• Development and Reproduction
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2009

Due to its well-known function in parturition and milk ejection, oxytocin (OT) has been considered as a 'female neurohypophyseal hormone'. Recent studies, however, clearly indicate that OT has some local roles in male reproduction via both central and peripheral routes. In experimental rodents, OT is released within distinct brain regions in response to social stimuli, and the brain OT receptor (OTR) mediated actions were strongly involved in the regulation of a variety of male behaviors such as mating-associated behaviors. In particular, OT and/or OTR knockout mice provide important clues about the molecular regulatory mechanism of the socio-sexual behaviors. Several lines of evidence also show that OT is synthesized within rodents testis, epididymis and prostate, and the presence of OTRs in these organs. In rodent testes, OT might have a role in the modulation of steroidogenesis via stimulation of the conversion of testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by 5alpha-reductase. Similar effects of OT on this androgen conversion were observed in epididymis and prostate suggesting the OT's modulatory role, such as contractility induction, in these androgen-dependent organs. In this context, further investigations on the OT's role in male CNS and reproductive organs are likely to provide better understanding on the complex socio-sexual behaviors and a platform for development of therapeutics to treat some psychological and/or andrological problems.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.50-59
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• 2018

Background: Duodichogamy is the rarest form of dichogamy in angiosperms, which is characterized by flowering in the sequence of male${\rightarrow}$female${\rightarrow}$male. Disentangling factors promoting duodichogamy require the discovery of more duodichogamous species in angiosperms. However, extremely limited information on duodichogamous species makes it difficult to make general conclusions. Given the inflorescence morphology and flowering characteristics, the Meliaceae family is highly likely to contain duodichogamous species. Methods: We selected 48 individuals from 20 populations in Korea and investigated their flower morphology, arrangement of flowers by sexual condition within inflorescences, and flowering phases and duration of male and female flowers of Toona sinensis (Meliaceae) for 5 years (2011-2015) to determine if the species shows duodichogamous flowering. Results: Toona sinensis belonging to Meliaceae possessed functionally unisexual flowers with rudimentary parts of the opposite sex. The floral organs in male were larger than those in female, except for ovary length and width. In dichasium, male flowers were observed on primary or lateral branches, whereas female flowers were borne only on lateral branches. Overall, individuals from six different populations flowered in the male${\rightarrow}$female${\rightarrow}$male sequence, thereby male is blooming far longer than female flowers at the level of individual trees (male vs. female = 17-20 days vs. 2-4 days). Conclusions: This is the first study to report a duodichogamously flowering species, T. sinensis, within Meliaceae. Several flowering characteristics observed from T. sinensis may be important clues used to discover additional duodichogamous Meliaceae species. Short flowering period and relatively small number of female flowers, which is analogous to reduced ovule numbers observed in other duodichogamous species, may intensify male-male competition in T. sinensis. This study contributed to narrowing down potential candidates of duodichogamy based on their geographic distributions and flowering time.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2015

Morphological changes of flowers and insect visitors were observed to investigate pollinator of Caesalpinia decapetala. The flowers of C. decapetala are protandrous. Functionally, the flower is changed from male to female. As a male, pollen grain is released after anther dehisced while style is immature. After completed pollen grain release, the style starts to lengthen. It helps the stigma to easily touch the carpenter bee's thorax covered with pollen grain. At this time, flower functions as a female. The majority of taxa and individuals observed were Hymenoptera. The most frequent visitor was the Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans, carpenter bee. Carpenter bees exhibited only typical pollinator behavior among flower visitors, with touching reproductive organs and seeking nectar at the same time. The pollination behavior is as follows. Soon after carpenter bees perceived guide mark, they foraged rightward and grasped style and stamens with legs and they inserted proboscis into standard petal to seek nectar. With this behavior, the pollen grains of the male flower transfer to the ventral thorax of the carpenter bee. As the carpenter bee moves to another female flower, the deposited pollen grains are delivered to the stigma.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.246-254
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• 2016

The objective of the present study is to determine whether blue honeysuckle lyophilized concentrated powder (BH) has favorable effects on hypothyroidism and related reproductive organ damage. Hypothyroidism was induced by 9 subcutaneous administration of propylthiouracil (PTU) for 28 days. Levothyroxine (LT4)-treated group was intraperitoneally injected with LT4 for the same period, while for BH (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg) or Flos Lonicerae lyophilized aqueous extract (LF, 250 mg/kg)-treated groups, the test materials were orally administrated for 42 days: two weeks before PTU injection and during PTU administration. The changes in serum thyroid hormone levels, serum male sex hormone levels, and testis antioxidant defense system were observed by histopathology of the thyroid gland, epididymis, prostate, and testis. The oral administrations of 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg of BH showed favorable effects compared to LF on hypothyroidism and related damages of reproductive organs through augmentation of the antioxidant defense system in the testis. In conclusion, BH is a promising new potent thyroid gland protecting agent.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.383-387
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• 1999

Objective: There is increasing evidence for the expression of rat in gene in several extrapituitary sites including testis and ovary. We also have demonstrated that the local LH expression in the rat epididymis and uterus, the major accessory sex organs in male and female reproductive system, respectively. Design: The present study was undertaken to elucidate whether the gene for LH receptor is expressed in rat uterus and whether the expressions of uterine LH and its receptor are differentially regulated during estrous cycle. Presence of the transcripts for rat LH receptor in the rat uterine tissue were confirmed by touchdown reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: In $LH{\beta}$ semi-quantitative RT-PCR, the highest expression level was shown in estrus stage. The level of ill receptor transcripts was also fluctuated during estrous cycle. In ovariectomized rats (OVX + Oil), the expressions of both uterine LH and LH-R were markedly reduced when compared to those from normal rats. Supplement with estradiol $17{\beta}$ to the ovariectomized rats (OVX + $E_2$) restored the expression levels of LH and its receptor to the levels in uteri from normal rats. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that 1) LH and its receptor gene are expressed in the rat uterus from cycling rats, 2) the expression of uterine LH and its receptor is mainly, if not all, under the control of ovarian sex steroid(s). These results suggested that the uterine LH may act as a local regulator with auto and/or paracrine manner, though the posibility that the pituitary LH may act directly on the regulation of uterine functions could not be discarded.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.194-200
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• 2024

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its receptor, neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase-2 (NTRK2), are well known for their roles in the central nervous and animal reproductive systems. Several studies have observed the extensive expression of BDNF and NTRK2 in non-neuronal tissues, especially reproductive organs. However, most of these studies focused on ovarian development and regulation; thus, scientific research on BDNF and NTRK2 in males is required to determine their roles in the male reproductive system. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate BDNF and NTRK2 expression in bovine testes. Methods: Testes were collected from six Hanwoo bulls (6-8 months old). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was performed to investigate the mRNA expression of BDNF and NTRK2 in the testes. Western blot analysis was performed to verify the cross-reactivity of BDNF and NTRK2 antibodies with bovine testicular tissues. Immunohistochemistry was conducted to determine BDNF and NTRK2 protein expression in the testes. Results: RT-PCR analysis revealed BDNF and NTRK2 mRNA expression in bovine testes. In Western blotting, BDNF and NTRK2 protein bands were observed at 32 and 45 kDa, respectively. Immunofluorescence demonstrated BDNF expression in the nuclei of spermatogonia and Sertoli cells as well as in the cytoplasm of Leydig cells. NTRK2 was exclusively expressed in Sertoli cells. These results suggest that BDNF plays a potential role in spermatogenesis via BDNF and NTRK2 signaling in bovine testes, a finding supported by previous results in different animal species. Conclusions: The expression patterns of BDNF and NTRK2 indicate their functional importance in the bovine reproductive system.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2001

The recent reports that endocrine disruptors(EDs) bring about abnormalities in reproductive organs and functions of invertebrates suggest that mammals be affected by the EDs. The present study examined the influence of 2-bromopropane(2-BP) by looking at the sexes of litters in mouse. The expression of sex-related genes during sex differentiation was also investigated in the fetus of mouse. The male and female mice were infused with 2-BP for 3 weeks before mating. The litters were sexed at the weaning time from the 4 different groups. The sex-related genes were identified by RT-PCR from the fetuses at gestation 10 days. The sequences of the genes were analysed by comparing to those of other animals. The mean numbers of litters survived by the weaning time were slightly reduced in the only group of both female and male mice treated with 2-BP. The female litters were greater than male litters in the only group of female treated with 2-BP. The other groups showed male litters greater than female litters. The sex-related genes, SRY, DAX1, SF1 , and AMH genes were identified and sequenced, showing 416, 466, 326, 389 base pairs, respectively. All of the genes had the homology of 89～90％ with rat and 81～92％ with human within the range of bases identified. They were expressed at the time of sex determination. Therefore, it appears that 2-BP somewhat affects the reproductive activity of adult mouse. Influence of 2-BP on the reproductive function is expected to be studied through the expression of the sex-related genes.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.295-300
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• 2012

Manganese ($Mn^{2+}$) is a trace element that is essential for normal physiology, and is predominantly obtained from food. Several lines of evidence, however, demonstrated that overexposure to $MnCl_2$ exerts serious neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity and developmental toxicity, particularly in male. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of 0, 1.0, 3.3, and 10 mg/kg/day doses of $MnCl_2$ on the reproductive organs in the immature female rats. Rats (PND 22; S.D. strain) were exposed to $MnCl_2$ ($MnCl_2{\cdot}4H_2O$) dissolved in drinking water for 2 weeks. The animals were sacrificed on PND 35, then the tissues were immediately removed and weighed. Histological studies were performed using the uteri tissue samples. Serum LH and FSH levels were measured with the specific ELISA kits. Body weights of the experimental group animals were not significantly different from those of control group animals. However, ovarian tissue weights in 1 mg and 3.3 mg $MnCl_2$ dose groups were significantly lower than those of control animals (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). Uterine tissue weights of 3.3 mg dose $MnCl_2$ groups were significantly lower than those of control animals (p<0.01), while the 1 mg $MnCl_2$ dose and 10 mg $MnCl_2$ dose failed to induce any change in uterine weight. Similarly, only 3.3 mg $MnCl_2$ dose could induce the significant decrease in the oviduct weight compared to the control group (p<0.05). Non-reproductive tissues such as adrenal and kidney failed to respond to all doses of $MnCl_2$ exposure. The uterine histology revealed that the $MnCl_2$ exposure could affect the myometrial cell proliferation particularly in 3.3 mg dose and 10mg dose group. Serum FSH levels were significantly decreased in 1mg $MnCl_2$ dose and 10 $MnCl_2$ mg groups (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). In contrast, treatment with 1 mg $MnCl_2$ dose induced a significant increment of serum LH level (p<0.05). The present study demonstrated that $MnCl_2$ exposure is capable of inducing abnormal development of reproductive tissues, at least to some extent, and altered gonadotropin secretions in immature female rats. Combined with the well-defined actions of this metal on GnRH and prolactin secretion, one can suggest the $Mn^{2+}$ might be a potential environmental mediator which is involved in the female pubertal process.

• Proceedings of the Korea Environmental Mutagen Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.181-181
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.129-129
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• 2001

1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), a soil fumigant against nematodes, is a genotoxic carcinogen and also is classified by World Wildlife Fund as endocrine disruptors. DBCP has been extensively studied on genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and damage in male reproductive-related organs. However, information on precise mechanism of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis of DBCP is yet unknown. (omitted)