorionic gonadotrophin administration) with signs of right ovarian torsion. Transvaginal ultrasound identified decreased right ovarian...

Several external and internal factors contribute to the reproductive success of teleosts, which makes process complex unique. In Indian freshwater catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, monsoon plays a crucial role as it fine tunes neuroendocrine axis, culminating in oocyte maturation. Therefore, induction maturation requires coordinated interaction among hypothalamic, hypophyseal, peripheral hormon...

Objective:In vitro maturation is a highly effective method for achieving mature  oocytes to treat infertility based on in vitro methods (IVF-ICSI). This technique is effective for treating women who suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO) and cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: immature oocytes were obtained from 6-8 weeks old NMRI mice, 48 hours after intraperitoneal injection of 7.5 units of...

ATP-binding cassette E1 (ABCE1) is a member of the ATP-binding cassette transporters and essential for diverse biological events regulating abroad range of biological functions including viral infection, cell proliferation, anti-apoptosis, translation initiation and ribosome biogenesis. Here, we discovered that Abce1 also plays indispensable roles in mouse oocyte meiotic progression. In the pre...

Background: A conserved biological feature of sexual reproduction in animals is that oocytes arrest in meiotic prophase and resume meiosis in response to extraovarian signals. In C. elegans, sperm trigger meiotic resumption by means of the major sperm protein (MSP) signal. MSP promotes meiotic resumption by functioning as an ephrin-signaling antagonist and by counteracting inhibitory inputs fro...

The present study shows that Ca(2+) calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) is physiologically activated in fertilized mouse oocytes and is involved in the Ca(2+) response pathways that link the fertilization Ca(2+) signal to meiosis resumption and cortical granule (CG) exocytosis. After 10 min of insemination, CaM kinase II activity increased transiently, then peaked at 1 h and ...