Comparison of the Clinical Outcomes in Women with A or D PCOS Phenotypes versus Single Polycystic Ovary undergoing IVF-ET

Background: The impact of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on endometrial receptivity and embryo quality is a subject of debate. Different PCOS patient types may exhibit different effects on these factors. This study aimed to identify causes for low live birth rate by comparing endometrial receptivity and embryo quality among different PCOS types. Methods: Overall, a total of 767 PCOS patients with first in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment classified into phenotype A (n = 167 patients) and phenotype D (n = 600 patients) were eligible for analysis. Patients with single polycystic ovary (n = 406 patients) served as a control group to exclude the advantages of clinical outcome from higher number of oocytes retrieved in women with PCOS. Results: In phenotype A and D, Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), antral follicle count (AFC) and basic estradiol were significantly higher compared to single polycystic ovary. However, estradiol, progestin and endometrial thickness on the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) day were significantly decreased. In fresh cycles, phenotype A had a significant statistical decrease in the live birth rate compared with single polycystic ovary (35/78 [44.87%] vs. 135/233 [57.94%], p 1.000, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.000–1.001), p = 0.034) and single polycystic ovary (OR <1.000, 95% CI: 0.999–1.000, p = 0.013) in fresh ET. Conclusions: The various subtypes of PCOS have no significant adverse effect on embryonic outcome. It was not directly caused by PCOS; however, low levels of estradiol may be the reason for the low live birth rate owing to significant reduction of total Gn dose, Gn duration and FORT as a result to low incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in phenotype A

Sequence-Based SSR Marker Development and Their Application in Defining the Introgressions of LA0716 (<i>Solanum pennellii</i>) in the Background of cv. M82 (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>)

<div><p>The introgression lines (ILs) from cv. M82 (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>) × LA0716 (<i>S. pennellii</i>) have been proven to be exceptionally useful for genetic analysis and gene cloning. The introgressions were originally defined by RFLP markers at their development. The objectives of this study are to develop polymorphic SSR markers, and to re-define the DNA introgression from LA0716 in the ILs. Tomato sequence data was scanned by software to generate SSR markers. In total, 829 SSRs, which could be robustly amplified by PCR, were developed. Among them, 658 SSRs were dinucleotide repeats, 162 were trinucleotide repeats, and nine were tetranucleotide repeats. The 829 SSRs together with 96 published RFLPs were integrated into the physical linkage map of <i>S. lycopersicum</i>. Introgressions of DNA fragments from LA0716 were re-defined among the 75 ILs using the newly developed SSRs. A specific introgression of DNA fragment from LA0716 was identified in 72 ILs as described previously by RFLP, whereas the specific DNA introgression described previously were not detected in the ILs LA4035, LA4059 and LA4091. The physical location of each investigated DNA introgression was finely determined by SSR mapping. Among the 72 ILs, eight ILs showed a shorter and three ILs (IL3-2, IL12-3 and IL12-3-1) revealed a longer DNA introgression than that framed by RFLPs. Furthermore, 54 previously undefined segments were found in 21 ILs, ranging from 1 to 11 DNA introgressions per IL. Generally, the newly developed SSRs provide additional markers for genetic studies of tomatoes, and the fine definition of DNA introgressions from LA0716 would facilitate the use of the ILs for genetic analysis and gene cloning.</p></div

Microsatellite repeat motifs of the 829 SSR markers.

a<p>Numbers in parentheses indicate the percentage of the total.</p

Nrf2–ARE Signaling Acts as Master Pathway for the Cellular Antioxidant Activity of Fisetin

Fisetin, a dietary flavonoid, is reported to have cellular antioxidant activity with an unclear mechanism. In this study, we investigated the effect of fisetin on the nuclear factor, erythroid 2-like 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway in HepG2 cells to explore the cellular antioxidant mechanism. Fisetin upregulated the mRNA expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM), and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1), and induced the protein of HO-1 but had no significant effect on the protein of GCLC, GCLM and NQO1. Moreover, nuclear accumulation of Nrf2 was clearly observed by immunofluorescence analysis and western blotting after fisetin treatment, and an enhanced luciferase activity of antioxidant response element (ARE)-regulated transactivation was obtained by dual-luciferase reporter gene assays. In addition, fisetin upregulated the protein level of Nrf2 and downregulated the protein level of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1). However, fisetin had no significant effect on Nrf2 mRNA expression. When protein synthesis was inhibited with cycloheximide (CHX), fisetin prolonged the half-life of Nrf2 from 15 min to 45 min. When blocking Nrf2 degradation with proteasome inhibitor MG132, ubiquitinated proteins were enhanced, and fisetin reduced ubiquitination of Nrf2. Taken together, fisetin translocated Nrf2 into the nucleus and upregulated the expression of downstream HO-1 gene by inhibiting the degradation of Nrf2 at the post-transcriptional level. These data provide the molecular mechanism to understand the cellular antioxidant activity of fisetin

Physical linkage map of the tomato genome.

<p>Twelve linkage groups were constructed using 829 SSR markers (SSRs) and 96 RFLP markers (RFLPs). The names of the SSRs are marked to the right of each chromosome and the inter-distance in kb between each two adjacent SSRs is marked on the left. The Inter-distance in the figure means the physical distance between each two adjacent SSR markers and the black bar under inter-distances highlights some very large inter-distances with measurement unit Mb instead of kb. The markers in the bold font are the 96 RFLPs from the Tomato IL Map on the Sol Genomics Network (<a href="http://sgn.cornell.edu/" target="_blank">http://sgn.cornell.edu/</a>), and the 179 SSRs investigated previously undefined segments in 75 introgression lines from the cross between cv. M82 (<i>S. lycopersicum</i>) × LA0716 (<i>S. pennellii</i>). The thick black bar indicates the presumed heterochomatin region, between two SSRs marked with *. Euchromatin and heterochromatin regions were estimated based on previous reports and the released sequence data of the tomato genome on the Sol Genomics Network (<a href="http://sgn.cornell.edu/" target="_blank">http://sgn.cornell.edu/</a>). The SSR loci adopted from Tomato-EXPEN2000 Map <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0081091#pone.0081091-Fulton1" target="_blank">[29]</a> and the linkage map constructed by Shirasawa et al. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0081091#pone.0081091-Shirasawa1" target="_blank">[30]</a> were marked with red and green color, respectively.</p

Identification of QTL regions for seedling root traits and their effect on nitrogen use efficiency in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Key messageQTL for a wheat ideotype root system and its plasticity to nitrogen deficiency were characterized.AbstractRoot system architecture-related traits (RRTs) and their plasticity tonitrogen availability are important for nitrogen acquisition and yield formation in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was conducted under different nitrogen conditions, using the seedlings of 188 recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between Kenong 9204 and Jing 411. Fifty-three QTL for seven RRTs and fourteen QTL for the plasticity of these RRTs to nitrogen deficiency were detected. Thirty of these QTL were mapped in nine clusters on chromosomes 2B, 2D, 3A, 3D, 6B, 6D, 7A and 7B. Six of these nine clusters were also colocated with loci for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)-related traits (NRTs). Among them, three QTL clusters (C2B, C6D and C7B) were highlighted, considering that they individually harbored three stable robust QTL (i.e., QMrl-2B.1, QdRs-6D and QMrl-7B). C2B and C7B stably contributed to the optimal root system, and C6D greatly affected the plasticity of RRTs in response to nitrogen deficiency. However, strong artificial selection was only observed for C7B in 574 derivatives of Kenong 9204. Covariance analysis identified QMrl-7B as the major contributor in C7B that affected the investigated NRTs in mature plants. Phenotypic analysis indicated that thousand kernel weight might represent a concomitant above-ground trait of the hidden RRTs controlled by C7B, which are used for breeding selection. Dissecting these QTL regions with potential breeding value will ultimately facilitate the selection of donor lines with both high yield and NUE in wheat breeding programs