• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.37-43
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• 1993

In 27 patients with the past history of poor response to the gonadotropin superovulation induction due to poor follicular growth or permature surge of endogenous luteinizing hormone, the effectiveness of pituitary supperssion with the gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist(GnRH-a) in in vitro fertilization(IVF) program was evaluated in 43 cycles using a combination regimen of D-Trp-6 LHRH(Decapeptyl, Ferring)and FSH/hMG from June, 1989 to August, 1990 at Korea University Hospital IVF Clinic. At midluteal phase of menstrual cycle, Decapeptyl-CR was administered by long-term protocol to minimize initial agonistic effect of endogenous gonadotropins. After the confirmation of pituitary suppression, about 2-3 weeks after GNRH-a administration, ovarian follicle growth was stimulated with FSH/hMG and followed by transvaginal ultrasonic measurement of follicle size and by monitoring of serm E2 and LH if necessary. When compared with the control group stimulated with gonadotropin regimen only, the cancellation rate and occurrence rate of premature LH surge during gonadotropin treatment were significantly lower in study group(11.6% and 2.4%, respectively). There is no significant differences in the mean number of aspirated oocytes, fertilization/cleavage rate, embryo transfer(ET) rate, and mean number of embryos transferred between the two groups. The pregnancy rate per treatment cycle, 16.3%, and per ET cycle, 23.3%, were significantly higher in the study group compared with those of control group. These data suggest that GnRH-a therapy is effective for previous poor responder In gonadotropin superovulation induction for IVF.

• 한국환경농학회지
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.1-12
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are widely distributed in various organisms. Insect GPCRs shown as in vertebrate GPCRs are membrane receptors that coordinate or involve in various physiological processes such as learning/memory, development, locomotion, circadian rhythm, reproduction, etc. This study aimed to identify GPCRs expressed in fat body and compare the expression pattern of GPCRs in different temperature conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: To identify GPCRs genes and compare their expression in different temperature conditions, total RNAs of fat body in Plutella xylostella larva were extracted and the transcriptomes have been analyzed via next generation sequencing method. From the fat body transcriptomes, genes that belong to GPCR Family A, B, and F were identified such as opsin, gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor, neuropeptide F (NPF) receptor, muthuselah (Mth), diuretic hormone receptor, frizzled, etc. Under low temperature, expressions of GPCRs such as C-C chemokine receptor (CCR), opsin, prolactin-releasing peptide receptor, substance K receptor, Mth-like receptor, diuretic hormone receptor, frizzled and stan were higher than those at 25℃. They are involved in immunity, feeding, movement, odorant recognition, diuresis, and development. In contrast to the control (25℃), at high temperature GPCRs including CCR, gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor, moody, NPF receptor, neuropeptide B1 receptor, frizzled and stan revealed higher expression whose biological functions are related to immunity, blood-brain barrier formation, feeding, learning, and reproduction. CONCLUSION: Transcriptome of fat body can provide understanding the pools of GPCRs. Identifications of fat body GPCRs may contribute to develop new targets for the control of insect pests.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.276-286
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• 1999

In the present study, to understand how gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) affects ovarian functions in superovulated rats, we examined the effects of GnRH agonist on the ovulatory response, the morphological normality and nuclear maturation of ovulated oocytes, the ovarian weight, the ovarian histology, and the circulating steroid hormone ($17{\beta}$-estradiol, progesterone and testosterone) levels in immature rats pretreated with 30IU pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) and supplemented with 10IU human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG). GnRH agonist was intravenously injected via jugular vein catheter every 20min for 4hrs in early follicular phase (from 6hr after PMSG) of superovulated rats. In addition, GnRH antagonist, Antide, was intravenously injected in combination with GnRH agonist to verify the effects of GnRH agonist on ovarian functions. All animals were sacrificed at 72hr after PMSG administration. The administration with GnRH agonist in early follicular phase of superovulated rats caused inhibition of ovulatory response, increased the proportion of abnormal appearing oocytes(especially, in the rats of the group treated with 500ng GnRH agonist), decreased ovarian weight and promote follicular atresia, compared to those from the rats of control regimen that were not treated with GnRH agonist. In addition, the treatment with GnRH agonist in the superovulated rat distinctly decreased serum steroid hormone ($17{\beta}$-estradiol, progesterone and testosterone) levels in preovulatory phase. On the other hand, the inhibitory effects of GnRH agonist treatment in superovulation-pretreated rats on ovarian functions were totally reversed by the combination with GnRH antagonist, Antide. The nuclear maturation of oocytes recovered from the oviducts in immature rats treated with GnRH agonist and/or GnRH antagonist was characterized by prematurity and asynchronization in early follicular phase, which was similar to control group. The overall results of this study indicate that GnRH agonist disturbs directly ovarian function in early follicular phase of superovulated immature rats in terms of ovulatory response and morphological normality of ovulated oocytes. This concept has been further evidenced by the findings of a great decrease in ovarian weight, a marked increase in follicular and a distinct decrease circulating steroid hormone ($17{\beta}$-estradiol, progesterone and testosterone) levels in GnRH agonist treatment regimen in early follicular phase.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.241-245
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• 1994

Despite increasing success rate of IVF, poor response to ovarian stimulation remains a problem. So, attempts to improve ovarian responses, for example, by using combined gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue(GnRH-a) and human menopausal gonadotropin(hMG) have shown limited success. It is reported that response of granulosa cells in vitro to FSH is stimulated by co-incubation with IGF-l, and IGF-l production can be increased by growth hormone. This suggest that combination regimen of G.H. and hMG may augment follicle recruitment. In fifteen patients who had previous history of poor ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation after pituitary suppression with mid -luteal GnRH-a, the effectiveness of cotreatment with G.H. in IVF program was evaluated using a combination regimen of G.R. and hMG at Korea University Hospital IVF Clinic. Ovarian responses to gonadotropin stimulation in control and GH-treated cycles assessed by total dose and duration of hMG treatment, follicular development and peak $E_2$ level, number of eggs retrieved, and fertilization rates were also assessed. In each group, serum and follicular fluid IGF-1 concentrations on day of egg collection were measured by RIA after acidification and extraction by reveresed phase chromatography. Patients receiving G.H. required fewer days and ampules of gonadotropins, developed more oocytes, and more embryos transferred. But, the differences were not statistically significant, except the duration of hMG treatment. Our data showed a significantly higher concentration of IGF-l in the serum, not in the follicular fluid, of patients treated with G.H. compared with control group. These data suggest that growth hormone treatment does not improve the ovarian response in women with limited ovarian reserve to gonadotropin stimulation for IVF.

• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제1권2호
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• pp.165-172
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• 1997

the pupose of this study was to investigate the effects of gonadotropin and nitric oxide (NO) on the expression of mouse follicular bad and bax genes that are known induce apoptosis. Large and midium size follicles of immature mice were obtained at 0, 24, and 48 hours time intervals after Pregnant Mare's Serum gonadotropins(PMSG, 5 I.U.) injection. Preovulatory follicles collected at 24 hrs after PMSG injection were cultured with or without various chemicals such as gonadotropin, gonadotropin Releasing hormone(GnRH), testosterone, Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) for 24 hrs at $37^{\circ}C$. After 24 hrs culture, the culture media was used for nitrite assay and total RNA was extracted, subjected to RT-PCT for the analyses of bad and bax expression. We found that expression of bad and bax genes in follicles was markedly reduced before and after in vivo priming with hCG. When the preovulatory follicles were cultured for 24 hrs in culture media with PMSG and hCG, the expression of bad and bax genes was decreased. Moreover, SNP (NO generating agent) can significantly suppress the expression of bad and bax genes in follicles when apoptosis was induced by GnRH agonist and testosterone. At the same time, nitrite production of culture media was increased in GnRH agonist + SNP, testosterone + SNP and SNP treated groups than control group. These data demonstrated for the first time that peptide hormones and NO may play important roles in the regulation of mouse follicular differentiation and may prevent apoptosis via supressing the expression of bad and bax genes.

• 한국동물학회지
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.435-445
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• 1990

시상하부에서 합성, 분비되는 gonadotropin releasing horrnone (GnRH)의 면역반응성이 생식소를 비롯한 여러 부위에서도 검출됨이 알려졌으나, 이 펩타이트가 과연 생식소에서 국부적으로 합성되는 지에 관해서는 아직 밝혀지지 않았다. 본 연구에서는 흰쥐 생식소에서 GnRH유전자발현을 연구하기 위하여 GnRH-like mRNA와 GnRH펩타이트의 발현과 세포내 분포 양상을 조사하였다. GnRH 방사면역측정법과 GnRH를 크로마토그라피 방법으로 분리한 결과,시상하부에서 합성되는 GnRH와 유사한 GnRH 면역반은이 흰쥐 생식소 추출물에서 상당량 검출되었다. GnRH-면역반응이 흰쥐 난소의 다양한 세포군에서 나타냄에 반하여, GnRH-like mRNA는 granulsa,theca 그리고 luteal 세포에서만 주로 발현되었다. 또한 흰쥐 정소에서 GnRH면역반응성은 원시정세포, Sertoli,Leydig 세포에서만 검출된 반면에, GnRH-like mRNA는 정세관내의 Seertoli세포에서만 발현되었다. 따라서 이 연구는 생식소에 존재하는 GnRH는 생식소 내에서 국부적으로 합성, 발현되는 결과라고 사료되며, 생식소 내에서 생성된 GnRH는 생식소내 세포군간의 정보교환의 매개자로서 역활을 수행하고 있다고 추정된다.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.201-208
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• 1991

Recently the application of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist to superovulation in previous poor responders has resulted in the improved outcomes after in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome. However, poor responders with poor estradiol $(E_2)$ rise or single dominant follicle are a particularly challenging group. Recent reports have also shown that patients with higher basal serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level, result in poorer ovarian response and lower pregnancy rate. Analysis of the differences of superovulation outcomes according to the different protocols of GnRH agonist, long (L, n = 18) and short (S, n = 16) protocols, in patients with high basal FSH levels (>20mIU/ml) were undertaken at Seoul National University Hospital from June to October 1990. The administration of GnRH agonist was begun on day 21 of the cycle in long protocol, and on day 2 in short protocol. Ages of patients and husbands, basal FSH and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels and FSH/LH ratio did not differ significantly. Types and causes of infertility were evenly distributed. Whereas the duration of stimulation and the amounts of gonadotropins administered were significantly reduced in short protocol, the numbers of oocytes retrieved and cleaved, the cleavage rate and the number of embryos transferred were higher in long protocol without statistical signifieance. The pregnancy rate per ET was 16.7% (2/12) in short protocol, and 17.6% (3/17) in long protocol. These data suggest that both protocols result in the similar superovulation outcomes in patients with higher basal serum FSH levels.

• Animal cells and systems
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• 제2권4호
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• pp.483-488
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• 1998

We previously found that a potent gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist, buserelin, decreases GnRH promoter activity together with GnRH mRNA level, providing evidence for an autoregulatory mechanism operating at the level of GnRH gene transcription in immortalized GT1-1 neuronal cells. To examine whether agonist-induced decrease in GnRH mRNA level requires the continuous presence of buserelin, we performed a pulse-chase experiment of buserelin treatment. Short-term exposure (15 min) of GT1-1 neuronal cells to buserelin ($10{\mu}M$) was able to decrease GnRH mRNA levels when determined 24 h later. When GT1-1 cells were treated with buserelin ( $10{\mu}M$) for 30 min and then incubated for 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after buserelin removal, a significant decrease in GnRH mRNA levels was observed after the 12 h incubation period. These data indicate that inhibitory signaling upon buserelin treatment may occur rapidly, but requires a long time (at least 12 h) to significantly decrease the GnRH mRNA level. To examine the possible involvement of de novo synthesis and/or mRNA stability in buserelin-induced decrease in GnRH gene expression, actinomycin D ($5{\mu}m/ml$), a potent RNA synthesis blocker, was co-treated with buserelin. Actinomycin D alone failed to alter basal GnRH mRNA Revel, but blocked the buserelin-induced decrease in GnRH mRNA level at 12 h of post-treatment. These data suggest that buserelin may exert its inhibitory action by altering the stability of GnRH mRNA. Moreover, a polvsomal RNA separation by sucrose gradient centrifugation demonstrated that buserelin decreased the translational efficiency of the transcribed GnRH mRNA. Taken together, these results clearly indicate that GnRH agonist buserelin acts as an inhibitory signal at multiple levels such as transcription mRNA stability, and translation.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.135-142
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• 2018

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of a fixed early gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol compared to a conventional midfollicular GnRH antagonist protocol and a long GnRH agonist protocol for in vitro fertilization (IVF) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: Randomized patients in all three groups (early antagonist, n = 14; conventional antagonist, n = 11; long agonist, n = 11) received 21 days of oral contraceptive pill treatment prior to stimulation. The GnRH antagonist was initiated on the 1st day of stimulation in the early antagonist group and on the 6th day in the conventional antagonist group. The GnRH agonist was initiated on the 18th day of the preceding cycle. The primary endpoint was the number of oocytes retrieved, and the secondary endpoints included the rate of moderate-to-severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and the clinical pregnancy rate. Results: The median total number of oocytes was similar among the three groups (early, 16; conventional, 12; agonist, 19; p= 0.111). The early GnRH antagonist protocol showed statistically non-significant associations with a higher clinical pregnancy rate (early, 50.0%; conventional, 11.1%; agonist, 22.2%; p= 0.180) and lower incidence of moderate-to-severe OHSS (early, 7.7%; conventional, 18.2%; agonist, 27.3%; p= 0.463), especially among subjects at high risk for OHSS (early, 12.5%; conventional, 40.0%; agonist, 50.0%; p= 0.324). Conclusion: In PCOS patients undergoing IVF, early administration of a GnRH antagonist may possibly lead to benefits due to a reduced incidence of moderate-to-severe OHSS in high-risk subjects with a better clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer. Further studies with more subjects are required.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.658-664
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• 2019

Immunocontraception has been suggested as an optimal alternative to surgical contraception in animal species. Many immunocontraceptive vaccines have been designed to artificially produce antibodies against gonadotropin-releasing hormone-I (GnRH-I) which remove GnRH-I from the vaccinated animals. A deficiency of GnRH-I thereafter leads to a lack of gonadotropins, resulting in immunocontraception. In this study, we initially developed three immunocontraceptive vaccines composed of GnRH-I, GnRH-II, and a GnRH-I and -II (GnRH-I+II) complex, conjugated to the external domain of Salmonella Typhimurium flagellin. As the GnRH-I+II vaccine induced significantly (p < 0.01) higher levels of anti-GnRH-I antibodies than the other two vaccines, we further evaluated its immunocontraceptive effects in male rats. Mean testis weight in rats (n = 6) inoculated twice with the GnRH-I+II vaccine at 2-week intervals was significantly (p < 0.01) lower than in negative control rats at 10 weeks of age. Among the six vaccinated rats, two were non-responders whose testes were not significantly reduced when compared to those of negative control rats. Significantly smaller testis weight (p < 0.001), higher anti-GnRH-I antibody levels (p < 0.001), and lower testosterone levels (p < 0.001) were seen in the remaining four responders compared to the negative control rats at the end of the experiments. Furthermore, seminiferous tubule atrophy and spermatogenesis arrest were found in the testis tissues of responders. Therefore, the newly developed GnRH-I+II vaccine efficiently induced immunocontraception in male rats. This vaccine can potentially also be applied for birth control in other animal species.