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Topic Review
Valproic Acid in Pregnancy Revisited
Valproic acid (VPA) is a very effective anticonvulsant and mood stabilizer with relatively few side effects. Being an epigenetic modulator, it undergoes clinical trials for the treatment of advanced prostatic and breast cancer. However, in pregnancy, it seems to be the most teratogenic antiepileptic drug. Among the proven effects are congenital malformations in about 10%. The more common congenital malformations are neural tube defects, cardiac anomalies, urogenital malformations including hypospadias, skeletal malformations and orofacial clefts. These effects are dose related; daily doses below 600 mg have a limited teratogenic potential. VPA, when added to other anti-seizure medications, increases the malformations rate. It induces malformations even when taken for indications other than epilepsy, adding to the data that epilepsy is not responsible for the teratogenic effects.
  • 87
  • 15 Apr 2024
Topic Review
Uterine Natural Killer Cells
Reproductive immunology is at the forefront of research interests, aiming to better understand the mechanisms of immune regulation during gestation. The relationship between the immune system and the implanting embryo is profound because the embryo is semi-allogenic but not targeted by the maternal immune system, as expected in graft-versus-host reactions. The most prominent cell population at the maternal–fetal interface is the population of uterine natural killer (uNK) cells. Uterine NK cells are two-faced immunologically active cells, bearing comparison with Janus, the ancient Roman god of beginnings and endings. 
  • 156
  • 30 Oct 2023
Topic Review
The Pathogenic Mechanisms of Endometriosis
Endometriosis (EMS), characterized by the presence of endometrial stromal and glandular tissue outside the uterine cavity, is a relatively common gynecologic disease affecting about 10% of women of reproductive age. While the symptoms of EMS can vary, clinical manifestations such as pelvic pain, heavy or irregular menstrual bleeding, and gastrointestinal symptoms are frequently observed. Apart from the physical discomfort, EMS has been well noticed in infertility.
  • 166
  • 24 Nov 2023
Topic Review
The Establishment of Pregnancy and Placental Formation
The continuing progress in our understanding of the complexity of interactions between the maternal organism and the early embryo is changing the overall outlook on the initial steps in establishing a pregnancy through placental formation. The first two weeks after fertilization must today be viewed as the critical period during which a major embryo selection process takes place in which a proportion that may surpass 50% of them is physiologically eliminated because they are unfit to progress toward birth.
  • 141
  • 29 Jan 2024
Topic Review
The Duration of Menstrual Blood Loss
The duration of bleeding is not necessarily linked to the amount of loss but may be influenced by age, ethnicity, habitus, region and altitude of residence, dieting and stress. The onset of bleeding has been linked to declining steroid production by the corpus luteum. There remains considerable controversy around the extent of endometrial shedding at menstruation. This is likely to vary within and between women. The significance of a change from previous patterns, very short or prolonged bleeding, days of light loss or spotting before or after days of bleeding, or of bleed-free days that punctuate flow, remain poorly understood.
  • 146
  • 02 Aug 2023
Topic Review
The Arsenic on Male Reproductive System in Animals
Epidemiological studies have suggested that arsenic is one of the most hazardous reproductive toxicants present in the environment, which is significantly accumulated in the reproductive tissues like the testes, epididymis, seminal vesicle, and prostate gland. Arsenic exposure exerted cellular and molecular perturbations such as oxidative stress, inflammation, induction of autophagy, and apoptosis, which obstructed male gonadal development and led to reproductive dysfunction in humans and animals.
  • 411
  • 13 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Testicular Glycogen Metabolism
Glycogen metabolism is a potential source of glucose to both testicular somatic (namely Sertoli and Leydig cells) and germ cells. Many of the enzymes involved in the pathways of the synthesis and degradation of glycogen were identified in these cells, emphasising the relevance of this complex carbohydrate. Glycogen, however, has other non-canonical functions in testicular cells; besides its role as a source of energy, it is also associated with events such as cellular differentiation and apoptosis.
  • 408
  • 16 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Taste Receptors and Sperm Biology
Taste receptors were first described as sensory receptors located on the tongue, where they are expressed in small clusters of specialized epithelial cells. Taste receptors and components of the coupled taste transduction cascade are also expressed during the different phases of spermatogenesis as well as in mature spermatozoa from mouse to humans and the overlap between the ligand spectrum of taste receptors with compounds in the male and female reproductive organs makes it reasonable to assume that sperm “taste” these different cues in their natural microenvironments. 
  • 654
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Stem Cells and the Endometrium
Adult stem cells (ASCs) were long suspected to exist in the endometrium. Indeed, several types of endometrial ASCs were identified in rodents and humans through diverse isolation and characterization techniques. Putative stromal and epithelial stem cell niches were identified in murine models using label-retention techniques. In humans, functional methods (clonogenicity, long-term culture, and multi-lineage differentiation assays) and stem cell markers (CD146, SUSD2/W5C5, LGR5, NTPDase2, SSEA-1, or N-cadherin) facilitated the identification of three main types of endogenous endometrial ASCs: stromal, epithelial progenitor, and endothelial stem cells. Further, exogenous populations of stem cells derived from bone marrow may act as key effectors of the endometrial ASC niche.
  • 484
  • 29 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Spermatogenesis and Male Fertility
Spermatogenesis is an extremely complex developmental process and involves the orderly differentiation of multiple types of spermatogenic cells, including mitotically proliferating spermatogonial cells, meiotically dividing spermatocytes, and spermatids that eventually mature into spermatozoa.
  • 588
  • 17 Feb 2022
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