scholarly journals Impact of endocrine disruptors on neurons expressing GnRH or kisspeptin and pituitary gonadotropin

Reproduction ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy A. Roepke ◽  
Nicole C. Salier
Keyword(s):  
Flame Retardants ◽  
Steroid Receptors ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ◽  
The Body ◽  
Hormone Production ◽  
Hypothalamic Neurons ◽  
Pituitary Gonadotropin ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Estrous Cyclicity ◽  
Exogenous Compounds

Reproduction is a complex process that is controlled centrally via a network of hypothalamic neurons to modulate the pulsatile release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and subsequently pituitary gonadotropins. The gonadotropins, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone, drive gametogenesis and hormone production from the gonads. The hypothalamic-pituitary exchange is controlled by gonadal steroids through negative and positive feedback mechanisms via steroid receptors. Due to the expression of these receptors, GnRH neurons, the hypothalamic neurons that control them, and pituitary gonadotropes are sensitive to exogenous compounds that interact with steroid and nuclear receptors or alter hormone production and metabolism. The compounds, called endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), are ubiquitous and persistent in human environments and could bioaccumulate in the body. EDCs include plasticizers (like bisphenol A), dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, flame retardants, and perfluorinated akyl substances (PFAS). Numerous studies have reported that perinatal, juvenile, or adult exposure to these EDCs, primarily in rats, disrupt the hypothalamic control of pituitary gonadotropin production leading to disruption of gonadal steroid production and estrous cyclicity. The purpose of this review is to evaluate these studies primarily focusing on GnRH and kisspeptin neurons and anterior pituitary gonadotropins and to discuss the need for deeper investigations into the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

A Potential Role of Coenzyme Q10 Deficiency in Severe SARS-CoV2 Infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasilios M. Polymeropoulos ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Viral Entry ◽  
Coenzyme Q10 ◽  
Severe Infection ◽  
The Body ◽  
Therapeutic Options ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Infected People ◽  
Inflammatory State ◽  
Exogenous Compounds ◽  
Obesity Hypertension

There is a dramatic need for extensive research into the predictors of severe infection with SARS-CoV2 and therapeutic options for infected people. People who suffer from severe illness and higher mortality display a pattern of having specific co-morbidities (diabetes, obesity, hypertension) and are of higher age. Recent research has described methods of viral entry via receptors (ACE2, TMPRSS2) and the hyper-inflammatory state often associated with severe illness (increase in interleukins, increase in TNF-alpha). These discoveries have led to the research of currently available and developing therapies, that are helpful to patients. Deficiencies of specific vitamins and other endogenous molecules of the body should be examined to understand if a pattern exists among the people most severely affected. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a fat-soluble substance ubiquitously expressed throughout the body that is important for the generation of ATP and mediation of inflammatory disease. CoQ10 faces a decline with increasing age, genetic predispositions, and ingestion of exogenous compounds that could reduce the level of CoQ10. Deficiencies and subsequent supplementation with CoQ10 recently has displayed encouraging results for the improvement of a wide variety of diseases. This manuscript is significant as it points to a potential relationship of CoQ10 and the population suffering from severe illness of COVID-19, and further encourages the need for research into measuring the levels of CoQ10 and vitamins to understand if levels predict severe illness and mortality. This could offer new avenues into research in combating this pandemic and potentially future therapeutic options.

scholarly journals The Emergence of Violence and the Terror of Being Born in Murakami’s Coin Locker Babies

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-274
Author(s):  
Florina Ilis ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Jean Baudrillard ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Frederic Jameson ◽  
The Subject

Modern poetics imposed the image of Nietzsche’s split Subject, with the disaggregated self-emerging as dilemmatic subjectivity and its aesthetic culmination in the “dehumanisation of art.” Nietzsche’s philosophy provided postmodern poetics with the Subject as “fiction,” subjected to a complex process of self-multiplication and self-reflection (Ihab Hassan). The loss of the autonomy of the Subject as a “fashionable theme” (Frederic Jameson), combined with its multiplication into simulacra (Jean Baudrillard) and the abolition of reference, allow the Object to storm the places of its absence. The multiplicitous nature under which the image of subjectivity is formed is a possible solution for the issue of the Subject. Another solution would be inflicting violence upon the Subject, replaced by the corporeality of the Object, by the body, to the point of its destruction, or to the ultimate point of abjectness. My essay will use Murakami Ryū’s novel Coin Locker Babies to examine its author’s views on the Object-Subject relation, on the Subject as an Object (corporeality) and on the forms through which the Object inflicts violence upon the Subject.

scholarly journals Cell-state transitions and collective cell movement generate an endoderm-like region in gastruloids

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Hashmi ◽  
Sham Tlili ◽  
Pierre Perrin ◽  
Alfonso Martinez-Arias ◽  
Pierre-François Lenne
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Cell Movement ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
The Body ◽  
State Transitions ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Cell Layers ◽  
Sorting Process

AbstractShaping the animal body plan is a complex process that involves the spatial organization and patterning of different cell layers. Recent advances in live imaging have started to unravel the cellular choreography underlying this process in mammals, however, the sequence of events transforming an unpatterned cell ensemble into structured territories is largely unknown. Here, using 3D aggregates of mouse embryonic stem cells, we study the formation of one of the three germ layers, the endoderm. We show that the endoderm is generated from an epiblast-like state by a three-step mechanism: a release of islands of Ecadherin expressing cells, their flow toward the aggregate tip, and their segregation. Unlike the prevailing view, this mechanism does not require epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions and vice-versa but rather a fragmentation, which is mediated by Wnt/β-catenin, and a sorting process. Our data emphasize the role of signaling and cell flows in the establishment of the body plan.

scholarly journals Generation of Miniaturized Ovaries by in Vitro Culture From Mouse Gonads

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Won Jang ◽  
Hoon Jang ◽  
Hyun Woo Choi
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Development ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Nutrient Deficiency ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors

Abstract The incidence of infertility among individuals of reproductive age has been growing due to genetic and environmental factors, and considerable research efforts are focused on solving this issue. Ovarian development is an overly complex process in the body, involving the interaction between primordial germ cells and gonad somatic cells. However, follicles located in the center of the in vitro ovary are poorly formed or die owing to ovarian complexity, nutrient deficiency, and signaling deficiency. In the present study, we optimized methods for dissociating gonads and culture conditions for the in vitro generation of miniaturized ovaries. The gonads from embryos were dissociated into cell masses and cultured on a Transwell-COL membrane for 3~5 weeks. Approximately 12 follicles were present per in vitro ovary. We observed that miniaturized ovaries successfully matured to MII oocytes in vitro from 150 to 100 µm gonad masses. This method will be useful for investigating follicle development and oocyte production.

scholarly journals The Ras suppressor-1 (RSU-1) in cancer

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (s1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lefteris C Zacharia ◽  
Vasiliki Gkretsi
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Research Field ◽  
The Body ◽  
Primary Tumors ◽  
Adhesion Protein ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Cancer Types ◽  
Metastatic Process

Primary tumors are seldom the cause of death for cancer patients as most patients die from metastatic disease. Thus, deciphering metastatic mechanisms and key molecules involved is of utmost importance for the improved survival of cancer patients. Metastasis is a complex process in which cancer cells dissociate from the original tumor and spread to distant sites of the body. During the metastatic process, cancer cells lose contact both with the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the neighboring cells within the primary tumor, thus invading though surrounding tissues. Therefore, ECM, and ECM-related adhesion proteins play a critical role in the metastatic process. Ras suppressor-1 (RSU-1) was first identified as a suppressor of Ras-dependent oncogenic transformation and is localized to cell-ECM adhesions where it is known to interact with the pro-survival adhesion protein PINCH-1. Although the connection to cancer is obvious, little is known regarding its expression in various cancer types. This opinion piece is focusing on recent literature regarding the expression of RSU-1 in various cancer types and the possible molecular mechanism of its action, pointing towards questions that need still to be addressed in this research field.

Increased Soft Tissue in the Posterior Cervical and Upper Back Area of Patients on HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors

1999 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Smith ◽  
Marguerite Germain ◽  
Catherine Decker ◽  
Josef Yeager ◽  
Henry Skelton
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Protease Inhibitors ◽  
Steroid Receptors ◽  
Steroid Hormone ◽  
Matrix Material ◽  
Subcutaneous Fat ◽  
The Body ◽  
Factor Xiiia ◽  
Hormone Metabolism ◽  
Hiv 1

Background: Corticosteroids as well as sex hormones affect the redistribution of subcutaneous fat and the percentage of lean body mass. In addition, some stromal cells express steroid receptors, and the quantity and distribution of these receptors vary at different body sites and between sexes. Inhibitors of HIV-1 protease may affect steroid hormone metabolism through their effect on cytochrome P450. Objectives: To determine the changes in the tissue of the back in three HIV-1+ patients who developed increased soft tissue in posterior cervical and upper back areas while on HIV-1 protease inhibitors. Methods: Punch biopsies of the involved posterior cervical and upper back areas were done. These included subcutaneous adipose tissue. Routine hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections, along with special stains for elastic and stromal mucin, and immunohistochemical stains for CD34 (HPCA-1 and Factor XIIIa) were evaluated. Results: Histologically all three patients showed identical features. There was expansion of the dermis with decreased periadnexal fat and marked widening of the fibrous septa within the expanded subcutaneous fat. Conclusions: The posterior cervical and upper back area appears to be a common site for localization of mesenchymal tumours that show some fat differentiation and produce an increase in stromal matrix material. Mesenchymal cell populations within this area are also affected by systemic diseases. A male predominance pattern occurs with these conditions, and steroid receptors are expressed on some mesenchymal cells, that vary with the body location. Thus, this observation may be related to the effects of protease inhibitors on steroid hormone metabolism through their inhibition of cytochrome P-450.

Hormonally active agents in the environment: a state-of-the-art review

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faizan Anwer ◽  
Savita Chaurasia ◽  
Abid Ali Khan
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Compounds ◽  
Second World War ◽  
The Body ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Metabolic Activities ◽  
Second World

AbstractAfter the Second World War, infatuation with modern products has exponentially widened the spectrum of chemicals used. Some of them are capable of hijacking the endocrine system by blocking or imitating a hormone and are referred to as hormonally active chemicals or endocrine disruptors. These are chemicals that the body was not designed for evolutionarily and they are present in every matrix of the environment. We are living in a chemical world where the exposures are ubiquitous and take place in combinations that can interact with the endocrine system and some other metabolic activities in unexpected ways. The complexity of interaction of these compounds can be understood by the fact that they interfere with gene expression at extremely low levels, consequently harming an individual life form, its offspring or population. As the endocrine system plays a critical role in many biological or physiological functions, by interfering body’s endocrine system, endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have various adverse effects on human health, starting from birth defects to developmental disorders, deadly deseases like cancer and even immunological disorders. Most of these compounds have not been tested yet for safety and their effects cannot be assessed by the available techniques. The establishment of proper exposure measurement techniques and integrating correlation is yet to be achieved to completely understand the impacts at various levels of the endocrine axis.

scholarly journals Computer-aided processing of the oculomotor signal

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 00025
Author(s):  
Tomasz Lewandowski ◽  
Anna Lewandowska
Keyword(s):  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Computer Processing ◽  
The Body ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Measurement Equipment ◽  
Data Filtering ◽  
Noise Detection ◽  
Analysis Process ◽  
Complex Process

Specific features of oculomotor signal and availability of high-end measurement equipment, as well as using modern IT techniques and tools creates the possibility of automatic processing of this type of data and extensive use of developed algorithms. Analysis of such data is a tedious and complex process so computer processing of the oculomotor signal makes the process less time-consuming, more precise and effective. The article discusses data filtering and removing noise, detection of saccades and fixations and determination of characteristic oculomotor parameters and then analysis using neural networks (unidirectional, two-layer neural network with backpropagation learning method and Kohonen’s self-organising network) and application supporting the analysis process. The proposed test method allows registration of a view path followed by its automatic analysis to obtain objective parameters characterising the movement of the eyeball. The motor apparatus of the eyeball, due to its high sensitivity to changes in the body, can serve as a measure of general health.

104 Epigenetic Changes Due to Environmental Toxicants: An Animal Health Concern

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 54-54
Author(s):  
Cheryl S Rosenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Steroid Receptors ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Environmental Toxicants ◽  
Epigenetic Changes ◽  
Developmental Exposure

Abstract Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) mimic natural hormones in the body, but they are not subject to normal homeostatic regulatory mechanisms. One such EDC that is particularly important in animal and human health is bisphenol A (BPA) that is an industrial chemical used to harden plastic, and thus, it is prevalent in many common household items. Notably, BPA, and likely other EDCs, persist in the environment. Besides binding to steroid and non-steroid receptors, BPA and other EDCs may induce epigenetic changes directly or by affecting gut bacteria that can promote such host changes. The objective of current studies was to determine whether developmental exposure to BPA and/or genistein, a phytoestrogen, induce persistent epigenetic and transcriptomic changes in various brain regions and the placenta. Additionally, the ability of these chemicals to alter gut microbiota and gut metabolites that may trigger such epigenetic alterations were investigated. Animal models used to examine for such effects included California mice (Peromyscus californicus), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), laboratory mice (Mus musculus), and eastern painted turtles (Chrysemys picta). To link these ‘omics changes to actual phenotypic modifications, several behavioral domains were assessed in these species following developmental exposure to these compounds. Results across taxa clearly show that BPA and genistein leads to behavioral deficits, including cognitive and social impairments, anxiogenic behaviors, and reduced voluntary physical activity. Correspondingly, both chemicals transformed the epigenome and transcriptome in key brain regions and the placenta. Gut dysbiosis and stimulation of harmful bacterial metabolites ensued following early EDC exposure, and such effects persisted through adulthood. By using a one health medicine approached that evaluated various vertebrate animal species, there is solid evidence that perinatal exposure to BPA and genistein reprograms the epigenome and thereby lead to longstanding health consequences. Such findings have important veterinary and human health ramifications.

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