THE EXPRESSION OF APELIN AND ITS RECEPTOR APJ DURING DIFFERENT PHYSIOLOGICAL STAGES IN THE BOVINE OVARY

<p>Recent studies implicate that apelin and its receptor APJ may have important role for the modulation of angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to further characterise the regulation of apelin/APJ system in bovine ovary. Experiment 1: corpora lutea (CL) were assigned to the following stages: days 1-2, 3-4, 5-7, 8-12, 13-16, &#62;18 (after regression) of oestrous cycle and of gravidity (month &#60;3, 3-5, 6-7 and &#62;8). Experiment 2: Follicles during maturation were divided into granulosa cells (GC) and theca interna (TI) and were examined separately. Classification of follicles occurred by follicle size and oestradiol-17&#946; (E2) concentration in the follicular fluid (FF) (&#60;0.5 ng/ml, 0.5-5 ng/ml; 5-40 ng/ml; 40-180 ng/ml; &#62;180 ng/ml). Real-time RT-PCR (qPCR) was applied to investigate mRNA expression of examined factors. In general, the expression level of apelin during the oestrous cycle was significantly higher compared to the one during pregnancy. Apelin mRNA levels were always high during the cycle with a tendency of decrease after CL regression. The APJ mRNA in the CL was significantly up regulated on days 5-7 and 8-12 followed by a decrease on days 13-16, and further on days &#62;18. The expression of APJ does not show any significant regulation in the CL throughout pregnancy. The expression of apelin and APJ was not statistically regulated in GC, but was significantly up regulated in follicles with an E2 concentration of more than 5 ng/ml and showed an increase according to growth and maturation of follicles. In conclusion, our data suggest that apelin/APJ system is involved in the mechanism regulating angiogenesis during follicle maturation as well as during CL formation and function in the bovine ovary.</p

Mars Commercial Rover Payload Services

As the new decade begins, new programmatic strategies to conduct more frequent, lower cost missions are beginning to be applied to deep space robotic science missions, such as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. These new strategies include moving from cost-plus contracts towards fixed price contracts, commercial contractors increasingly sharing in development costs, finding launch opportunities through ride sharing and comanifesting payloads, and making use of smallsats and other spacecraft with off-the-shelf hardware. While these new practices are now being applied in many areas across NASA, they are not yet being widely implemented in the Mars exploration program, where large bespoke missions have become the dominant programmatic strategy. As the decadal survey for planetary science in the 2020’s begins its deliberations, it should consider how programmatic strategies that emphasize lower cost, more frequent missions to Mars can provide groundbreaking science return and enable the beginning of a new age in Martian exploratio

Central and peripheral apelin receptor distribution in the mouse: Species differences with rat

► APJ is well characterized in the rat but is not well described in mouse tissues. ► We show the first detailed anatomical distribution of APJ mRNA and protein in the mouse. ► There is a species difference in central APJ distribution and in the pituitary gland. APJ distribution in peripheral tissues appears comparable between rat and mouse. ► The apelin system may have a more wide-ranging central role in the rat than the mouse