Category: Reproduction
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Prenatal exposure to paracetamol/acetaminophen and precursor aniline impairs masculinisation of male brain and behaviour
Paracetamol/acetaminophen (N-Acetyl-p-Aminophenol; APAP) is the preferred analgesic for pain relief and fever during pregnancy. It has therefore caused concern that several studies have reported that prenatal exposure to APAP results in developmental alterations in both the reproductive tract and the brain. Genitals and nervous system of male mammals are actively masculinised during foetal development and…
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Intrauterine Exposure to Paracetamol and Aniline Impairs Female Reproductive Development by Reducing Follicle Reserves and Fertility
Studies report that fetal exposure to paracetamol/acetaminophen by maternal consumption can interfere with male reproductive development. Moreover, recent biomonitoring data report widespread presence of paracetamol in German and Danish populations, suggesting exposure via secondary (nonpharmaceutical) sources, such as metabolic conversion from the ubiquitous industrial compound aniline. In this study, we investigated the extent to which…
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Aniline, through its conversion into antiandrogenic paracetamol (acetaminophen, tylenol), impairs male reproductive development
Industrial use of aniline is increasing worldwide with production estimated to surpass 5.6 million metric tons in 2016. Exposure to aniline occurs via air, diet, and water augmenting the risk of exposing a large number of individuals. Early observations suggest that aniline is metabolized to paracetamol/acetaminophen, likely explaining the omnipresence of low concentrations of paracetamol…
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The Yolk’s On Us: Unraveling the Secrets of Vitellogenesis
Hold onto your ovaries, folks! We’re about to dive into the wild world of Vitellogenesis – the cellular rave where eggs get their groove on! Picture this: You’re a lonely liver cell, minding your own business, when suddenly – BAM! – you’re hit with a tsunami of estradiol. It’s like Mother Nature’s Red Bull, and…
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Vitellin is essential in the fertilization process, and embryonic development in egg-laying organisms
Vitellin is a protein found in the egg yolk. It is a phosphoprotein. Vitellin is a generic name for major of many yolk proteins. Vitellin has been known since the 1900s. The periodic acid-Schiff method and Sudan black B dye was used to help determine that Vitellin is a glycolipoprotein because it stained positive when tested. This protein was…
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The trefoil knot fold is a protein fold in which the protein backbone is twisted into a trefoil knot shape
“Shallow” knots in which the tail of the polypeptide chain only passes through a loop by a few residues are uncommon, but “deep” knots in which many residues are passed through the loop are extremely rare. Deep trefoil knots have been found in the SPOUT superfamily. including methyltransferase proteins involved in posttranscriptional RNA modification in all three domains of life, including bacterium Thermus thermophilus and…
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The transforming growth factor beta receptors
a family of serine/threonine kinase receptors involved in TGF beta signaling pathway
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Cells in the APUD system may include Juxtaglomerular cells (JG cells), the renin producing cells in the kidney
Juxtaglomerular cells (JG cells), also known as juxtaglomerular granular cells are cells in the kidney that synthesize, store, and secrete the enzyme renin. They are specialized smooth muscle cells mainly in the walls of the afferent arterioles (and some in the efferent arterioles) that deliver blood to the glomerulus. In synthesizing renin, they play a critical role in the renin–angiotensin system and thus in autoregulation of the kidney. Juxtaglomerular cells secrete renin in…
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Adenohypophysis regulates several physiological processes, including stress, growth, reproduction, and lactation
A major organ of the endocrine system, the anterior pituitary (also called the adenohypophysis or pars anterior) is the glandular, anterior lobe that together with the posterior lobe (posterior pituitary, or the neurohypophysis) makes up the pituitary gland (hypophysis). The anterior pituitary regulates several physiological processes, including stress, growth, reproduction, and lactation. Proper functioning of the anterior pituitary and of the organs it regulates can often be ascertained via blood tests that measure hormone levels. Structure The pituitary gland sits in a…
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Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells
Neuroendocrine cells are cells that receive neuronal input (through neurotransmitters released by nerve cells or neurosecretory cells) and, as a consequence of this input, release messenger molecules (hormones) into the blood. In this way they bring about an integration between the nervous system and the endocrine system, a process known as neuroendocrine integration. An example of a neuroendocrine cell is a cell…
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Neuromedin U
Neuromedin U (or NmU) is a neuropeptide found in the brain of humans and other mammals, which has a number of diverse functions including contraction of smooth muscle, regulation of blood pressure, pain perception, appetite, bone growth, and hormone release. It was first isolated from the spinal cord in 1985, and named after its ability to cause smooth muscle contraction in the uterus. Structure Neuromedin…
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Adrenarche and Adrenopause
Adrenarche is an early stage in sexual maturation that happens in some higher primates and in humans, typically peaks at around 20 years of age, and is involved in the development of pubic hair, body odor, skin oiliness, axillary hair, sexual attraction/sexual desire/increased libido and mild acne. During adrenarche the adrenal glands secrete increased levels of weak adrenal androgens, including dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and androstenedione (A4), but without increased cortisol levels. Adrenarche is the result of the development of a…
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CBP and p300 are critical for normal embryonic development
Mouse models CBP and p300 are critical for normal embryonic development, as mice completely lacking either CBP or p300 protein, die at an early embryonic stage. In addition, mice which lack one functional copy (allele) of both the CBP and p300 genes (i.e. are heterozygous for both CBP and p300) and thus have half of the normal amount…
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Decreased concentrations of CBP and lower amounts of H3 and H4 acetylation associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is a classification of diseases that all result from alcohol exposure during pregnancy. Symptoms of these disorders include poor cerebellar-dependent learning, motor coordination and impaired balance. In rats with FASD, it was shown that they had decreased concentrations of CBP and lower amounts of H3 and H4 acetylation.
