Reproduction Abstracts

Importin protein family members are best known for serving critical roles in mediating regulated nucleocytoplasmic transport, and many are essential to developmental events including gametogenesis. We proposed that coordinated expression of an importin and a cell-specific transcription factor would drive a developmental switch by enabling transcription and other nuclear factors to enter the nucleus appropriately. Analyses of importin alpha (IMPα) and beta (IMPβ) mRNA...

Introduction: The CDC reports that roughly one-third of USA adults suffer from metabolic syndrome. Amongst other health complications, metabolic syndrome is associated with subfertility and complications later in pregnancy. Successful implantation and pregnancy require the priming of both embryo and uterus during a short window of time called the ‘window of implantation’. At this time, hormones stimulate uterine stromal fibroblasts to differentiate into specialized s...

The composition of the external environment can have a significant impact on intracellular signaling pathways during early embryonic development. Components of the culture media, especially amino acids, are known to improve embryo development. We have shown that L-proline and L-glutamine improve development to the blastocyst stage by acting in a growth factor-like way. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of amino acids on signaling pathways in the...

Introduction: The pre-implantation embryo has two distinct cell lineages at the blastocyst stage. An outer epithelial monolayer called trophectoderm and the non-polar inner cell mass. Tight junctions (TJ) form continuous intercellular contacts between neighbouring trophectoderm cells and are crucial in establishing a blastocoele cavity. TJs are composed of several transmembrane proteins including Claudins, a large family of proteins that play a central role in the formation of...

Introduction: Maternal low protein diet exclusively during preimplantation mouse development (Emb-LPD) induces compensatory changes in extra-embryonic lineages including primitive endoderm (PE) to enhance nutrient delivery during later gestation, for example, stimulation of endocytosis. Whilst such responses protect fetal growth, adult offspring exhibit increased cardiometabolic disease risk. Here, we investigate epigenetic mechanisms underlying maternal dietary programming, u...

Introduction: Human germ cells develop in synchronised nests in the fetal ovary, interspersed with somatic cells prior to reorganisation to form primordial follicles. We have isolated several somatic cell lines from disaggregated human fetal ovaries as a model for understanding their contribution to the germ cell niche. Fetal dysregulation of TGFβ signalling has been linked with fibrosis in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): effects of TGFβ on extracellular matrix (EC...

The embryonic environment can induce permanent changes in metabolism and increase disease risk in adults. Rodent models show that modifications in maternal diet exclusively during pre-implantation development can induce metabolic disease in adults. Changes must therefore occur within the early embryo and be maintained throughout development. Determining adaptive mechanisms is challenging due to the size of the early embryo. We generated ES cells from inbred C57BL/6 mice as a m...

The TGFβ superfamily consists of more than 30 ligands, which exert their multiple functions during early embryonic development and in adult tissues. During spermatogenesis, several TGFβ superfamily ligands are present simultaneously to regulate critical stages of development through shared receptors and overlapping transduction molecules. However, the understanding of this promiscuity of signalling pathways remains unfortunately incomplete. Our aim is to study the me...

Sertoli cells (SC) are key initiators of testis development and have a fundamental role in spermatogenesis. However, it is uncertain how an acute reduction in SC number, in a hormone independent-manner at key points in development or adulthood, will impact testis function.To induce acute SC-ablation at key points of testicular development, we used Cre-loxP recombinase technology and the expression of Diphtheria toxin and its receptor. We utilized these l...

Background: The human endometrium is a dynamic, multi-cellular sex steroid-dependent tissue subject to cyclical episodes of breakdown (menses), repair and regeneration. The mechanisms responsible for initiation of menses are well characterised; the molecular and cellular changes responsible for rapid repair are poorly understood. Re-epithelialisation of the tissue is thought to involve contributions from both the stromal and epithelial compartments. A role for androgens in end...