High Estrogen Levels Research Articles

Occurrence of lymphoma in non-gonadal organ during pregnancy: a report on four cases and literature review.

Lymphoma rarely occurs during pregnancy, making this condition difficult to define. Lymphomas that occur in reproductive organs during pregnancy exhibit unique clinical characteristics. Among the limited cases, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) shows a considerably higher incidence rate than Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL); NHL also displays clinical characteristics, such as high aggressiveness, advanced stage, and poor outcome. This study reports on four cases of lymphomas in non-gonadal organs (HL, n=2; NHL, n=2) during pregnancy. The tumors rapidly progressed in all patients during pregnancy but remitted at the end of pregnancy and/or therapy. The two HL cases were nodular sclerosis classical HL and treated with chemotherapy after terminating the pregnancy. One of the NHL cases was primary cutaneous follicular center lymphoma, a B cell-derived indolent lymphoma. The patient was followed up without any therapy after terminating her pregnancy. The other case was a follicular lymphoma grade 3B, which was treated with chemotherapy after delivery. We also conducted a literature review of 165 lymphoma cases occurring during pregnancy reported from 1976 to 2013 to reveal the correlation between pregnancy and lymphoma progression. Immunohistochemistry studies were performed to determine the expression of estrogen/progesterone receptors (ER/PR), and ER was weakly positive and sporadic. We concluded that lymphomas occurring during pregnancy should be managed with a prompt and reasonable treatment. High estrogen level in maternal body may affect lymphoma progression.

Neonatal exposure to estradiol-17β modulates tumour necrosis factor alpha and cyclooxygenase-2 expression in brain and also in ovaries of adult female rats

The sexually dimorphic organization in perinatal rat brain is influenced by steroid hormones. Exposure to high levels of estrogen or endocrine-disrupting compounds during perinatal period may perturb this process, resulting in compromised reproductive physiology and behavior as observed in adult In our recent observation neonatal exposure of the female rats to estradiol-17β resulted in down-regulation of TNF-α, up-regulation of COX-2 and increase in SDN-POA size in pre-optic area in the adulthood. It is known that the control of reproductive performance in female involves a complex interplay of the hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovary. The present study was undertaken to understand the possible molecular mechanism involved in changes observed in the ovarian morphology and expression of selected genes in the ovary. Administration of estradiol-17β (100 μg) on day 2 and 3 after birth revealed up-regulation of ER-α, ER-β, COX-2 and down-regulation of TNF-α expression. Also the decrease in the ovarian weight, altered ovarian morphology and changes in the 2D protein profiles were also seen. This is apparently the first report documenting that neonatal estradiol exposure modulates TNF-α and COX-2 expression in the ovary as seen during adult stage. Our results permit us to suggest that cues originating from the modified brain structure due to neonatal exposure of estradiol-17β remodel the ovary at the molecular level in such a way that there is a disharmony in the reproductive function during adulthood and these changes are perennial and can lead to infertility and changes of reproductive behavior.

Dynamics of hepatic and intestinal cholesterol and bile acid pathways: The impact of the animal model of estrogen deficiency and exercise training.

Plasma cholesterol level is determined by a complex dynamics that involves transport lipoproteins which levels are tightly dependent on how the liver and the intestine regulate cholesterol and biliary acid metabolism. Regulation of cholesterol and biliary acids by the liver and the intestine is in turn coupled to a large array of enzymes and transporters that largely influence the inflow and the outflow of cholesterol and biliary acids through these organs. The activity of the key regulators of cholesterol and biliary acids may be influenced by several external factors such as pharmacological drugs and the nutritional status. In recent years, more information has been gathered about the impact of estrogens on regulation of cholesterol in the body. Exposure to high levels of estrogens has been reported to promote cholesterol gallstone formation and women are twice as likely as men to develop cholesterol gallstones. The impact of estrogen withdrawal, such as experienced by menopausal women, is therefore of importance and more information on how the absence of estrogens influence cholesterol regulation is started to come out, especially through the use of animal models. An interesting alternative to metabolic deterioration due to estrogen deficiency is exercise training. The present review is intended to summarize the present information that links key regulators of cholesterol and biliary acid pathways in liver and intestine to the absence of estrogens in an animal model and to discuss the potential role of exercise training as an alternative.

Gender-specific differences in gene expression profiles in gynogenetic Pengze crucian carp

Gynogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction that is used to obtain all-female fish stocks. In this study, we were interested in studying gender-specific differences in gene expression profiles in gynogenetic teleosts, using a carp species. The four-month old gynogenetic Pengze crucian carp F1 (Carassius auratus var. pengzensis, Pcc) showed a high ratio of males under laboratory culture condition. The present study aimed to investigate the differences between males and females. The gonadosomatic index of the females was significantly higher than that of the males. Moreover, the hepatosomatic index of the females was significantly lower than that of the males. Vitellogenin B mRNA was abnormally highly expressed in male hepatopancreas and testes compared to females. Similarly, zona pellucida 2 expressed at a significantly high level in the testes. For the sex related genes, dosage-sensitive sex reversal, adrenal hypoplasia congenital critical region on the X-chromosome gene 1, doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1a, nuclear receptor subfamily 5, group A, member 1b and SRY-box containing gene 9a had significantly higher expression levels in the males than in the females, whereas there was no difference in expression of anti-Müllerian hormone, cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily A member 1A and forkhead box L2 transcripts between the two genders. The females showed higher levels of estrogen but no significant difference in testosterone compared to the males. The data suggest remarkable differences between the two genders of the Pengze crucian carp.

Evidence of estrogen modulation on memory processes for emotional content in healthy young women

PurposeIt is well accepted that emotional content can affect memory, interacting with the encoding and consolidation processes. The aim of the present study was to verify the effects of estrogens in the interplay of cognition and emotion. MethodsImages from the International Affective Pictures System, based on valence (pleasant, unpleasant and neutral), maintaining arousal constant, were viewed passively by two groups of young women in different cycle phases: a periovulatory group (PO), characterized by high level of estrogens and low level of progesterone, and an early follicular group (EF), characterized by low levels of both estrogens and progesterone. The electrophysiological responses to images were measured, and P300 peak was considered. One week later, long-term memory was tested by means of free recall. FindingsIntra-group analysis displayed that PO woman had significantly better memory for positive images, while EF women showed significantly better memory for negative images. The comparison between groups revealed that women in the PO phase had better memory performance for positive pictures than women in the EF phase, while no significant differences were found for negative and neutral pictures. According to the free recall results, the subjects in the PO group showed greater P300 amplitude, and shorter latency, for pleasant images compared with women in the EF group. ConclusionOur results showed that the physiological hormonal fluctuation of estrogens during the menstrual cycle can influence memory, at the time of encoding, during the processing of emotional information.

Developmental Stage and Sex-Specific Role of IGF/IGF1R Signaling in Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are critical regulators of cell growth, proliferation and survival. Their activities are mainly mediated through insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R). Both IGFs and IGF1R are commonly involved in human cancers, including leukemia. Thus, a better understanding of the role of IGF/IGF1R signaling in normal hematopoiesis will enhance our understanding of leukemogenesis. We showed previously a developmental stage-specific role of this pathway in regulating fetal (but not adult) megakaryocytic progenitors via interplay with GATA1 (Genes Dev. 24:1659-72). To determine whether IGF/IGF1R signaling also plays differential roles in fetal and adult hematopoiesis in general, we analysed Igf1r conditional knockout mice using Mx1-Cre and Vav-Cre for the adult stage, and Tie2-Cre for the fetal stage. Although both fetal and adult stages of hematopoiesis were not significantly perturbed, loss of Igf1r in fetal (but not in adult) hematopoietic cells led to a significant reduction in the number of CFUs in clonogenic assays. In adult Igf1r -null Lin-Sca-1+c-Kit+ (LSK) hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), analysis of the long-term hematopoietic stem cell (LT-HSC), short-term HSC (ST-HSC) and multipotent progenitor (MPP) subsets of LSK cells revealed an increase in the percentage of LT-HSCs when compared to that of wild-type (WT) mice, consistent with a recent study (Nature. 500:345-9). These data suggest that IGF/IGF1R signaling may have a developmental stage-restricted role in fetal progenitors; in adults, this pathway may play a role in the transition from LT-HSCs to MPPs.Recently it was shown that estrogen signaling plays an important role in regulating proliferation of HSCs (Nature. 505:555-8). Since during development, both male and female fetuses are exposed to the same high level of maternal estrogen, whereas in adults, male and female hematopoietic cells are exposed to different levels of circulating estrogen, we hypothesized that adult (but not fetal) HSPCs from male and female mice might exhibit different phenotypes in response to Igf1r -loss. To test this, we analysed the adult LSK population by separating males and females. Interestingly, we found that in females, but not in males, the LSK population is significantly reduced upon Igf1r -loss. Conversely, a preliminary study in fetal liver CFU assay revealed that both Igf1r -null female and male fetuses exhibited a similar reduction in their CFUs compared to matched WT controls. To understand the female-specific role of IGF/IGF1R signaling in adult HSPCs, we analysed the cell cycle status of HSCs. Similar to the reported observation (Nature. 505:555-8), we found that in WT female adults, there were significantly more Ki67+ cycling LT-HSCs than those in males. Intriguingly, Igf1r -loss significantly reduced the percentage of cycling LT-HSCs in females to a level comparable to that of WT males, but had a neglectable effect on cycling LT-HSCs in males. Administration of estradiol (E2) revealed that in females, E2 injection led to an increase in the percentage of Ki67+ LT-HSCs and this increase was partially abolished when under the Igf1r- null background; in males, E2 injection also increased the percentage of Ki67+ LT-HSCs, although we did not observe a notable reduction in this population when under the Igf1r -null background.Overall, our data suggest that although IGF/IGF1R signaling is not essential for normal hematopoiesis, it may play a more important role under conditions (e.g., fetal development, pregnancy) when there is a higher demand for the output from the hematopoietic system; in particular, this pathway may play an important role in mediating the effect of estrogen on self-renewal and proliferation of HSPCs. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Fókuszban a szöveti biomarkerek. Az ösztrogének mint a szövetspecifikus immunválasz és autoimmunitás modulálásának kulcsszereplői

Estrogens modulate the immune response as well as the risk and progression of autoimmune disorders. Their effects are mediated by nuclear receptors (i.e. estrogen receptor alpha and beta), membrane receptors, and are influenced by their interactions with other hormones. Locally produced hormones and cytokines are the main factors in maintaining tissue homeostasis. The response of immune cells to estrogens is related to their developmental stage. The diverse effects of estrogens on various autoimmune disorders are the result of the versatility of their pathomechanism. In general, progression of B-cell mediated disorders is aggravated by estrogens. Their effects on T-cell mediated disorders, on the other hand, are driven by Th1 or Th2 dominance. As estrogens promote the escalation of the Th2 immune response, Th2-dominant disorders are aggravated, while Th1-dominant disorders are ameliorated upon high estrogen levels. Inflammation on its own also modulates the impact of estrogens. Inflammatory cytokines alter the expression of the alpha and beta estrogen receptors as well as the activity of estrogen metabolizing enzymes. Monitoring the local, tissue-wide interaction between hormones and immune cells would provide a better tool for identification and characterization of molecules involved in this system. To date, routinely used laboratory methods have a limited role in monitoring the local effects of estrogens. In this current paper the authors summarize the role of estrogens in immune system and overview those novel methods which are useful in the investigation of local endocrine milieu.

Pregnancy and estrogen enhance neural progenitor-cell proliferation in the vomeronasal sensory epithelium.

BackgroundThe hormonal state during the estrus cycle or pregnancy produces alterations on female olfactory perception that are accompanied by specific maternal behaviors, but it is unclear how sex hormones act on the olfactory system to enable these sensory changes.ResultsHerein, we show that the production of neuronal progenitors is stimulated in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) epithelium of female mice during a late phase of pregnancy. Using a wide range of molecular markers that cover the whole VNO cell maturation process in combination with Ca2+ imaging in early postmitotic neurons, we show that newly generated VNO cells adopt morphological and functional properties of mature sensory neurons. A fraction of these newly generated cells project their axons to the olfactory forebrain, extend dendrites that contact the VNO lumen, and can detect peptides and urinary proteins shown to contain pheromone activity. High-throughput RNA-sequencing reveals concomitant differences in gene expression in the VNO transcriptomes of pregnant females. These include relative increases in expression of 20 vomeronasal receptors, of which 17 belong to the V1R subfamily, and may therefore be considered as candidate receptors for mediating maternal behaviors. We identify the expression of several hormone receptors in the VNO of which estrogen receptor α (Esr1) is directly localized to neural progenitors. Administration of sustained high levels of estrogen, but not progesterone, is sufficient to stimulate vomeronasal progenitor cell proliferation in the VNO epithelium.ConclusionsPeripheral olfactory neurogenesis driven by estrogen may contribute to modulate sensory perception and adaptive VNO-dependent behaviors during pregnancy and early motherhood.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12915-015-0211-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Transgenic Chickens Overexpressing Aromatase Have High Estrogen Levels but Maintain a Predominantly Male Phenotype.

Estrogens play a key role in sexual differentiation of both the gonads and external traits in birds. The production of estrogen occurs via a well-characterized steroidogenic pathway, which is a multistep process involving several enzymes, including cytochrome P450 aromatase. In chicken embryos, the aromatase gene (CYP19A1) is expressed female-specifically from the time of gonadal sex differentiation. Ectopic overexpression of aromatase in male chicken embryos induces gonadal sex reversal, and male embryos treated with estradiol become feminized; however, this is not permanent. To test whether a continuous supply of estrogen in adult chickens could induce stable male to female sex reversal, 2 transgenic male chickens overexpressing aromatase were generated using the Tol2/transposase system. These birds had robust ectopic aromatase expression, which resulted in the production of high serum levels of estradiol. Transgenic males had female-like wattle and comb growth and feathering, but they retained male weights, displayed leg spurs, and developed testes. Despite the small sample size, this data strongly suggests that high levels of circulating estrogen are insufficient to maintain a female gonadal phenotype in adult birds. Previous observations of gynandromorph birds and embryos with mixed sex chimeric gonads have highlighted the role of cell autonomous sex identity in chickens. This might imply that in the study described here, direct genetic effects of the male chromosomes largely prevailed over the hormonal profile of the aromatase transgenic birds. This data therefore support the emerging view of at least partial cell autonomous sex development in birds. However, a larger study will confirm this intriguing observation.

Exercise induces the synthesis of estrogen in ovariectomized Sprague–Dawley rats ventricular myocardium trough increase expression of CYP19aromatase

Postmenopausal women have complex health problems related to hormonal status. Recently there are controversial issues about hormonal therapy for heart diseases. Another alternative to overcome heart disease in postmenopause is exercise. Several studies have reported that exercise can induce estrogen synthesis in the extragonadal organs. The aim of this study is to know the estrogen synthesis process by aromatization in the ventricular myocardium of ovariectomized rats after exercise. The research design of this study was experimental with post-test only control group design for the tissue levels of estrogen and testosterone as well as CYP19aromatase and COX2 expression. The subjects of this study were 68 healthy female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 4–5 weeks given exercise using a rat treadmill for 12 weeks, 5×/week by graded exercise at 17–23 m/min for 10–60 min with 5–10% inclination. Tissue estrogen and testosterone levels were determined using ECLIA, and to determine CYP19aromatase and COX2 expression using IHC method. The ovariectomized and exercised groups lead to higher tissue estrogen levels (36.67 ± 9.23 compared to 24.56 ± 3.33 pg/dL), higher CYP19aromatase expression (44.43 ± 5.56 %) compared to group without exercise (34.09 ± 2.62 %), as well as COX2 47.34 ± 1.86 % compared to 32.02 + 2.81 %. No significant difference was found in tissue testosterone levels. We analyze the data with multiple regressions to determine the influence of these three variables. Tissue estrogen levels were predictable from CYP19aromatase and COX2 expression but not tissue testosterone levels. Multiple regressions r square showed that 51.2 % of the total variation in estrogen tissue levels could be accounted for by CYP19aromatase and COX2 expression. The present study found that 12-week exercise with treadmill prevents ovariectomized-induced deterioration of ventricular myocardium estrogen levels of rats. It is likely that the beneficial effects of exercise were exerted through the increase of expression of CYP19aromatase and COX2 in ventricular myocardium ovariectomized rats. Nevertheless, the precise mechanisms by which exercise prevents deterioration of estrogen levels in ventricular myocardium, which have consequences in the prevention of heart disease, require further investigations. Exercise of postovariectomized rat leads to the ventricular myocardium estrogen synthesis through the increase of CYP19aromatase and COX2 expression.

Effect of physical activity on sex hormones in women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

IntroductionExposure to high levels of endogenous estrogens is a main risk factor for breast cancer in women, and in observational studies was found to be inversely associated with physical activity. The objective of the present study is to determine the effect of physical activity interventions on sex hormone levels in healthy women.MethodsElectronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL), from inception to December 2014, and reference lists of relevant reviews and clinical trials were searched, with no language restrictions applied. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included if they compared any type of exercise intervention to no intervention or other interventions, and assessed the effects on estrogens, androgens or the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in cancer-free women. Following the method described in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, data on populations, interventions, and outcomes were extracted, and combined using the inverse-variance method and a random-effects model. A pre-established protocol was drawn up, in which the primary outcome was the difference in circulating estradiol concentrations between the physical activity (experimental) and the control groups after intervention. Pre-specified subgroup analyses and sensitivity analysis according to the risk of bias were conducted.ResultsData suitable for quantitative synthesis were available from 18 RCTs (1994 participants) for total estradiol and from 5 RCTs (1245 participants) for free estradiol. The overall effect of physical activity was a statistically significant decrease of both total estradiol (standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.12; 95 % confidence interval [CI] -0.20 to −0.03; P = 0.01; I2 = 0 %) and free estradiol (SMD −0.20; 95 % CI −0.31 to −0.09; P = 0.0005; I2 = 0 %). Subgroup analyses suggest that this effect is independent of menopausal status and is more noticeable for non-obese women and for high intensity exercise. Meta-analysis for secondary outcomes found that physical activity induces a statistically significant decline of free testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone–sulfate and adiposity markers, while a significant increase of SHBG was observed.ConclusionsAlthough the effect is relatively modest, physical activity induces a decrease in circulating sex hormones and this effect is not entirely explained by weight loss. The findings emphasize the benefits of physical activity for women.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13058-015-0647-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The unique transcriptional response produced by concurrent estrogen and progesterone treatment in breast cancer cells results in upregulation of growth factor pathways and switching from a Luminal A to a Basal-like subtype.

BackgroundIn breast cancer, progesterone receptor (PR) positivity or abundance is positively associated with survival and treatment response. It was initially believed that PR was a useful diagnostic marker of estrogen receptor activity, but increasingly PR has been recognised to play an important biological role in breast homeostasis, carcinogenesis and metastasis. Although PR expression is almost exclusively observed in estrogen receptor positive tumors, few studies have investigated the cellular mechanisms of PR action in the context of ongoing estrogen signalling.MethodsIn this study, we contrast PR function in estrogen pretreated ZR-75-1 breast cancer cells with vehicle treated ZR-75-1 and T-47D breast cancer cells using expression microarrays and chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing.ResultsEstrogen cotreatment caused a dramatic increase in the number of genes regulated by progesterone in ZR-75-1 cells. In T-47D cells that have naturally high levels of PR, estrogen and progesterone cotreatment resulted in a reduction in the number of regulated genes in comparison to treatment with either hormone alone. At a genome level, estrogen pretreatment of ZR-75-1 cells led to a 10-fold increase in the number of PR DNA binding sites detected using ChIP-sequencing. Time course assessment of progesterone regulated genes in the context of estrogen pretreatment highlighted a series of important regulatory pathways, including those driven by epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR). Importantly, progesterone applied to cells pretreated with estradiol resulted in switching of the PAM50-determined intrinsic breast cancer subtype from Luminal A to Basal-like, and increased the Oncotype DX® Unscaled Recurrence Score.ConclusionEstrogen pretreatment of breast cancer cells increases PR steady state levels, resulting in an unequivocal progesterone response that upregulates key members of growth factor pathways. The transformative changes progesterone exerts on the breast cancer subtype suggest that these subtyping tools should be used with caution in premenopausal women.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1819-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Impact of Type 2 Diabetes and Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy on Incidence of Cognitive Impairment in Older Women.

OBJECTIVEIn older women, higher levels of estrogen may exacerbate the increased risk for cognitive impairment conveyed by diabetes. We examined whether the effect of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) on cognitive impairment incidence differs depending on type 2 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSThe Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) randomized clinical trials assigned women to HT (0.625 mg/day conjugated equine estrogens with or without [i.e., unopposed] 2.5 mg/day medroxyprogesterone acetate) or matching placebo for an average of 4.7–5.9 years. A total of 7,233 women, aged 65–80 years, were classified according to type 2 diabetes status and followed for probable dementia and cognitive impairment (mild cognitive impairment or dementia).RESULTSThrough a maximum of 18 years of follow-up, women with diabetes had increased risk of probable dementia (hazard ratio [HR] 1.54 [95% CI 1.16–2.06]) and cognitive impairment (HR 1.83 [1.50–2.23]). The combination of diabetes and random assignment to HT increased their risk of dementia (HR 2.12 [1.47–3.06]) and cognitive impairment (HR 2.20 [1.70–2.87]) compared with women without these conditions, interaction P = 0.09 and P = 0.08. These interactions appeared to be limited to women assigned to unopposed conjugated equine estrogens.CONCLUSIONSThese analyses provide additional support to a prior report that higher levels of estrogen may exacerbate risks that type 2 diabetes poses for cognitive function in older women. The role estrogen plays in suppressing non–glucose-based energy sources in the brain may explain this interaction.

Restless legs syndrome and pregnancy: prevalence, possible pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common sleep disorder that may be associated with pregnancy. Studies have found that the prevalence of RLS among pregnant women ranged from 10 to 34%. Typically, there is complete remission of symptoms soon after parturition; however, in some patients, they may continue postpartum. RLS has been shown to be associated with a number of complications in pregnancy including preeclampsia and increased incidence of Cesarean sections. Although multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain this association, each individual hypothesis cannot completely explain the whole pathogenesis. Present understanding suggests that a strong family history, low serum iron and ferritin level, and high estrogen level during pregnancy might play important roles. Vitamin D deficiency and calcium metabolism may also play a role. Medical treatment of RLS during pregnancy is difficult and challenging considering the risks to mother and fetus. However, in some cases, the disease may be severe enough to require treatment.

The estrous cycle modulates voltage-gated ion channels in trigeminal ganglion neurons.

Migraines typically occur more frequently in women than men because of the effects of estrogen on both the frequency and severity of migraine attacks. Many women suffer from migraine attacks during menstruation, which are known as menstrual migraines. The pathophysiology of menstrual migraines can be explored by using the rat estrous cycle, which shows a cyclical fluctuation of estrogen level that resembles the menstrual cycle. The aim of this study was to investigate whether different stages of the estrous cycle are involved in migraine development by comparing the excitability of trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons in four different stages of the estrous cycle by using action potential (AP) parameter assessments. The stages of the estrous cycle were identified by a vaginal smear and measuring the estrogen levels in collected blood. The proestrus and estrus stages had higher estrogen levels compared with the diestrus and metestrus stages. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings demonstrated that TG neurons in the proestrus and estrus stage had lower AP threshold, lower rheobase, higher AP height, shorter AP falling time and deeper afterhyperpolarization (AHP) depth. Hence, our results revealed that the high level of estrogen in the proestrus and estrus stage alters the AP properties of TG neurons. Estrogen may increase membrane excitability and the summation of cellular responses, which alters the AP properties. The alterations of the AP properties in the proestrus and estrus stage may relate to a modification of voltage-gated ion channels in TG neurons, which is a pathogenesis for menstrual migraine. No COI.

Estrous Cycle-Dependent Phasic Changes in the Stoichiometry of Hippocampal Synaptic AMPA Receptors in Rats.

Cognitive function can be affected by the estrous cycle. However, the effect of the estrous cycle on synaptic functions is poorly understood. Here we show that in female rats, inhibitory-avoidance (IA) task (hippocampus-dependent contextual fear-learning task) drives GluA2-lacking Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors (CP-AMPARs) into the hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses during all periods of the estrous cycle except the proestrous period, when estrogen levels are high. In addition, IA task failed to drive CP-AMPARs into the CA3-CA1 synapses of ovariectomized rats only when estrogen was present. Thus, changes in the stoichiometry of AMPA receptors during learning depend on estrogen levels. Furthermore, the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) after IA task was prevented during the proestrous period, while intact LTP is still expressed after IA task during other period of the estrous cycle. Consistent with this finding, rats conditioned by IA training failed to acquire hippocampus-dependent Y-maze task during the proestrous period. On the other hand, during other estrous period, rats were able to learn Y-maze task after IA conditioning. These results suggest that high estrogen levels prevent the IA learning-induced delivery of CP-AMPARs into hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses and limit synaptic plasticity after IA task, thus preventing the acquisition of additional learning.

Embarazo y hemangioma cavernoso roto del hígado

Se describe una mujer de 26 años con embarazo de 8 1/2 meses que presentó un cuadro de abdomen agudo y shock; y que simulaba una ruptura uterina. En el acto quirúrgico se halló un hemangioma cavernoso del hígado; el tratamiento conservador (hemostasia y drenaje) tuvo éxito. Se remarca la importancia de los altos niveles estrogénicos en el crecimiento de estos tumores.

Digit ratio (2D:4D) and salivary testosterone, oestradiol and cortisol levels under challenge: Evidence for prenatal effects on adult endocrine responses

BackgroundDigit ratio (2D:4D) is a marker for prenatal sex steroids and a correlate of sporting performance. This association may exist because low 2D:4D is linked to high prenatal levels of testosterone (T) and low oestrogens (E). It was recently suggested that low 2D:4D, and particularly low right-left 2D:4D (or Dr-l), is a marker for T changes in response to physical and aggressive challenges. If correct, this link may in part explain the association between 2D:4D and sports performance. AimsWe tested this hypothesis in adults. Study designThree experimental treatments were completed using a randomised, cross-over design; (i) cycle sprints plus an aggressive video (S+V), (ii) aggressive video plus cycle sprints (V+S), and (iii) a control session. Subjects24 healthy adults (12 men and 12 women). Outcome measuresSalivary T, oestradiol (E2) and cortisol (C) levels were measured on six occasions across each session and pooled for analysis. ResultsThe S+V treatment was associated with a rise in T and C levels, and Dr-l was significantly and negatively correlated with T and E2 with these effects confined to men. The right 2D:4D and Dr-l were also negatively correlated with the T/C ratio and Dr-l negatively related to the E2/C ratio in men during the S+V treatment. ConclusionsWe suggest that the hormonal responses to a challenge are programmed by prenatal levels of T and E with possible links to sporting performance in adulthood.

Dysregulated LIF-STAT3 pathway is responsible for impaired embryo implantation in a Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mouse model.

ABSTRACTThe prevalence of diabetes is increasing worldwide with the trend of patients being young and creating a significant burden on health systems, including reproductive problems, but the effects of diabetes on embryo implantation are still poorly understood. Our study was to examine effects of diabetes on mouse embryo implantation, providing experimental basis for treating diabetes and its complications. Streptozotocin (STZ) was applied to induce type 1 diabetes from day 2 of pregnancy or pseudopregnancy in mice. Embryo transfer was used to analyze effects of uterine environment on embryo implantation. Our results revealed that the implantation rate is significantly reduced in diabetic mice compared to controls, and the change of uterine environment is the main reason leading to the decreased implantation rate. Compared to control, the levels of LIF and p-STAT3 are significantly decreased in diabetic mice on day 4 of pregnancy, and serum estrogen level is significantly higher. Estrogen stimulates LIF expression under physiological level, but the excessive estrogen inhibits LIF expression. LIF, progesterone or insulin supplement can rescue embryo implantation in diabetic mice. Our data indicated that the dysregulated LIF-STAT3 pathway caused by the high level of estrogen results in the impaired implantation in diabetic mice, which can be rescued by LIF, progesterone or insulin supplement.

An estrogen-associated dietary pattern and breast cancer risk in the Swedish Mammography Cohort.

High endogenous hormone levels have been associated with breast cancer and dietary factors have the potential to influence breast cancer risk through effects on hormone levels. Dietary patterns derived from reduced rank regression provide a way to identify food groups correlated with hormones and subsequently examine food patterns that may be associated with breast cancer risk. We investigated whether a dietary pattern previously correlated with estradiol and estrone sulfate was associated with breast cancer in the prospective Swedish Mammography Cohort. Among 37,004 primarily postmenopausal women diet was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). During 15 years of follow-up 1,603 cases of breast cancer were identified. A higher estrogen dietary pattern score was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Women in the highest quartile of estrogen pattern score had a 29% (95% CI = 1.08-1.55) increased risk of breast cancer compared to women in the lowest quartile (p(trend) = 0.006). When the association was examined by estrogen-receptor status, it was only significant for those with estrogen-receptor-positive tumors; however, in the competing risk analysis there were no significant differences in the effect estimates by receptor subtype (p(heterogeneity) = 0.65). Our findings suggest that a dietary pattern associated with higher estrogen levels may increase breast cancer risk. However, whether the influence of this dietary pattern is through a direct effect on estrogen levels deserves further study.