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Cordova-Gomez A, Wong AP, Sims LB, Doncel GF, Dorflinger LJ. Potential biomarkers to predict return to fertility after discontinuation of female contraceptives-looking to the future. FRONTIERS IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH 2023; 5:1210083. [PMID: 37674657 PMCID: PMC10477712 DOI: 10.3389/frph.2023.1210083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Nowadays there are multiple types of contraceptive methods, from reversible to permanent, for those choosing to delay pregnancy. Misconceptions about contraception and infertility are a key factor for discontinuation or the uptake of family planning methods. Regaining fertility (the ability to conceive) after contraceptive discontinuation is therefore pivotal. Technical studies to date have evaluated return to fertility by assessing pregnancy as an outcome, with variable results, or return to ovulation as a surrogate measure by assessing hormone levels (such as progesterone, LH, FSH) with or without transvaginal ultrasound. In general, relying on time to pregnancy as an indicator of return to fertility following contraceptive method discontinuation can be problematic due to variable factors independent of contraceptive effects on fertility, hormone clearance, and fertility recovery. Since the ability to conceive after contraceptive method discontinuation is a critical factor influencing product uptake, it is important to have robust biomarkers that easily and accurately predict the timing of fertility return following contraception and isolate that recovery from extrinsic and circumstantial factors. The main aim of this review is to summarize the current approaches, existing knowledge, and gaps in methods of evaluating return-to-fertility as well as to provide insights into the potential of new biomarkers to more accurately predict fertility restoration after contraceptive discontinuation. Biomarker candidates proposed in this document include those associated with folliculogenesis, cumulus cell expansion, follicular rupture and ovulation, and endometrial transport and receptivity which have been selected and scored on predefined criteria meant to evaluate their probable viability for advancement. The review also describes limitations, regulatory requirements, and a potential path to clinically testing these selected biomarkers. It is important to understand fertility restoration after contraceptive method discontinuation to provide users and health providers with accurate evidence-based information. Predictive biomarkers, if easy and low-cost, have the potential to enable robust evaluation of RTF, and provide potential users the information they desire when selecting a contraceptive method. This could lead to expanded uptake and continuation of modern contraception and inform the development of new contraceptive methods to widen user's family planning choices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Cordova-Gomez
- Office of Population and Reproductive Health, USAID/Public Health Institute, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Andrew P. Wong
- CONRAD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, United States
| | - Lee B. Sims
- Office of Population and Reproductive Health, USAID/Public Health Institute, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Gustavo F. Doncel
- CONRAD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, United States
| | - Laneta J. Dorflinger
- Department of Product Development and Introduction, FHI 360, Durham, NC, United States
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Crotty Alexander LE, Drummond CA, Hepokoski M, Mathew D, Moshensky A, Willeford A, Das S, Singh P, Yong Z, Lee JH, Vega K, Du A, Shin J, Javier C, Tian J, Brown JH, Breen EC. Chronic inhalation of e-cigarette vapor containing nicotine disrupts airway barrier function and induces systemic inflammation and multiorgan fibrosis in mice. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2018; 314:R834-R847. [PMID: 29384700 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00270.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Electronic (e)-cigarettes theoretically may be safer than conventional tobacco. However, our prior studies demonstrated direct adverse effects of e-cigarette vapor (EV) on airway cells, including decreased viability and function. We hypothesize that repetitive, chronic inhalation of EV will diminish airway barrier function, leading to inflammatory protein release into circulation, creating a systemic inflammatory state, ultimately leading to distant organ injury and dysfunction. C57BL/6 and CD-1 mice underwent nose only EV exposure daily for 3-6 mo, followed by cardiorenal physiological testing. Primary human bronchial epithelial cells were grown at an air-liquid interface and exposed to EV for 15 min daily for 3-5 days before functional testing. Daily inhalation of EV increased circulating proinflammatory and profibrotic proteins in both C57BL/6 and CD-1 mice: the greatest increases observed were in angiopoietin-1 (31-fold) and EGF (25-fold). Proinflammatory responses were recapitulated by daily EV exposures in vitro of human airway epithelium, with EV epithelium secreting higher IL-8 in response to infection (227 vs. 37 pg/ml, respectively; P < 0.05). Chronic EV inhalation in vivo reduced renal filtration by 20% ( P = 0.017). Fibrosis, assessed by Masson's trichrome and Picrosirius red staining, was increased in EV kidneys (1.86-fold, C57BL/6; 3.2-fold, CD-1; P < 0.05), heart (2.75-fold, C57BL/6 mice; P < 0.05), and liver (1.77-fold in CD-1; P < 0.0001). Gene expression changes demonstrated profibrotic pathway activation. EV inhalation altered cardiovascular function, with decreased heart rate ( P < 0.01), and elevated blood pressure ( P = 0.016). These data demonstrate that chronic inhalation of EV may lead to increased inflammation, organ damage, and cardiorenal and hepatic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Crotty Alexander
- Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.,Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
| | | | - Mark Hepokoski
- Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.,Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Denzil Mathew
- Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California
| | - Alex Moshensky
- Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.,Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Andrew Willeford
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Soumita Das
- Department of Pathology, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Prabhleen Singh
- Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California.,Nephrology Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California
| | - Zach Yong
- Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.,Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Jasmine H Lee
- Division of Physiology, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Kevin Vega
- Department of Pathology, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Ashley Du
- Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.,Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - John Shin
- Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.,Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Christian Javier
- Pulmonary Critical Care Section, Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.,Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Jiang Tian
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and Center for Hypertension and Personalized Medicine, University of Toledo , Toledo, Ohio.,Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Toledo , Toledo, Ohio
| | - Joan Heller Brown
- Department of Pharmacology, University of California , San Diego, California
| | - Ellen C Breen
- Division of Physiology, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Diego, California
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Grossberg AJ, Scarlett JM, Marks DL. Hypothalamic mechanisms in cachexia. Physiol Behav 2010; 100:478-89. [PMID: 20346963 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2010] [Revised: 03/10/2010] [Accepted: 03/12/2010] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The role of nutrition and balanced metabolism in normal growth, development, and health maintenance is well known. Patients affected with either acute or chronic diseases often show disorders of nutrient balance. In some cases, a devastating state of malnutrition known as cachexia arises, brought about by a synergistic combination of a dramatic decrease in appetite and an increase in metabolism of fat and lean body mass. Other common features that are not required for the diagnosis include decreases in voluntary movement, insulin resistance, and anhedonia. This combination is found in a number of disorders including cancer, cystic fibrosis, AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, renal failure, and Alzheimer's disease. The severity of cachexia in these illnesses is often the primary determining factor in both quality of life, and in eventual mortality. Indeed, body mass retention in AIDS patients has a stronger association with survival than any other current measure of the disease. This has led to intense investigation of cachexia and the proposal of numerous hypotheses regarding its etiology. Most authors suggest that cytokines released during inflammation and malignancy act on the central nervous system to alter the release and function of a number of neurotransmitters, thereby altering both appetite and metabolic rate. This review will discuss the salient features of cachexia in human diseases, and review the mechanisms whereby inflammation alters the function of key brain regions to produce stereotypical illness behavior. The paper represents an invited review by a symposium, award winner or keynote speaker at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior [SSIB] Annual Meeting in Portland, July 2009.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron J Grossberg
- Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
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Quinton LJ, Jones MR, Robson BE, Simms BT, Whitsett JA, Mizgerd JP. Alveolar epithelial STAT3, IL-6 family cytokines, and host defense during Escherichia coli pneumonia. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2008; 38:699-706. [PMID: 18192501 DOI: 10.1165/rcmb.2007-0365oc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
While signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 signaling has been linked to multiple pathways influencing immune function and cell survival, the direct influence of this transcription factor on innate immunity and tissue homeostasis during pneumonia is unknown. Human patients with dominant-negative mutations in the Stat3 gene develop recurrent pneumonias, suggesting a role for STAT3 in pulmonary host defense. We hypothesized that alveolar epithelial STAT3 is activated by IL-6 family cytokines and is required for effective responses during gram-negative bacterial pneumonia. STAT3 phosphorylation was increased in pneumonic mouse lungs and in murine lung epithelial (MLE)-15 cells stimulated with pneumonic bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) through 48 hours of Escherichia coli pneumonia. Mice lacking active STAT3 in alveolar epithelial cells (Stat3(Delta/Delta)) had fewer alveolar neutrophils and more viable bacteria than control mice early after intratracheal E. coli. By 48 hours after E. coli infection, however, lung injury was increased in Stat3(Delta/Delta) mice. Bacteria were cleared from lungs of both genotypes, albeit more slowly in Stat3(Delta/Delta) mice. Of the IL-6 family cytokines measured in lungs from infected C57BL/6 mice, IL-6, oncostatin M, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), and IL-11 were significantly elevated. Neutralization studies demonstrated that LIF and IL-6 mediated BALF-induced STAT3 activation in MLE-15 cells. Together, these results indicate that during E. coli pneumonia, select IL-6 family members activate alveolar epithelial STAT3, which functions to promote neutrophil recruitment and to limit both infection and lung injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee J Quinton
- Molecular and Integrative Physiological Sciences Program, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Abstract
Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP), a bioactive form of pyridoxine, dose-dependently (10-1000 microm) inhibited cell proliferation in rat pituitary MMQ and GH3 cells and in mouse AtT-20 cells. After 4 d, MMQ cell numbers were reduced by up to 81%, GH3 cell numbers were reduced by up to 64% (P < 0.05), and AtT-20 cell numbers were reduced by up to 90%. Cell proliferation rates recovered and dose-dependently reverted to control levels after PLP withdrawal. After 4 d, PLP (400 and 1000 microm) decreased [3H]thymidine incorporation by up to 71% (P < 0.05). PLP (400-1000 microm) reduced GH3 cell GH and prolactin secretion and AtT-20 cell ACTH secretion (adjusted for cell number) by approximately 70% after 2 d. The 100 microm PLP also inhibited prolactin secretion (65%, P < 0.05) in primary rat pituitary cells treated for 2 d. PLP decreased the percentage of AtT-20 and GH3 cells in S phase and increased those in G0-G1 phase. Furthermore, PLP induced AtT-20 and GH3 cell apoptosis (28 vs. 6, P < 0.05; 26 vs. 3, P < 0.05, respectively) and dose-dependently reduced content of the antiapoptosis gene Bcl-2. These results indicate that pharmacological doses of PLP inhibit pituitary cell proliferation and hormone secretion, in part mediated through PLP-induced cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Pyridoxine may therefore be appropriate for testing as a relatively safe drug for adjuvant treatment of hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song-Guang Ren
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Room 2015, Los Angeles, California 90048, USA
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Kontogeorgos G, Patralexis H, Tran A, Kovacs K, Melmed S. Expression of leukemia inhibitory factor in human pituitary adenomas: a morphologic and immunocytochemical study. Pituitary 2000; 2:245-51. [PMID: 11081145 DOI: 10.1023/a:1009917731493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a pleiotropic, neuropoietic cytokine found in bovine, murine, and human fetal and adult pituitary cells, mostly in corticotrophs and somatotrophs. In addition, it has been found in a few GH- and ACTH-producing human pituitary adenomas. The aim of our study was to investigate the presence of LIF in various morphologic types of human pituitary adenomas. Ninety-eight operated pituitary adenomas diagnosed by light microscopy and classified by pituitary hormone immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy were studied. Sixty-eight tumors were functioning and included 15 densely granulated (DG) and 10 sparsely granulated (SG) somatotroph (SM) adenomas, 5 lactotroph (LT), 7 mixed SM-LT and 31 corticotroph (CRT) adenomas. The remaining 30 nonfunctioning tumors included 11 gonadotroph (GON) and 19 null cell (NULL) adenomas. For immunocytochemical demonstration of LIF, a specific polyclonal antiserum was applied on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. The immunohistoscore ranging from 1 to 64 grades was determined by multiplying the immunostaining grade (1-4) by the staining intensity grade (1-4), and by the heterogeneity grade (1-4). Ninety adenomas (92%) were variably immunopositive for LIF. LIF was expressed in 77.5% of CRT, 81.8% of GON, 93.3% of DG-SM, and in all SG-SM, LT, SM-LT and NULL adenomas. LT adenomas showed the highest immunostaining grade, followed by SG-SM, GON, NULL, SM-LT, DG-SM, LT and CRT adenomas. GON adenomas showed the highest immunohistoscore, followed by NULL, DG-SM, SM-LT, SG-SM, LT and CRT adenomas. Nonfunctioning tumors showed a significantly higher immunohistoscore compared to functioning adenomas (p < 0.01). We conclude that LIF expression is frequent in all types of functioning and nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Kontogeorgos
- Department of Pathology, G. Gennimatas Athens General Hospital, Greece.
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