Genetic relationships between early menopause and the behaviour of theca interna during follicular atresia

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 2185-2187
Author(s):  
Raymond J Rodgers ◽  
Joop S E Laven

ABSTRACT Genetic variants are known to contribute to about 50% of the heritability of the age of menopause and recent studies suggest that genes associated with genome maintenance are involved. The idea that increased rates of follicular atresia could lead to depletion of the primoridial follicle reserve and early menopause has also been canvassed, but there is no direct evidence of this. In studies of the transcriptomics of follicular atresia, it was found that in the theca interna, the largest group of genes are in fact down-regulated and associated with ‘cell cycle and DNA replication’, in contrast with the up-regulation of apoptosis-associated genes which occurs in granulosa cells. Many of the genes down-regulated in the theca interna are the same as or related to the genes in loci associated with early menopause. From these findings, we suggest that early menopause could be due to increased rates of follicular atresia initiated from the theca interna.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Mouli Kolinjivadi ◽  
Siao Ting Chong ◽  
Joanne Ngeow

Co-ordinated oscillation of mammalian circadian clock and cell cycle is essential for cellular and organismal homeostasis. Existing preclinical, epidemiological, molecular and biochemical evidence reveal a robust interplay between circadian clock, genome instability and cancer. Furthermore, recent investigations have demonstrated that the alterations in circadian clock perturb genome stability by modulating the cell cycle timing, altering DNA replication fork progression, influencing DNA Damage Response (DDR) and DNA repair efficiency. In this review, we examine the most recent findings from different eukaryotic model systems and discuss the functional interaction between circadian factors with key DNA replication, DDR and DNA repair genes.


Zygote ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsuko Kamo ◽  
Yoshihiko Araki ◽  
Kunihiko Maeda ◽  
Hiroshi Watanabe

During the process of follicular atresia, cells are observed to invade the zona pellucida (invasive cells) where they presumably play an important role in eliminating degraded oocytes. Although our preliminary studies have suggested that these cells may originate from granulosa cells and not from macrophages, a detailed morphological analysis of the cells has not been conducted. The objective of this study was to characterize the cells more precisely by electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry, using sexually immature mice. The results show that the invasive cells were first observed within advanced primary (non-antral) atretic follicles. The cells frequently contained cytoplasmic lysosome-like granules after passing through the zona pellucida. F4/80 and Mac-1, reported as macrophage-specific antibodies, were reactive with the cells in most cases, but some immunonegative invasive cells were also observed. The ultrastructural features of the invasive cells were quite similar to those of granulosa cells, not macrophages. Gap junctions, which are typical cytoplasmic structures of epithelial cells, were frequently identified between neighbouring cells. Although direct evidence indicating a contribution by the cells to the elimination of degenerated oocytes was not obtained, our results strongly suggest that the invasive cells originated from granulosa cells surrounding the zona pellucida, and that they may have a macrophage-like cell function for the elimination of oocytes from atretic follicles in mice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 202 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Burby ◽  
Lyle A. Simmons

ABSTRACT All organisms regulate cell cycle progression by coordinating cell division with DNA replication status. In eukaryotes, DNA damage or problems with replication fork progression induce the DNA damage response (DDR), causing cyclin-dependent kinases to remain active, preventing further cell cycle progression until replication and repair are complete. In bacteria, cell division is coordinated with chromosome segregation, preventing cell division ring formation over the nucleoid in a process termed nucleoid occlusion. In addition to nucleoid occlusion, bacteria induce the SOS response after replication forks encounter DNA damage or impediments that slow or block their progression. During SOS induction, Escherichia coli expresses a cytoplasmic protein, SulA, that inhibits cell division by directly binding FtsZ. After the SOS response is turned off, SulA is degraded by Lon protease, allowing for cell division to resume. Recently, it has become clear that SulA is restricted to bacteria closely related to E. coli and that most bacteria enforce the DNA damage checkpoint by expressing a small integral membrane protein. Resumption of cell division is then mediated by membrane-bound proteases that cleave the cell division inhibitor. Further, many bacterial cells have mechanisms to inhibit cell division that are regulated independently from the canonical LexA-mediated SOS response. In this review, we discuss several pathways used by bacteria to prevent cell division from occurring when genome instability is detected or before the chromosome has been fully replicated and segregated.


Endocrinology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (2) ◽  
pp. 929-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradeep P. Kayampilly ◽  
K. M. J. Menon

FSH, acting through multiple signaling pathways, regulates the proliferation and growth of granulosa cells, which are critical for ovulation. The present study investigated whether AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which controls the energy balance of the cell, plays a role in FSH-mediated increase in granulosa cell proliferation. Cells isolated from immature rat ovaries were grown in serum-free, phenol red free DMEM-F12 and were treated with FSH (50 ng/ml) for 0, 5, and 15 min. Western blot analysis showed a significant reduction in AMPK activation as observed by a reduction of phosphorylation at thr 172 in response to FSH treatment at all time points tested. FSH also reduced AMPK phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner with maximum inhibition at 100 ng/ml. The chemical activator of AMPK (5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-D-ribofuranoside, 0.5 mm) increased the cell cycle inhibitor p27 kip expression significantly, whereas the AMPK inhibitor (compound C, 20 μm) and FSH reduced p27kip expression significantly compared with control. FSH treatment resulted in an increase in the phosphorylation of AMPK at ser 485/491 and a reduction in thr 172 phosphorylation. Inhibition of Akt phosphorylation using Akt inhibitor VIII reversed the inhibitory effect of FSH on thr 172 phosphorylation of AMPK, whereas ERK inhibitor U0126 had no effect. These results show that FSH, through an Akt-dependent pathway, phosphorylates AMPK at ser 481/495 and inhibits its activation by reducing thr 172 phosphorylation. AMPK activation by 5-amino-imidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribofuranoside treatment resulted in a reduction of cell cycle regulatory protein cyclin D2 mRNA expression, whereas FSH increased the expression by 2-fold. These results suggest that FSH promotes granulosa cell proliferation by increasing cyclin D2 mRNA expression and by reducing p27 kip expression by inhibiting AMPK activation through an Akt-dependent pathway. FSH stimulates granulosa cell proliferation by reducing cell cycle inhibitor p27 kip through AMP kinase inhibition.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5195
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang

In eukaryotic cells, DNA replication licensing is precisely regulated to ensure that the initiation of genomic DNA replication in S phase occurs once and only once for each mitotic cell division. A key regulatory mechanism by which DNA re-replication is suppressed is the S phase-dependent proteolysis of Cdt1, an essential replication protein for licensing DNA replication origins by loading the Mcm2-7 replication helicase for DNA duplication in S phase. Cdt1 degradation is mediated by CRL4Cdt2 ubiquitin E3 ligase, which further requires Cdt1 binding to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) through a PIP box domain in Cdt1 during DNA synthesis. Recent studies found that Cdt2, the specific subunit of CRL4Cdt2 ubiquitin E3 ligase that targets Cdt1 for degradation, also contains an evolutionarily conserved PIP box-like domain that mediates the interaction with PCNA. These findings suggest that the initiation and elongation of DNA replication or DNA damage-induced repair synthesis provide a novel mechanism by which Cdt1 and CRL4Cdt2 are both recruited onto the trimeric PCNA clamp encircling the replicating DNA strands to promote the interaction between Cdt1 and CRL4Cdt2. The proximity of PCNA-bound Cdt1 to CRL4Cdt2 facilitates the destruction of Cdt1 in response to DNA damage or after DNA replication initiation to prevent DNA re-replication in the cell cycle. CRL4Cdt2 ubiquitin E3 ligase may also regulate the degradation of other PIP box-containing proteins, such as CDK inhibitor p21 and histone methylase Set8, to regulate DNA replication licensing, cell cycle progression, DNA repair, and genome stability by directly interacting with PCNA during DNA replication and repair synthesis.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Hae Ryung Chang ◽  
Eunyoung Jung ◽  
Soobin Cho ◽  
Young-Jun Jeon ◽  
Yonghwan Kim

While Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and technological advances have been useful in identifying genetic profiles of tumorigenesis, novel target proteins and various clinical biomarkers, cancer continues to be a major global health threat. DNA replication, DNA damage response (DDR) and repair, and cell cycle regulation continue to be essential systems in targeted cancer therapies. Although many genes involved in DDR are known to be tumor suppressor genes, cancer cells are often dependent and addicted to these genes, making them excellent therapeutic targets. In this review, genes implicated in DNA replication, DDR, DNA repair, cell cycle regulation are discussed with reference to peptide or small molecule inhibitors which may prove therapeutic in cancer patients. Additionally, the potential of utilizing novel synthetic lethal genes in these pathways is examined, providing possible new targets for future therapeutics. Specifically, we evaluate the potential of TONSL as a novel gene for targeted therapy. Although it is a scaffold protein with no known enzymatic activity, the strategy used for developing PCNA inhibitors can also be utilized to target TONSL. This review summarizes current knowledge on non-oncogene addiction, and the utilization of synthetic lethality for developing novel inhibitors targeting non-oncogenic addiction for cancer therapy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuko MATSUDA ◽  
Naoko INOUE ◽  
Akihisa MAEDA ◽  
Yuan CHENG ◽  
Takafumi SAI ◽  
...  

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