INTRODUCTION During mammalian ovarian organogenesis, the massive loss of oogonia via apoptosis is attenuated by the association of germ cells with somatic mesoepithelial cells of the gonadal ridge to form primordial follicles. It is suspected that the germ cell actively participates in this process via the production of local regulatory factors. Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9), a member...

were generated in Madison, Wisconsin, by Thompson’s group in 1998 (99). In contrast, murine ESC were isolated and initially described in the 1980s (27, 83) and have been used in many different models ever since, paving the way for current studies on hESC. The promise generated by the possible application of hESC to disease treatment has led to a tremendous interest in stem cell research overall...

Relatively few countries have legislation addressing oocyte donation. Where such legislation does exist it is entirely in the context of broader legislation concerned with the regulation of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or assisted reproduction more generally. Within Western Europe only nine countries so far have passed Acts addressing assisted reproduction. These countries fall into two groups ...

BACKGROUND Oocyte donation is a popular treatment option among women with ovarian dysfunction. Little is known about the amount of information recipients have about their donors and if the amount of information the couple has relates to their plans to disclose. The purpose of this study was to assess the amount of information recipients had about their donors and their disclosure plans. METHO...

MPM-2 antigens, a discrete set of phosphoproteins that contain similar phosphoepitopes (the MPM-2 epitope), are associated with various mitotically important structures. The central mitotic regulator cdc2 kinase has been proposed to induce M-phase by phosphorylating many proteins which might include the MPM-2 antigens. To clarify the relationship of cdc2 kinase and the MPM-2 antigens, we develo...

background: the presence of rennin-angiotensin components in mammalian ovaries and their involvement in ovarian physiology have been established. in the present study, effects of angiotensin ii (ang ii) on sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase (na+/k+/atpase) expression and development of sheep embryos was evaluated. methods: the abattoir-derived cumulus oocyte complexes (coc) were randomly...

An extract from whole oocytes of Xenopus laevis was shown to transcribe somatic-type 5S RNA genes approximately 100-fold more efficiently than oocyte-type 5S RNA genes. This preference was at least 10-fold greater than the preference seen upon microinjection of 5S RNA genes into oocyte nuclei or upon in vitro transcription in an oocyte nuclear extract. The approximately 100-fold transcriptional...

The primary axes of Drosophila are set up by the localization of transcripts within the oocyte. These mRNAs originate in the nurse cells, but how they move into the oocyte remains poorly understood. Here, we study the path and mechanism of movement of gurken RNA within the nurse cells and towards and through ring canals connecting them to the oocyte. gurken transcripts, but not control transcri...