Varicoceles (VCs) are the predominant cause of male infertility and are a risk factor for chronic venous disease. Morinda officinalis (M. officinalis) is a traditional Chinese medicine used to tonify the kidney and strengthen yang. In this study, we evaluated the effects of water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from M. officinalis (MOPs) on gonadotropin-release hormone (GnRH) secretion in a c...

The remarkable development and refinement of the Cre-loxP system coupled with the nonstop production of new mouse models and virus vectors have impelled the growth of various fields of investigation. In this article, I will discuss the data collected using these genetic tools in our area of interest, giving specific emphasis to the identification of the neuronal populations that relay leptin ac...

Metabolic disorders are often associated with male hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, suggesting that hypothalamic defects involving GnRH neurons may impair the reproductive function. Among metabolic factors hyperglycemia has been implicated in the control of the reproductive axis at central level, both in humans and in animal models. To date, little is known about the direct effects of pathologica...

We tested the hypothesis that a transcriptional chorionic enhancer (CE), previously identified to increase human renin expression in choriodecidual cells is required to mediate tissue-specific, cell-specific, and regulated expression of human renin in transgenic mice. Recombineering was used to delete the CE upstream of the renin gene alone or in combination with the kidney enhancer (KE) in a l...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Leptin, a key hormone in energy homeostasis and neuroendocrine function, has a permissive role in initiating puberty and is crucial in the pathogenesis of reproductive dysfunction in several disease states of energy imbalance. KiSS1 neurons have recently been suggested to mediate leptin's effect on the reproductive system. New insights from recent animal studies and clinical t...

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks the expression of estrogen receptor α, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). TNBC patients lack targeted therapies, as they fail to respond to endocrine and anti-HER2 therapy. Prognosis for this aggressive cancer subtype is poor and survival is limited due to the development of resistance to available chemotherapies...