Cancer survivors and infertility: a review of a new problem and novel answers.
J Support Oncol. 2006 Apr;4(4):171-8
Authors: Nieman CL, Kazer R, Brannigan RE, Zoloth LS, Chase-Lansdale PL, Kinahan K, Dilley KJ, Roberts D, Shea LD, Woodruff TK
Abstract Improvements in cancer treatment have changed the way in which…
The in vitro regulation of ovarian follicle development using alginate-extracellular matrix gels.
Biomaterials. 2006 Feb;27(5):714-23
Authors: Kreeger PK, Deck JW, Woodruff TK, Shea LD
The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides a three-dimensional structure that promotes and regulates cell adhesion and provides signals that direct the cellular processes leading to tissue development. In this report, synthetic matrices that present defined…
Follicle size class contributes to distinct secretion patterns of inhibin isoforms during the rat estrous cycle.
Endocrinology. 2006 Jan;147(1):51-60
Authors: Kenny HA, Woodruff TK
The differential production of inhibins must be exquisitely controlled at the cellular level to ensure the secretion of the appropriate ligand at specific times during the reproductive cycle. The mechanisms underlying inhibin dimer assembly,…
The development of a mouse model of ovarian endosalpingiosis.
Endocrinology. 2005 Dec;146(12):5228-36
Authors: Bristol-Gould SK, Hutten CG, Sturgis C, Kilen SM, Mayo KE, Woodruff TK
Pelvic pain is a common presenting ailment in women often linked to ovulation, endometriosis, early pregnancy, ovarian cancer, and cysts. Clear differential diagnosis for each condition caused by these varied etiologies is difficult…
Structural basis for a functional antagonist in the transforming growth factor beta superfamily.
J Biol Chem. 2005 Dec 2;280(48):40177-86
Authors: Cook RW, Thompson TB, Kurup SP, Jardetzky TS, Woodruff TK
Within the transforming growth factor beta superfamily, the agonist-antagonist relationship between activin and inhibin is unique and critical to integrated reproductive function. Activin acts in the pituitary to…
Regulation of mouse follicle development by follicle-stimulating hormone in a three-dimensional in vitro culture system is dependent on follicle stage and dose.
Biol Reprod. 2005 Nov;73(5):942-50
Authors: Kreeger PK, Fernandes NN, Woodruff TK, Shea LD
The developmental requirements of ovarian follicles are dependent on the maturation stage of the follicle; in particular, elegant studies with genetic models have…
The structure of the follistatin:activin complex reveals antagonism of both type I and type II receptor binding.
Dev Cell. 2005 Oct;9(4):535-43
Authors: Thompson TB, Lerch TF, Cook RW, Woodruff TK, Jardetzky TS
TGF-beta ligands stimulate diverse cellular differentiation and growth responses by signaling through type I and II receptors. Ligand antagonists, such as follistatin, block signaling and are…
A steroid-conjugated contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of cell signaling.
J Am Chem Soc. 2005 Sep 28;127(38):13164-6
Authors: Lee J, Zylka MJ, Anderson DJ, Burdette JE, Woodruff TK, Meade TJ
We have synthesized the first steroid hormone-MR contrast agent conjugate designed to track the cell signaling process upon binding to a gene switch system. The derivative has…
Activin A mediates growth inhibition and cell cycle arrest through Smads in human breast cancer cells.
Cancer Res. 2005 Sep 1;65(17):7968-75
Authors: Burdette JE, Jeruss JS, Kurley SJ, Lee EJ, Woodruff TK
The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily of growth factors is responsible for a variety of physiologic actions, including cell cycle regulation. Activin is a member of…
To beta or not to beta: estrogen receptors and ovarian function.
Endocrinology. 2005 Aug;146(8):3244-6
Authors: Woodruff TK, Mayo KE
PMID: 16009972 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Smad3 mediates activin-induced transcription of follicle-stimulating hormone beta-subunit gene.
Mol Endocrinol. 2005 Jul;19(7):1849-58
Authors: Suszko MI, Balkin DM, Chen Y, Woodruff TK
Synthesis of FSH by the anterior pituitary is regulated by activin, a member of the FSH(beta) superfamily of ligands. Activin signals through a pathway that involves the activation of the transcriptional coregulators Smad2 and Smad3. Previous…
Induction of cyclin D2 in rat granulosa cells requires FSH-dependent relief from FOXO1 repression coupled with positive signals from Smad.
J Biol Chem. 2005 Mar 11;280(10):9135-48
Authors: Park Y, Maizels ET, Feiger ZJ, Alam H, Peters CA, Woodruff TK, Unterman TG, Lee EJ, Jameson JL, Hunzicker-Dunn M
Ovarian follicles undergo exponential growth in response to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH),…
Beta A versus beta B: is it merely a matter of expression?
Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2004 Oct 15;225(1-2):9-17
Authors: Thompson TB, Cook RW, Chapman SC, Jardetzky TS, Woodruff TK
Activins are members of the transforming growth factor (TGF) beta (beta) superfamily of proteins that function in a wide array of physiological processes. Like other TGFbeta ligands, activins are…
Cloning of a novel inhibin alpha cDNA from rhesus monkey testis.
Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2004 Oct 7;2:71
Authors: Bernard DJ, Woodruff TK, Plant TM
BACKGROUND: Inhibins are dimeric gonadal protein hormones that negatively regulate pituitary FSH synthesis and secretion. Inhibin B is produced by testicular Sertoli cells and is the primary circulating form of inhibin in most adult…
Ovarian follicle development requires Smad3.
Mol Endocrinol. 2004 Sep;18(9):2224-40
Authors: Tomic D, Miller KP, Kenny HA, Woodruff TK, Hoyer P, Flaws JA
Smad3 is an important mediator of the TGF beta signaling pathway. Interestingly, Smad3-deficient (Smad3-/-) mice have reduced fertility compared with wild-type (WT) mice. To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the reduced fertility in Smad3-/- animals,…
Molecular biology of inhibin action.
Semin Reprod Med. 2004 Aug;22(3):269-76
Authors: Cook RW, Thompson TB, Jardetzky TS, Woodruff TK
Inhibins are dimeric glycoproteins that have primarily been studied for their role in antagonism of activin-mediated release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) from gonadotropes of the anterior pituitary. As a member of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) superfamily of…
Inhibin: actions and signalling.
Growth Factors. 2004 Mar;22(1):13-8
Authors: Phillips DJ, Woodruff TK
Inhibin is best known as a reproductive hormone that inhibits release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) from the pituitary gland. Over the last decade or so a number of other biological roles have emerged, putting inhibin more in the class of a growth factor. Despite this,…
Follicle-restricted compartmentalization of transforming growth factor beta superfamily ligands in the feline ovary.
Biol Reprod. 2004 Mar;70(3):846-59
Authors: Bristol SK, Woodruff TK
Ovarian follicular development, follicle selection, and the process of ovulation remain poorly understood in most species. Throughout reproductive life, follicle fate is balanced between growth and apoptosis. These opposing forces are controlled by numerous endocrine, paracrine,…
Betaglycan localization in the female rat pituitary: implications for the regulation of follicle-stimulating hormone by inhibin.
Endocrinology. 2003 Dec;144(12):5640-9
Authors: Chapman SC, Woodruff TK
Activin-stimulated FSH synthesis and secretion from the pituitary gonadotrope is negatively modulated by ovarian inhibin; however, the cellular mechanism of inhibin antagonism is unknown. Inhibin and activin share a common beta-subunit through which inhibin…
Novel approach for the three-dimensional culture of granulosa cell-oocyte complexes.
Tissue Eng. 2003 Oct;9(5):1013-21
Authors: Pangas SA, Saudye H, Shea LD, Woodruff TK
The in vitro culture of immature ovarian follicles is used to examine the factors that regulate follicle development and may ultimately provide options for reproductive infertility. The objective of this study was to develop a…
Murine granulosa cell morphology and function are regulated by a synthetic Arg-Gly-Asp matrix.
Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2003 Jul 31;205(1-2):1-10
Authors: Kreeger PK, Woodruff TK, Shea LD
Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are established regulators of granulosa cell survival, morphology, and differentiation. In this study, the roles of ECM adhesion peptide density on murine granulosa cell adhesion, morphology, and steroid…
Normal reproductive function in InhBP/p120-deficient mice.
Mol Cell Biol. 2003 Jul;23(14):4882-91
Authors: Bernard DJ, Burns KH, Haupt B, Matzuk MM, Woodruff TK
The inhibins are gonadal transforming growth factor beta superfamily protein hormones that suppress pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) synthesis. Recently, betaglycan and inhibin binding protein (InhBP/p120, also known as the product of immunoglobulin superfamily gene 1 [IGSF1])…
Activin signal transduction in the fetal rat adrenal gland and in human H295R cells.
J Endocrinol. 2003 Jul;178(1):137-48
Authors: Wang EY, Ma EY, Woodruff TK
The presence of activin A and its effects have previously been documented in the adrenal gland, particularly in the human fetal adrenal gland and the rat adrenal gland. The primary signaling pathway of…
Down-regulation of activin, activin receptors, and Smads in high-grade breast cancer.
Cancer Res. 2003 Jul 1;63(13):3783-90
Authors: Jeruss JS, Sturgis CD, Rademaker AW, Woodruff TK
Activin and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, members of the TGF-beta superfamily of growth factors, have been implicated in both mammary gland development and breast carcinogenesis. TGF-beta is thought to be involved in the…