17 research outputs found
Immunoexpression of the relaxin receptor LGR7 in breast and uterine tissues of humans and primates
No full text© 2003 Ivell et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL.METHODS: Three peptide sequences were identified from the proposed open reading frame of the cloned LGR7 receptor gene, representing both extracellular and intracellular domains. Two to three rabbits were immunized for each epitope, and the resulting sera subjected to a systematic validation using cultured cells transiently transfected with a receptor-expressing gene construct, or appropriate control constructs. RESULTS: Human and monkey (marmoset, macaque) endometrium showed consistent and specific immunostaining in the stromal cells close to glands. Staining appeared to be more intense in the luteal phase of the cycle. Weak immunostaining was also evident in the endometrial epithelial cells of the marmoset. A myoma in one patient exhibited strong immunostaining in the circumscribing connective tissue. Uterine expression was supported by RT-PCR results from cultured primary endometrial and myometrial cells. Human breast tissue (healthy and tumors) consistently indicated specific immunostaining in the interstitial connective (stromal) tissue within the glands, but not in epithelial or myoepithelial cells, except in some tumors, where a few epithelial and tumor cells also showed weak epitope expression. CONCLUSIONS: Using validated monotypic antibodies recognizing different epitopes of the LGR7 receptor, and from different immunized animals, and in different primate species, a consistent pattern of LGR7 expression was observed in the stromal (connective tissue) cells of the endometrium and breast, consistent also with the known physiology of the relaxin hormone.Richard Ivell, Marga Balvers, Yvonne Pohnke, Ralph Telgmann, Olaf Bartsch, Karin Milde-Langosch, Ana-maria Bamberger, and Almuth Einspanie
SPEER - A new family of testis-specific genes from the mouse
No full text© 2003 by the Society for the Study of ReproductionAndrej-Nikolai Spiess, Norbert Walther, Nadine Muller, Marga Balvers, Christoph Hansis, and Richard Ivel
Testis-specific expression of rat mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in haploid male germ cells
No full textJoachim M. Weitzel, Natalia B. Shiryaeva, Ralf Middendorff, Marga Balvers, Christiane Radtke, Richard Ivell, and Hans J. Seit
Constitutive regulation of the Insl3 gene in rat Leydig cells
No full textCopyright © 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd All rights reserved.Insulin-like factor 3 (Insl3) is a major new product of the Leydig cells in all mammalian species so far examined. The rat Insl3 gene is encoded by two exons in close juxtaposition to the Jak3 gene. Using RT-PCR analysis we now show that in the rat testis it is expressed as both major and minor splice variants, the former encoding the normal protein, the latter a truncated peptide comprising a C-terminally extended B-domain. Both transcripts are produced in constant relative amounts uniquely in the Leydig cells of the postnatal testis and in no other testicular cell type. Rat Insl3 protein is also expressed only in Leydig cells after postnatal day 30. Although specific mRNA is present at earlier times, corresponding protein is not detected. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis of Insl3 transcripts in the mouse MA-10 tumour Leydig cell-line under a wide range of stimulation regimes shows that in an acute context, the Insl3 gene is expressed absolutely constitutively. This is confirmed by transfection and electrophoretic mobility shift (EMSA) analysis of the rat Insl3 gene promoter, wherein the importance of three putative SF-1 responsive elements is underscored, although these appear to differ in their relative importance from their counterparts in the mouse Insl3 gene.Helen Sadeghian, Ravinder Anand-Ivell, Marga Balvers, Vandana Relan and Richard Ivellhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/506028/description#descriptio
Differentiation-dependent expression of 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, type 10, in the rodent testis: effect of aging in Leydig cells
No full textExpression of the new 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD), type 10 (17β-HSD-10), formerly known as endoplasmic reticulum-associated amyloid-binding protein, has been investigated in the testes of various mammals under normal and perturbed conditions. Results show that 17β-HSD-10 is a major product of both fetal and adult-type Leydig cells. In the former, protein persists until late in postnatal development; and in the short-day hamster model, it does not disappear when Leydig cells involute. During puberty in the rat, immunohistochemical staining for 17β-HSD-10 in adult-type Leydig cells first becomes evident on d 20, increasing to maximal staining intensity by d 35. In the rat, but not in the mouse or any other species examined, there is also staining in late spermatids. Examination of testes from rats subjected to perinatal treatment with either a GnRH antagonist or low and high doses of diethylstilbestrol revealed that expression of 17β-HSD-10 follows closely Leydig cell differentiation status, correlating with 3β-HSD expression in a previous study. In aging (23 months) rat testes, Leydig cell (but not germ cell) immunostaining for 17β-HSD-10 is markedly reduced. 17β-HSD-10 seems to preferentially convert 3α-androstanediol into dihydrotestosterone, and estradiol to estrone. Thus, perinatal expression of this enzyme in fetal Leydig cells may contribute to protecting these cells from estrogens and encourage androgen formation.Richard Ivell, Marga Balvers, Ravinder J. K. Anand, Hans-Joachim Paust, Chris McKinnell, and Richard Sharp
Expression of the insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) hormone-receptor (LGR8) system in the testis
No full text© 2006 by the Society for the Study of ReproductionThe new peptide hormone insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) is a member of the insulin-relaxin family, yet, unlike insulin, it signals through a new G-protein coupled receptor, LGR8, distantly related to the receptors for LH and FSH. INSL3 is produced in large amounts by the Leydig cells of the testis in both fetal and adult mammals. Using a combination of mRNA analysis by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, ligand-binding, and/or bioactivity assays, the distribution of LGR8 expression was assessed in testicular tissues and cells and in the epididymis. There was consistent agreement that LGR8 was expressed in meiotic and particularly postmeiotic germ cells and in Leydig cells, though not in Sertoli or peritubular cells. Leydig cells appear to express only a low level of the LGR8 gene product; other transcripts may be present, representing nonfunctional products. Messenger RNA analysis suggested that LGR8 transcripts in germ cells represented mostly full-length forms. LGR8 mRNA was also expressed in the epididymis, though no function can yet be ascribed to this expression. Therefore, the INSL3/LGR8 system represents a further paracrine hormone-receptor system in the testis, which conveys information about Leydig cell status to germ cells, and possibly as part of an autocrine feedback loopRavinder J.K. Anand-Ivell, Vandana Relan, Marga Balvers, Isabelle Coiffec-Dorval, Martin Fritsch, Ross A.D. Bathgate, and Richard Ivel
In situ strain & cure monitoring in liquid composite moulding by fibre Bragg grating sensors
No full textStructural Integrity & CompositesAerospace Engineerin
The structure and regulation of the oxytocin receptor
No full textThe definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comThe oxytocin receptor (OTR) is part of an ancient hormone system expressed in diverse phyla in relation to acute reproductive smooth muscle responses, such as egg‐laying, birth, or milk letdown. The regulation of the OTR gene, while correlating with steroid levels in vivo, remains elusive. There appear to be both inhibitory and stimulatory influences acting upon a constitutive pattern of basal expression. We have found no evidence, however, for an effect of the sex steroids either directly on gene transcription, or on the receptor itself at the protein level. In the prostatic carcinoma cell line Du145, we have shown that up‐regulation of the OTR gene transcription can be effected by cAMP. In an attempt to characterize the expression of the OTR protein in vivo, we have shown, using ligand‐blotting, that the OTR can be expressed at different sizes in transfected cells and in myometrium. Also, in the myometrium at term, immunohistochemistry suggests that there is both an increase in OTR protein per cell, as well as in the number of smooth muscle cells expressing OTR, emphasizing that perinatal changes are the results of both individual gene activation events and gross cellular differentiation. The OTR is a valuable model system reflecting molecular changes in the perinatal period. When we understand how this important molecule is regulated, we will also be a long way towards understanding the mechanisms controlling myometrial contractility at birth.Richard Ivell, Tadashi Kimura, Dieter Müller, Kai Augustin, Nicole Abend, Ross Bathgate, Ralph Telgmann, Marga Balvers, Gina Tillmann and Anna-Riitta Fuch
Progressive inactivation of the haploid expressed gene for the sperm-specific endozepine-like peptide (ELP) through primate evolution
No full text
