Submitted by ALINE EVANGELISTA SANTIAGO null (evalineva@hotmail.com) on 2017-12-19T17:39:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO PDF (1).pdf: 6165905 bytes, checksum: 0fe2e6627556b7a80341cb2a27e96540 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ROSANGELA APARECIDA LOBO null (rosangelalobo@btu.unesp.br) on 2017-12-20T13:25:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 santiago_ae_me_bot.pdf: 6165905 bytes, checksum: 0fe2e6627556b7a80341cb2a27e96540 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-20T13:25:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 santiago_ae_me_bot.pdf: 6165905 bytes, checksum: 0fe2e6627556b7a80341cb2a27e96540 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-24 / Introdução: A concentração plasmática de citocinas, quimiocinas e micropartículas (MPs) em mulheres com câncer de mama e de ovário é uma forma não invasiva de avaliar a resposta inflamatória/regulatória sistêmica associada a esses tumores e o papel do microambiente formado na resposta pró e antitumoral na paciente. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo foi comparar o perfil da resposta inflamatória sistêmica do câncer epitelial de ovário (CEO) e do câncer de mama através da medição de citocinas, quimiocinas e MPs, para assim avaliar se existe ou não diferença nesse padrão de resposta inflamatória sistêmica. Métodos: Noventa e quatro mulheres sem evidência de malignidade (n = 30), com câncer de mama (n = 38) ou câncer de ovário epitelial (n = 26) foram avaliadas. Foram coletadas amostras plasmáticas e de tecido tumoral. A avaliação dos marcadores inflamatórios foi realizada pela dosagem de citocinas (IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, TNF-α e IFN- ), quimiocinas (CXCL8, CXCL -9, CXCL 10, CCL 2, CCL5) e MPs (neutrófilos, leucócitos, monócitos, eritrócitos, células endoteliais, plaquetas e linfócitos) por citometria de fluxo / Cytometric Bead Array. As diferenças entre os grupos foram avaliadas por Kruskal-Wallis. As diferenças com p<0,05 foram consideradas significantes. Resultados: Os níveis plasmáticos das citocinas pró-inflamatórias IL-6 (p=<0,001), TNF-α (p=0,004) e IL-12 (p=0,0019) foram significativamente maiores em pacientes com câncer de ovário em comparação com as mulheres com câncer de mama e com o grupo controle. Pacientes com câncer de ovário foram também associadas a maiores níveis de IL-10 (p<0,001) e das quimiocinas CXCL-9 (p<0,001) e CXCL-10 (p<0,001) em comparação aos outros grupos. Os níveis de MPs derivados de neutrófilos aumentaram significativamente em amostras plasmáticas de pacientes com CEO em comparação com mulheres com câncer de mama e do grupo controle (p<0,001). Em contraste, as MPs derivadas de células endoteliais foram menores nas pacientes com CEO em comparação com os demais grupos (p=0,0491). Houve um equilíbrio entre citocinas, quimiocinas e MPs nos grupos de câncer de mama e controle. A rede de citocinas e quimiocinas inflamatórias/regulatórias em pacientes com CEO apresentou maior complexidade em relação aos demais grupos e com fortes interações nas redes entre fatores inflamatórios e imunológicos plasmáticos. Esta rede incluiu mais biomarcadores associados com correlações negativas e positivas entre eles. Conclusão: Este estudo é uma pesquisa promissora e original. Os resultados podem refletir as discrepâncias entre a carcinogênese no câncer de ovário e de mama, sugerindo um padrão inflamatório sistêmico maior no CEO. MPs podem servir como uma nova fonte de informação relacionada à doença. / Introduction: The plasma concentration of cytokines, chemokines and microparticles (MPs) in women with breast and ovarian cancer is a noninvasive way of assessing the systemic inflammatory / regulatory response associated with these tumors and the role of the microenvironment formed in the pro and antitumor response in the patient. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the profile of the systemic inflammatory response of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and breast cancer by measuring cytokines, chemokines and MPs, in order to evaluate whether or not there is a difference in this pattern of inflammatory response systemic. Methods: Ninety-four women with no evidence of malignancy (n = 30), breast cancer (n = 38) or epithelial ovarian cancer (n = 26) were evaluated. Plasma samples and tumor tissue were collected. The evaluation of inflammatory markers was performed by the measurement of cytokines (IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, TNF-α and IFN-), chemokines (CXCL8, CXCL -9, CXCL 10, CCL 2, CCL 5) and MPs (neutrophils, leukocytes, monocytes, erythrocytes, endothelial cells, platelets and lymphocytes) by flow cytometry / Cytometric Bead Array. The differences between the groups were assessed by Kruskal-Wallis. Differences with p <0.05 were considered significant. Results: Plasma levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6 (p = 0.001), TNF-α (p = 0.004) and IL-12 (p = 0.0019) were significantly higher in ovarian cancer patients compared to women with breast cancer and the control group. Patients with ovarian cancer were also associated with higher levels of IL-10 (p <0.001) and CXCL-9 (p <0.001) and CXCL-10 (p <0.001) chemokines compared to the other groups. Levels of MPs derived from neutrophils increased significantly in plasma samples of EOC patients compared to women with breast cancer and the control group (p <0.001). In contrast, MPs derived from endothelial cells were lower in patients with EOC compared to the other groups (p = 0.0491). There was a balance between cytokines, chemokines and MPs in the breast cancer and control groups. The network of inflammatory / regulatory cytokines and chemokines in patients with EOC presented greater complexity in relation to the other groups and with strong interactions in the networks between inflammatory and immunological plasmatic factors. This network included more biomarkers associated with negative and positive correlations between them. Conclusion: This study is a promising and original research. The results may reflect the discrepancies between carcinogenesis in ovarian and breast cancer, suggesting a higher systemic inflammatory pattern in the EOC. MPs can serve as a new source of disease-related information.

Hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer syndrome (HNPCC) is associated with an increased risk of developing several types of cancer and is the most common cause of hereditary ovarian cancer after BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. HNPCC results from a germline mutation in one of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes: MLH1, MSH2, PMS1, PMS2, MSH6, MSH3 and MLH3. While there has been extensive investigation of MMR deficiency in colorectal cancer, MMR in ovarian cancer is relatively under-investigated. The goal of this project was to study MMR deficiency in ovarian cancer at both the clinical and molecular level. The first aim was to examine the frequency of MMR loss in a large patient cohort and investigate the clinical consequences of MMR deficiency. The second aim was to describe the molecular characteristics of MMR deficiency in ovarian cancer cell lines and establish an in vitro cell line model of MMR deficiency in ovarian cancer. The third aim was to identify synthetic lethal strategies for the treatment of ovarian cancer to maximise cytotoxicity in a MMR-deficient background. In order to characterise the clinical consequences of MMR deficiency, a large patient cohort was studied with regard to MMR status. Three tissue microarrays consisting of 581 ovarian tumours were constructed, and expression of the four most frequently lost MMR proteins: MLH1, MSH2, PMS2 and MSH6 were detected by immunohistochemistry. Afterwards, MMR status and histology subtypes were analysed in combination with the associated clinical data. The overall incidence of MMR deficiency (loss of any MMR protein) was 15.7%, with PMS2 being the most frequently lost protein (9.7%). In addition, MMR deficiency tended to appear in a grouped fashion: MLH1 with PMS2; MSH2 with MSH6. Patients with non-serous subtypes of ovarian cancer, clear cell or mucinous especially, had higher incidence of MMR deficiency compared to patients with serous ovarian cancer. Overall MMR deficient patients were more likely to be diagnosed at early stages compared with MMR proficient patients, and this is probably due to the association between MMR deficiency and non-serous histology. However, platinum-based treatment for patients with MMR deficiency gives no advantage over those without MMR deficiency. Therefore better treatments for this subgroup of patients may be needed. The features of MMR deficiency in ovarian cancer were also characterized at the molecular level. After quantifying mRNA and protein expression of MMR genes in 19 ovarian cell lines, three cell lines (SKOV3, TOV21G and IGROV1) were found to have a defect in MLH1 expression at both the mRNA and protein level. Interestingly, the three cell lines also carried a defect in PMS2 expression at the protein level but not at the mRNA level, which is consistent with our clinical data demonstrating that MLH1 protein and PMS2 protein are paired in loss. In addition, across the 19 cell lines, MLH1 and PMS2 showed positive correlation at both the mRNA level (R=0.53, p=0.02) and protein level (R=0.72, p=0.0006). In order to study co-expression of MLH1 and PMS2, a plasmid encoding the cDNA for MLH1 was transfected into the three MLH1 deficient cell lines; and conversely siRNA targeting MLH1 was transfected into the MMR proficient cell line A2780 and expression of MLH1 protein and PMS2 protein was quantified. The results showed that re-introduction of MLH1 into MLH1 deficient cells resulted in increased expression of PMS2 protein, while knocking down MLH1 in MMR proficient cells leads to decreased PMS2 protein expression. This indicates that MLH1 may play a crucial role in regulating PMS2 protein expression. As the three MLH1 and PMS2 protein deficient cell lines all express PMS2 mRNA, the regulation of PMS2 expression by MLH1 is likely to be at the translational or post-translational level. However, the expression of PMS2 protein was not increased in the absence of MLH1, even when the proteasomal and lysosomal protein degradation pathways were blocked (as seen with SKOV3 cells), suggesting decreased PMS2 protein expression is not due to rapid degradation in the absence of MLH1. Therefore MLH1 may play a role in regulating the synthesis of PMS2 protein at the translational level, rather than preventing the degradation of PMS2. Thus, to investigate the mechanism by which PMS2 protein levels are regulated by MLH1, future work should focus on translational regulation of PMS2. In order to identify synthetic lethal strategies to target MMR deficiency in ovarian cancer, an isogenic cell line model of MMR deficiency was established by stable transfection of a plasmid for MLH1 and its corresponding empty vector into SKOV3 cells. The MLH1+ cell line SAC-1 and MLH1- cell line SN-5 were selected for drug screening based on their phenotype and growth rate. The AlamarBlue assay, with z’ above 0.5, was chosen for drug screening and a kinase inhibitor library containing 362 drugs of known target was screened. Two drugs with similar structures that targeted PLK1 showed greater growth inhibition of SN-5 compared with SAC-1. When the two cell lines were treated with another PLK1 inhibitor, BI2536, with different structure, a 2-fold difference in growth inhibition between SAC-1 and SN-5 was also observed, suggesting PLK1 is a potential synthetic lethal target for MLH1 deficiency in ovarian cancer. Together these data demonstrate that clinically, MMR deficiency is associated with non-serous subtypes of ovarian cancer and specific MMR proteins are paired in loss. While current standard therapy offers no selective benefit to ovarian cancer patients with MMR deficiency, inhibiting PLK1 activity may confer selective benefit.

Introdução: A técnica de criopreservação de tecido ovariano tem sido vista como tratamento promissor e se apresenta como a principal maneira de preservar a fertilidade em pacientes pré-púberes e em mulheres que necessitam de tratamento do câncer de imediato. Contudo, atualmente, ainda existem obstáculos em relação ao autotransplante de tecido ovariano criopreservado, devido a fatores como lesão isquêmica, assim como danos causados pelo processo durante o congelamento, bem como a escolha do melhor local para o enxerto. Objetivo: Verificar a possível restauração da função ovariana, analisando a histologia do ovário transplantado em ratas adultas estéreis, após transplante autólogo de tecido ovariano criopreservado em fase pré-púbere. Métodos: Foram utilizadas 45 ratas Wistar com 30 dias de idade, que foram divididas aleatoriamente em três grupos: Grupo Controle (n = 15), férteis normais; Sham (n = 15), submetidas à ooforectomia bilateral; Transplante (n = 15), submetidas à ooforectomia bilateral, seguida de transplante autólogo na região dorsal entre as escápulas. A partir do d35, foram realizadas observações quanto à maturidade sexual, através da análise da abertura vaginal e de esfregaços vaginais, para avaliação do ciclo estral. Após observação da fase do ciclo estral, os animais foram eutanasiados. E, amostras de tecidos foram coletadas e processadas para avaliação histológica dos implantes ovarianos; considerando: organização estrutural do tecido transplantado e adjacente, bem como o desenvolvimento folicular. Resultados: Quanto às avaliações de maturidade sexual, através das análises de abertura vaginal e da análise microscópica do material obtido dos esfregaços vaginais, foi possível observar que os animais do Grupo Controle, que eram férteis ciclaram normalmente. As ratas do Grupo Sham e Transplante não apresentaram ciclo regular, permanecendo em diestro. As avaliações histológicas das amostras de tecido de ovário pré-púbere, implantados em fêmeas adulto jovens, evidenciaram degeneração ovariana; uma vez que estes apresentaram fibrose e áreas de necrose, o que provavelmente impossibilitou o desenvolvimento folicular, nas ratas que receberam o transplante. Conclusão: A técnica de transplante de tecido ovariano em ratas é uma técnica relativamente simples de ser executada, e se mostrou eficaz na manutenção do massa corporal dos animais durante o período observado. Este achado sugere que houve produção hormonal, oriunda do ovário transplantado, fato este que encoraja as pesquisas neste sentido, a fim de se obter uma técnica que restaure a produção de folículos viáveis em pacientes estéreis. Apesar de ter apresentando indícios de falência do enxerto e isquemia no tecido transplantado, os resultados preliminares desta investigação precisam ser complementados com estudos adicionais, a fim de buscar as melhores condições para a obtenção de maior eficácia dos transplantes autólogos de tecido ovarianos criopreservados. / Introduction: Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is a promising treatment and it is presented as the main way to preserve fertility in prepubertal patients and women who need cancer treatment immediately. However still remain obstacles related to the ovarian tissue cryopreserved autograft due to ischemic injury, damage caused by the freezing process and selecting the best location for the graft. Objective: Investigate a possible restoration of the ovarian function by analyzing the histology of the ovary transplanted into sterile adult rats after autologous transplantation of ovarian tissue cryopreserved in prepubertal phase. Methods: 45 Wistar rats, 30 days old,which were randomly divided into three groups: control group (n = 15), normal fertile; Sham group (n = 15), underwent bilateral oophorectomy; Transplantation group (n = 15), underwent bilateral oophorectomy followed by autologous transplantation in the scapular area. From the d35, sexual maturity was observed by examining the vaginal opening and vaginal smears, for evaluation of the estrous cycle. After observing the phase of the estrous cycle, the animals were euthanized. The tissue samples were collected and processed for histological evaluation of ovarian implants; where structural organization of the transplanted tissue and adjacent as well as follicular development were analyzed. Results: Regarding sexual maturity evaluations, observed by vaginal opening analysis and microscopic analysis of material obtained from vaginal swabs, we could observe that the animals in the control group cycled normally. The rats of Sham and Transplant Group showed no regular cycle, staying in diestrus phase. The histological assessments of prepubertal ovarian tissue samples implanted in young adult females showed ovarian degeneration, since they had areas of necrosis and fibrosis, which probably impeded the follicular development in these rats. Conclusion: The ovarian tissue transplantation technique in rats is a relatively simple technique, and is effective in body mass maintenance of animals during the observed period. This finding suggests that there were hormone production originated from the transplanted ovaries, and this, encourages research in order to obtain a technique to restore the production of viable follicles in sterile patients. Despite presenting evidence of graft failure and ischemia in the transplanted tissue, the preliminary results of this investigation need to be supplemented with additional studies in order to get the best conditions for achieving greater effectiveness of autologous transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue.

The ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) is a monolayer of cells surrounding the ovary that is ruptured during ovulation. After ovulation the wound is repaired, however this process, and the mechanisms to maintain OSE homeostasis after the wound is repaired are poorly understood. We have shown the mouse OSE (mOSE) contains a stem cell population that is expanded by Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1 (TGFB1), a factor present in follicular fluid. These data suggest that components in the follicular fluid such as TGFB1 may promote wound repair and OSE homeostasis through maintenance of the OSE stem cell population. Additionally, TGFB1 may promote wound repair through induction of an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and activation of pro-survival pathways, as seen in other tissues. To elucidate the mechanism for TGFB1-mediated ovulatory wound repair, mOSE cells were treated with TGFB1, which induced an EMT seen with increased Snai1 expression and cell migration. Snai1 overexpression also increased cell migration and sphere formation (a stem cell characteristic). RNA sequencing results suggest this is at least in part through elevated collagen deposition in SNAI1 overexpressing cells. A TGFB signalling targets array identified Cox2 induction following TGFB1 treatment. Constitutive Cox2 expression did not promote an EMT, but enhanced sphere formation and cell survival. Finally, TGFB1 treatment decreased Brca1 expression, which when deleted from mOSE cells also increased sphere formation. RNA sequencing results suggest that Brca1 deletion promotes stemness through activation of the stem cell genes Ly6a and Lgr5. RNA sequencing was also used to compare mOSE cells cultured as monolayers and as spheroids, with and without TGFB1. These results validate our findings that TGFB1 promotes an EMT partially through Snail induction and the upregulation of Cox2. mOSE cells cultured as spheroids acquire a mesenchymal transcriptional profile that is further enhanced with TGFB1 treatment. These data suggest that TGFB1 may promote ovulatory wound repair and maintain OSE homeostasis through the induction of an EMT, maintenance of the stem cell population and activation of a pro-survival pathway. Interestingly, mOSE spheroids also decrease Brca1 expression and upregulate cancer associated genes such as Pax8 and Greb1. The induction of survival pathways, while simultaneously increasing stemness and repressing Brca1 could render cells more susceptible to transformation. This work provides novel insights as to why ovulation is the primary non-hereditary risk factor for ovarian cancer.

Structured abstract Study objectives: Ovarian carcinoma 1/ comparison of sensitivities among monitored markers CA 125, HE4, CA 19-9, CEA, TK, TPS, MonoTotal 2/ comparison of false positivity of markers CA 125 and HE4 3/ use of CA 125, HE4 and ROMA index in the diagnostics of ovarian carcinoma 4/ use of CA 125 and HE4 in the follow-up of ovarian cancer Endometrial carcinoma 1/ feasibility of use of biomarkers CA125 and HE4 in patients with endometrial cancer in pre- operative management Study design: Retrospective data analysis Settings: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Faculty and Teaching Hospital in Pilsen Patients and Methods: Ovarian cancer 1/ Sensitivity of markers CA 125, HE4, CA 19-9, CEA, TK, TPS, and MonoTotal was assessed in 266 patients - 19 with ovarian cancer and 247 with benign disorders. 2/ False positivity of markers CA125 and HE4 was evaluated in a total of 390 patients with benign diagnoses - 60 women with endometriosis, 70 pregnant patients, 67 patients with ascites, 60 with pleural effusion, 25 with cardiac failure , 80 with renal insufficiency and 28 with hepatic failure. 3/ As a part of this objective we evaluated 552 patients with abnormal pelvic abnormality - 30 women had a histologically confirmed malignant ovarian tumor. Other 522 women had a benign condition. The...

Structured abstract Hypothesis Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are subpopulations of cells which could contribute to tumor growth, metastasis formation and chemoresistance. CSCs can be detected by surface markers assessed by immunohistochemistry methods. A typical surface marker for CSCs is CD44 (standard form). We assumed, that CD44(s) could serve as a prognostic factor and marker of chemoresistance in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. The aim of study 1. To recruit group of patients with histologically verified epithelial ovarian carcinoma. 2. To evaluate prognostic significance of known prognostic factors in our series of patients. 3. To assess the expression of CD44 in specimens of primary tumors and specimens of implantation metastasis using immnunohistochemistry and analyze their correlation. 4. To evaluate the expression of CD44 in relation to known prognostic factors. To analyze the significance of CD44 expression evaluation for overall survival, disease-free interval and chemoresistance. To find CD44 positivity cut-off by using statistical methods Materials and Methods A retrospective study was performed on 87 patients with histologically verified EOC. All patients were tested for primary tumor specimens, 48 of them were tested with regard to both specimens of primary tumor and implantation...

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and ovarian cancer (OVC) are two difficult to treat cancers. AML is often treatable however minimal residual disease (MRD) endures such that many patients who achieve remission eventually relapse and succumb to the disease. OVC affects approximately 7000 women in the U.K. every year. It can occur at any age but is most common after menopause. Diagnosis at an early stage of disease greatly improves the chances of survival however, patients tend to be diagnosed in the later stages of disease when treatment is often less effective. Immunotherapy has the potential to reduce MRD and delay or prevent relapse. In order for immunotherapy to work, tumour antigens need to be identified and characterised so they can be effectively targeted. Personalised treatments require the identification of biomarkers, for disease detection and confirmation, as well as to provide an indication of best treatment and the prediction of survival. PASD1 has been found to be frequently expressed in haematological malignancies and I wanted to determine if there was a correlation between the presence of antigen-specific T cells in the periphery of patients with AML and PASD1 protein expression in the leukaemic cells. The expression of other leukaemia antigens were concurrently examined as comparators. I performed RT-PCR on nine antigens and immunocytochemistry on PASD1 in 18 samples from AML patients. I found a correlation between PASD1 expression in AML samples and the presence of PASD1-specific T cells as detected on the pMHC array. OVC lacks suitable targets for immunotherapy with few CTAs having been identified. I examined the expression of SSX2IP and the CTAs PASD1 and SSX2 in OVC. I compared the protein expression of these known tumour antigens to the “gold standard” biomarker for the diagnosis of OVC, CA125 and two other proteins known to be promising in the diagnosis of OVC, HE4 and WT1. I analysed commercially available paraffin-embedded OVC multiple tissue arrays (MTAs) containing 191 samples, predominantly stage I (n= 166), II (n= 15) and III (n= 6) OVC as well as healthy donor (n= 8) and normal adjacent tissues (n= 8). Scoring was performed in a single blinded fashion. I found SSX2A to be expressed at a score level of 3 with a frequency (37/191) that exceeded that of CA125 (14/191), HE4 (14/191), WT1 (1//191) or PASD1 (0/191). To confirm this expression I used two additional commercially-available antibodies that recognise the region common to SSX2A and B, and an antibody specific for SSX2A. Using SSX2 peptides, I blocked the immunolabelling of SSX2 in SSX2-positive cell lines showing that the immunolabelling of SSX2 and SSX2A was specific. I demonstrated that the expression of SSX2 and specifically SSX2A was reproducible and restricted to ovarian cancer with little or no expression in endometrial tissues, or diseased or inflamed endometrial tissue. In summary, these studies demonstrated that PASD1 expression in leukaemia cells correlated with the presence of PASD1-specific T cells in the periphery of presentation AML patients. I have shown that PASD1 specific-T cells are present in AML patients at diagnosis and that immunotherapy targeting PASD1 could be used to break tolerance and clear residual leukaemia cells during first remission. Analysis of the expression of three antigens in OVC, identified the specific expression of SSX2, in particular SSX2A in OVC but not healthy or diseased endometrial tissues. The expression of SSX2A was more frequent and more specific to OVC, than HE4 and WT1, and more frequent at higher intensity, especially in early stage OVC, than CA125. SSX2 and explicitly SSX2A requires further investigation to determine whether the high level of background at score 2 can be reduced with better blocking of non-specific sites. This may require the use of different SSX2 antibodies or an improved staining protocol.

Due to their phylogenetic position as an outgroup to humans and the other African apes, empirical data from orangutans are an especially valuable comparative tool with which questions about the evolution of human life history and reproductive characteristics can be addressed. Yet few such data are available. In this dissertation, I use endocrinological and behavioral data from 7 female and 3 male orangutans housed at the Woodland Park Zoo in Washington and the Great Ape Trust in Iowa to characterize the ovarian function and reproductive behaviors of captive female orangutans at different points in the life cycle. Ovarian hormone measurements were achieved through the use of non-invasive urine sampling, and assays reveal both intra- and inter-individual variation in hormone production. Results indicate that (1) adolescent females in captivity do not experience a marked period of subfecund estrogen and progesterone levels in association with reproductive maturation, (2) individual females exhibit both "high quality" and "low quality" cycles, including instances of anovulation, in the absence of fluctuating dietary and environmental conditions, (3) mating behaviors vary between individuals and with cycle phase, but are not strongly influenced by absolute ovarian hormone concentrations, and (4) reproductive senescence does not significantly impact the ovarian function and mating behaviors of aging female orangutans. These results demonstrate that many aspects of human reproductive biology and behavior, such as an extended period of mating receptivity, are evolutionarily conserved. They suggest, however, that the decline in human ovarian function in mid-life may be derived and of possible adaptive significance. The potential significance of differences between captive and wild ape populations, and the character, history, and familial relationships of the particular individuals discussed are considered in the interpretation of all data.

Orientador: Sony Dimas Bicudo / Banca: Nereu Carlos Preste / Banca: Alberto Lopes Gusmão / Resumo: O devido conhecimento dos eventos ovarianos associados à manipulação do ciclo estral se faz necessário para que se tenha um perfeito aproveitamento desta biotecnologia, tendo-se como objetivo final à concentração das ovulações no intervalo de tempo conhecido. Neste experimento avaliou-se a resposta ovariana ao protocolo de curta duração associado ou não a lecirelina (análogo de GnRH) e/ou benzoato de estradiol. 24 ovelhas Santa Inês cíclicas foram divididas em quatro grupos: Grupo controle (GC; n=06) - com administração de 45μg de d-cloprostenol (Prolise® - Tecnopec) no dia zero, colocação da esponja vaginal impregnada com acetato de medroxi-progesterona (MAP60® - Tecnopec) no dia três, retirada da esponja juntamente com aplicação de 400UI de eCG e 45 μg de d-cloprostenol no dia sete; Grupo BE (BE; n=06) - submetido ao mesmo tratamento do GC, adicionando-se a aplicação de 1 mg de benzoato de estradiol (BE) no dia um; Grupo GnRH (GNRH; n=06) - tratado de forma similar ao GC com a aplicação de 25μg de lecirelina (Gestran plus® - Tecnopec), 30 horas após a retirada da esponja; Grupo BE-GnRH (BE-GnRH; n=06) - tratado de forma similar ao GC, com a administração de 1 mg de BE no dia um e 25μg de lecirelina 30 horas após a retirada da esponja. As ovelhas tiveram os ovários monitorados através de ultrassonografia (US) transretal. O desaparecimento do folículo pré-ovulatório foi constatado em 23 dos 24 animais, uma ovelha do BE-GnRH não ovulou e foi excluída do experimento. O tamanho médio do maior folículo pré-ovulatório foi de 7,3mm (GC); 7,0mm (BE); 6,8mm (GnRH); 7,4mm (BE-GnRH) não havendo diferença entre eles (P>0,05), sendo encontrado 1,83; 1,16; 2; 1,4 folículos ovulados por animal para os grupos G1, G2, G3 e G4, respectivamente. Dados relacionados ao início do estro após a retirada da esponja e duração do estro obteve-se... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: It is necessary to have good knowledge of the ovarian events that are associated with estrus cycle manipulation in order to assemble ovulations in a predicted time interval. This experiment assessed the ovarian response to a short-time protocol associated or not with lecirelin (GnRH analogous) and/or estradiol benzoate. 24 cycling Santa Inês ewes were divided into four groups as folllow: control group (CG; n=06) with the administration of 45μg of d-cloprostenol (Prolise® - Tecnopec) on day 0, insertion of vaginal sponge soaked with medroxi-progesterone acetate (MAP60® - Tecnopec) on day 3, and sponge withdrawal together with the injection of 400UI of eCG, and 45 μg of d-cloprostenol on day 7; EB group (EB; n=06) - subjected to the same G1 treatment but it was added the injection of 1 mg of estradiol benzoate (EB) on Day 1; GnRH group (GnRH; n=06) that had similar treatment to CG with the application of 25μg of lecirelin (Gestran plus® - Tecnopec), 30 hours after sponge withdrawal; EB-GnRH group (EB-GnRH; n=06) that had similar treatment to CG with the administration of 1 mg of EB on Day 1 and 25μg of lecirelin 30 hours after sponge withdrawal. Ewes had their ovaries monitored via transrectal ultrasound examination. It was observed the disappearance of the preovulatory follicle in 23 out of 24 animals, and one ewe from G4 did not ovulated and thus was excluded from the experiment. The average size of the biggest preovulatory follicle was 7.3mm (CG); 7.0mm (GnRH); 6.8mm (EB); 7.4mm (EB-GnRH) with no significant difference among groups (P>0.05), As for ovulated follicles per animal, it was found 1.83; 1.16; 2; 1.4 for groups CG, GnRH, EB and EB-GnRH, respectively. Related data to the onset of estrus after sponge removal and estrus length was for the duration of CG 32/38, 6, GnRH 37/69, 3; EB 29.3 / 37.3, EB-GnRH 44/68 hours, respectively. Ovulation time was 65.3; 88; 53; 82.4 hours... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

A falência ovariana prematura (FOP) é uma patologia rara, definida como a falência da função ovariana antes dos 40 anos de idade, causando amenorréia, hipogonadismo e níveis elevados de gonadotrofinas. Na maioria dos casos, apresenta-se na forma esporádica, pois apenas 5% apresentam história familial. Com relativa freqüência, a causa etiológica não é obtida, sendo então denominada de idiopática. Entre as causas conhecidas estão as alterações dos genes ligados ao cromossomo X e cromossomos autossômicos, doenças autoimunes, alterações tóxicas e iatrogênicas. Vários estudos têm sugerido que a FOP possa ser uma desordem genética, sendo o gene do receptor do FSH (FSHR) considerado um dos principais genes candidato. A primeira mutação inativadora do gene do receptor do FSH (FSHR) foi descrita por Aittomaki et al., 1995, em mulheres de famílias finlandesas que apresentavam amenorréia primária e uma mutação em ponto C566T no exon 7. Posteriormente, outras mutações inativadoras foram descritas: Ile169Thr e Arg573Cys (BEAU et al.,1998), Asp224Val e Leu601Val (TOURAINE et al.,1999), Ala419Thr (DOHERTY et al., 2002), Pro348Arg (ALLEN et al., 2003) e Pro519Thr (MEDURI et al., 2003). Por outro lado, duas variantes polimórficas, Ala307Thr e Ser307Asn, também, foram identificadas em pacientes com FOP (DA FONTE KOHEK et al., 1998, SUNDBLAD et al., 2004), embora uma relação com o fenótipo não tenha sido sistematicamente investigada.Assim, estudou-se uma coorte de 39 mulheres com FOP (casos esporádicos e familiais) que estão em acompanhamento na Unidade de Endocrinologia Ginecológica, Serviço de Endocrinologia do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, com o objetivo de determinar a presença de mutações e/ou polimorfismos no gene do FSHR e verificar se estão associadas com o fenótipo clínico. Para este fim foram realizados 2 trabalhos, o primeiro analisando 36 casos com FOP esporádica e incluindo 2 pacientes probantes de 2 familias com FOP. O segundo estudo descrevendo o genótipo e fenótipo de 5 pacientes oriundas de 2 famílias com FOP. Variáveis clínicas e hormonais foram determinadas de todas pacientes. O DNA foi isolado de leucócitos periféricos. Os exons 6, 7, 9 e 10 do gene do FSHR foram analisados pela reação de polimerização em cadeia (PCR), seguidos por análise de restrição enzimática, eletroforese em gel com gradiente de desnaturação (DGGE) e seqüenciamento direto. Também foram medidos o volume uterino, espessura endometrial e volume ovariano porultrassonografia pélvica transvaginal. Embora não se tenha encontrado nenhuma mutação no gene do FSHR, identificou-se uma alta prevalência dos polimorfismos Ala307Thr e Ser680Asn, que se encontram em desequilíbrio de ligação. Não foram observadas associações entre a presença destes polimorfismos com os níveis séricos de FSH, LH, estradiol, bem como com volume ovariano e presença de folículos. No entanto, as pacientes com FOP esporádicas, com o polimorfismo Ala307Thr, apresentaram a última menstruação mais precocemente (A: idade=33.3 ± 7.1 anos vs. T: 28.6 ± 11.4 anos, p=0.04). A genotipagem dos casos de FOP familial evidenciou a presença dos 2 polimorfismos do gene do FSHR nas 5 pacientes e o fenótipo foi semelhante ao apresentado pelas mulheres com FOP esporádica. Em conclusão, a presença do polimorfismo Ala307Thr pode estar associada com um início mais precoce das manifestações clínicas em pacientes com FOP. Entretanto, estudos longitudinais são necessários para confirmar os resultados do presente estudo. / Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a rare pathology, defined as the failure of ovarian function before age 40, causing amenorrhea, hypogonadism and high gonadotropin levels. In most cases, premature ovarian failure is sporadic and only 5% of the affected individuals have a family history. Relatively often, the etiological cause is not determined and POF is thus labeled idiopathic. Among the known causes are alterations associated with the X chromosome and autosomal chromosomes, autoimmune diseases, and toxic and iatrogenic alterations. Several studies have suggested that POF may be a genetic disorder, the FSH receptor (FSHR) gene being considered one of the main candidate genes.The first inactivating mutation in the FSHR gene was described by Aittomaki et al., in 1995, in women of Finnish families with primary amenorrhea and a C566T point mutation in exon 7. Other inactivating mutations have since then been described: Ile169Thr and Arg573Cys (BEAU et al., 1998), Asp224Val and Leu601 Val (TOURAINE et al., 1999), Ala419Thr (DOHERTY et al., 2002), Pro348Arg (ALLEN et al., 2003), and Pro519Thr (MEDURI et al., 2003). On the other hand, two polymorphic variants, Ala307Thr and Ser307Asn, were also identified in POF patients (DA FONTE KOHEK et al., 1998, SUNDBLAD et al., 2004), although a relation with the phenotype has not been systematically investigated. Thus, a cohort was studied comprising 39 women with POF (sporadic and familial cases) being followed at the Gynecological Endocrinology Unit, Service of Endocrinology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, in order to determine the presence of mutations and/or polymorphisms in the FSHR gene and to ascertain if these are associated with the clinical phenotype. For this purpose, 2 studies were conducted, the first assessing 36 cases with sporadic POF, including 2 patients from 2 families with POF and the second describing the genotype and phenotype of 5 patients from 2 families with POF. Clinical and hormonal variables were determined for all patients. The DNA was isolated from peripheral leukocytes. Exons 6, 7, 9 and 10 of the FSHR gene were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), followed by restriction enzyme analysis, denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and direct sequencing. Also, uterine size, endometrial thickness and ovarian size were measured by transvaginal pelvic ultrasonography. Although no mutation of the FSHR gene was found, a high prevalence for Ala307Thr and Ser680Asn polymorphisms was found, that are in linkagedisequilibrium. No association was observed between the presence of these polymorphisms and the serum levels of FSH, LH and estradiol, as well as ovarian size and presence of follicles. However, patients with sporadic POF, presenting Ala307Thr polymorphism, had their latest menses earlier (A: age=33.3 ± 7.1 years vs. T: 28.6 ± 11.4 years, p = 0.04). The genotyping of cases with familial-related POF showed the presence of 2 polymorphisms in the FSHR gene in 5 patients, and the phenotype was similar to that presented by women with sporadic POF. In conclusion, the presence of Ala307Thr polymorphism may be associated with an earlier onset of clinical manifestations in POF patients. However, longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the results of the present study.