The theory of developmental programming suggests that diseases such as the metabolic
syndrome may be 'programmed'by exposure to adverse stimuli during early development …

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) refers to a continuum of decreasing ovarian function in
women before the age of 40. To date, the cause of POI in the majority of cases remain …

Molecular compatibility between gametes is a prerequisite for successful fertilization. As
long as a sperm and egg can recognize and bind each other via their surface proteins …

Understanding the factors that affect water quality and the ecological services provided by
freshwater ecosystems is an urgent global environmental issue. Predicting how water quality …

Objective: To assess the degree of apoptosis in the cumulus cells and the variation of the
zona pellucida and the maturity and fertilization of the corresponding oocyte. Design …

A reliable, easy to assess marker for fertility in agricultural species would be highly desirable
and Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) is a promising candidate. This review summarizes …

BACKGROUND: Failures in expression of zona proteins correlate to subfertility in animals.
Low expression of the zona proteins by the growing human oocyte may indicate reduced …

Proteins involved in reproduction often evolve rapidly, raising the possibility that changes in
these proteins contribute to reproductive isolation between species. We review the evidence …

The process of fertilization begins when sperm contact the outermost egg investment and
ends with fusion of the two haploid pronuclei in the egg cytoplasm. Many steps in fertilization …

The extracellular matrix surrounding vertebrate oocytes is called the zona pellucida in
mammals and perivitelline membrane (pvm) in birds. We have analyzed this structure in …