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Clinical and Experimental Reproductive... Jun 2024The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in patients with a poor ovarian response who used methyltestosterone, versus those...
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in patients with a poor ovarian response who used methyltestosterone, versus those using a placebo, in an infertility clinic setting.
METHODS
This clinical trial included 120 women who had undergone IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection due to poor ovarian reserve and infertility. The study took place at the Yas Infertility Center in Tehran, Iran, between January 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019. In the intervention group, 25 mg of methyltestosterone was administered daily for 2 months prior to the initiation of assisted reproductive treatment. The control group was given placebo tablets for the same duration before starting their cycle. Each group was randomly assigned 60 patients. All analyses were performed using SPSS ver. 23 (IBM Corp.).
RESULTS
The endometrial thickness in the intervention group was 7.57±1.22 mm, whereas in the control group, it was 7.11±1.02 (
p =0.028). The gonadotropin number was significantly higher in the control group (64.7±13.48 vs. 57.9±9.25,p =0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the antral follicular count. The chemical and clinical pregnancy rates in the intervention group were 18.33% and 15% respectively, compared to 8.33% and 6.67% in the control group. The rate of definitive pregnancy was marginally higher in the intervention group (13.3% vs. 3.3%, p=0.05).CONCLUSION
The findings of this study suggest that pretreatment with methyltestosterone significantly increases endometrium thickness and is associated with an increase in the definitive pregnancy rate.
PubMed: 38812245
DOI: 10.5653/cerm.2023.05946 -
Genes May 2024It is widely known that all-female fish production holds economic value for aquaculture. , a preeminent economic species, exhibits a sex dimorphism, with females...
It is widely known that all-female fish production holds economic value for aquaculture. , a preeminent economic species, exhibits a sex dimorphism, with females surpassing males in growth. In this regard, achieving all-female black rockfish production could significantly enhance breeding profitability. In this study, we utilized the widely used male sex-regulating hormone, 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) at three different concentrations (20, 40, and 60 ppm), to produce pseudomales of for subsequent all-female offspring breeding. Long-term MT administration severely inhibits the growth of , while short term had no significant impact. Histological analysis confirmed sex reversal at all MT concentrations; however, both medium and higher MT concentrations impaired testis development. MT also influenced sex steroid hormone levels in pseudomales, suppressing E2 while increasing T and 11-KT levels. In addition, a transcriptome analysis revealed that MT down-regulated ovarian-related genes ( and ) while up-regulating male-related genes () in pseudomales. Furthermore, MT modulated the TGF-β signaling and steroid hormone biosynthesis pathways, indicating its crucial role in sex differentiation. Therefore, the current study provides a method for achieving sexual reversal using MT in and offers an initial insight into the underlying mechanism of sexual reversal in this species.
Topics: Animals; Methyltestosterone; Male; Female; Sex Differentiation; Perciformes; Testis; Fishes; Fish Proteins
PubMed: 38790234
DOI: 10.3390/genes15050605 -
Journal of Chromatography. A Jul 2024Anabolic steroids and β-agonists are commonly prohibited substances found in doping control studies; therefore, the determination of anabolic substances in biological...
Anabolic steroids and β-agonists are commonly prohibited substances found in doping control studies; therefore, the determination of anabolic substances in biological samples is crucial. To analyze the anabolic compounds in urine, an adsorbent, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-grafted magnetic nanoparticle material (FeO@SiO-PEG), with low toxicity and strong biocompatibility was prepared in this investigation. Compared to those of FeO and FeO@SiO, the grafted PEG chains (approximately 5.4 wt.%) on the magnetic nanoparticles improved the extraction efficiencies by factors of 3.9-17.0 and 2.5-2.9, respectively, likely due to the electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding. To achieve maximum extraction efficiency, several extraction parameters were optimized, including the kind and volume of desorption solvent, pH, and the extraction and desorption time. The standard curves were linear within the range of 0.5-20 μg/L for methyltestosterone and trenbolone, and 0.02-5 μg/L for clenbuterol. The limits of detection for the three drugs were 0.01-0.12 μg/L. The limits of quantification were 0.02-0.40 μg/L. The levels of precision of the optimized method were assessed based on the respective intra- and inter-day and batch-to-batch relative standard deviations in the ranges of 3.2-5.2 % (n = 5), 5.9-11.3 % (n = 4), and 6.7-9.2 % (n = 3). The FeO@SiO-PEG nanoparticles could exclude urine matrix interferences (matrix effect of 91.8-98.1 %) and achieve satisfactory recoveries (75.5-116.1 %), affording sensitive and accurate determination of trace anabolic substances in urine.
Topics: Humans; Polyethylene Glycols; Anabolic Agents; Magnetite Nanoparticles; Limit of Detection; Doping in Sports; Adsorption; Reproducibility of Results; Solid Phase Extraction; Silicon Dioxide
PubMed: 38759462
DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2024.464993 -
Water Science and Technology : a... May 202417α-methyltestosterone (MT) hormone is a synthetic androgenic steroid hormone utilized to induce Nile tilapia transitioning for enhanced production yield. This study...
17α-methyltestosterone (MT) hormone is a synthetic androgenic steroid hormone utilized to induce Nile tilapia transitioning for enhanced production yield. This study specifically focuses on the removal of MT through the utilization of photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR), which employs an in-house polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane modified with 1% nanomaterials (either TiO or α-FeO). The molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of the in-house membrane falls within the ultrafiltration range. Under UV95W radiation, the PMR with PVDF/TiO and PVDF/α-FeO membranes achieved 100% MT removal at 140 and 160 min, respectively. The MT removal by the commercial NF03 membrane was only at 50%. In contrast, without light irradiation, the MT removal by all the membranes remained unchanged after 180 min, exhibiting lower performance. The incorporation of TiO and α-FeO enhanced water flux and MT removal of the membrane. Notably, the catalytic activity was limited by the distribution and concentration of the catalyst at the membrane surface. The water contact angle did not correlate with the water flux for the composited membrane. The degradation of MT aligned well with Pseudo-first-order kinetic models. Thus, the in-house ultrafiltration PMR demonstrated superior removal efficiency and lower operational costs than the commercial nanofiltration membrane, attributable to its photocatalytic activities.
Topics: Ultrafiltration; Membranes, Artificial; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Methyltestosterone; Catalysis; Water Purification; Titanium
PubMed: 38747961
DOI: 10.2166/wst.2024.144 -
The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and... Sep 2024Methyltestosterone (MT) is one of the most frequently misused anabolic androgenic steroids detected in doping control analysis. The metabolism of MT in humans leads to...
Methyltestosterone (MT) is one of the most frequently misused anabolic androgenic steroids detected in doping control analysis. The metabolism of MT in humans leads to several phase І metabolites and their corresponding phase Ⅱ conjugates. Previous studies have postulated the 3α-sulfoconjugate of 17α-methyl-5β-androstane-3α,17β-diol (S2) as principal sulfate metabolite of MT, with a detection window exceeding 10 days. However, a final direct and unambiguous confirmation of the structure of this metabolite is missing until now. In this study, we established an approach to detect and identify S2, using intact analysis by liquid chromatography hyphenated with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) without complex sample pretreatment. An in vitro study yielded the LC-MS/MS reference retention times of all 3-sulfated 17-methylandrostane-3,17-diol diastereomers, allowing for accurate structure assignment of potentially detected metabolites. In an in vivo excretion study with a single healthy male volunteer, the presence of the metabolite S2 was confirmed after a single oral dose of 10 mg MT. The reference standard was chemically synthesized, characterized by accurate mass mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and quantified by quantitative NMR (qNMR). Thus, this study finally provides accurate structure information on the S2 metabolite and a direct analytical method for detection of MT misuse. The availability of the reference material is expected to facilitate further evaluation and subsequent analytical method validation in anti-doping research.
Topics: Male; Humans; Methyltestosterone; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Chromatography, Liquid; Substance Abuse Detection; Doping in Sports; Anabolic Agents; Adult; Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
PubMed: 38710312
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2024.106527 -
International Journal of Molecular... Feb 2024Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are hormones that primarily stimulate and regulate animal physiological processes. In this study, we cloned and identified the open...
Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are hormones that primarily stimulate and regulate animal physiological processes. In this study, we cloned and identified the open reading frame (ORF) cDNA sequences of IGF family genes: the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), and insulin-like growth factor 3 (IGF3). We found that IGF1, IGF2, and IGF3 have a total length of 558, 648, and 585 base pairs (bp), which encoded a predicted protein with 185, 215, and 194 amino acids (aa), respectively. Multiple sequences and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the mature golden pompano IGFs had been conserved and showed high similarities with other teleosts. The tissue distribution experiment showed that IGF1 and IGF2 mRNA levels were highly expressed in the liver of female and male fish. In contrast, IGF3 was highly expressed in the gonads and livers of male and female fish, suggesting a high influence on fish reproduction. The effect of fasting showed that IGF1 and mRNA expression had no significant difference in the liver but significantly decreased after long-term (7 days) fasting in the muscles and started to recover after refeeding. IGF2 mRNA expression showed no significant difference in the liver but had a significant difference in muscles for short-term (2 days) and long-term fasting, which started to recover after refeeding, suggesting muscles are more susceptible to both short-term and long-term fasting. In vitro incubation of 17β-estradiol (E) was observed to decrease the IGF1 and IGF3 mRNA expression level in a dose- (0.1, 1, and 10 μM) and time- (3, 6, and 12 h) dependent manner. In addition, E had no effect on IGF2 mRNA expression levels in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The effect of 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) in vitro incubation was observed to significantly increase the IGF3 mRNA expression level in a time- and dose-dependent manner. MT had no effect on IGF2 mRNA but was observed to decrease the IGF1 mRNA expression in the liver. Taken together, these data indicate that E and MT may either increase or decrease IGF expression in fish; this study provides basic knowledge and understanding of the expression and regulation of IGF family genes in relation to the nutritional status, somatic growth, and reproductive endocrinology of golden pompano for aquaculture development.
Topics: Animals; Insulin-Like Peptides; Phylogeny; Amino Acid Sequence; Fishes; RNA, Messenger; Gene Expression; Cloning, Molecular
PubMed: 38473747
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052499 -
General and Comparative Endocrinology May 2024In black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii), the brain-pituitary-testis (Gnrh-Gths-Dmrt1) axis plays a vital role in male fate determination and maintenance, and then...
In black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii), the brain-pituitary-testis (Gnrh-Gths-Dmrt1) axis plays a vital role in male fate determination and maintenance, and then inhibiting female development in further (puberty). However, the feedback of gonadal hormones on regulating brain signaling remains unclear. In this study, we conducted short-term sex steroid treatment and surgery of gonadectomy to evaluate the feedback regulation between the gonads and the brain. The qPCR results show that male phase had the highest gths transcripts; treatment with estradiol-17β (E2) or 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) resulted in the increased pituitary lhb transcripts. After surgery, apart from gnrh1, there is no difference in brain signaling genes between gonadectomy and sham fish. In the diencephalon/mesencephalon transcriptome, de novo assembly generated 283,528 unigenes; however, only 443 (0.16%) genes showed differentially expressed between sham and gonadectomy fish. In the present study, we found that exogenous sex steroids affect the gths transcription; this feedback control is related to the gonadal stage. Furthermore, gonadectomy may not affect gene expression of brain signaling (Gnrh-Gths axis). Our results support the communication between ovotestis and brain signaling (Gnrh-Gths-testicular Dmrt1) for the male fate.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Sex Determination Processes; Sexual Maturation; Gonads; Perciformes; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; Estradiol; Fishes; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Brain; Gene Expression
PubMed: 38432348
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2024.114482 -
Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods Jul 2024This study focuses on the comparative metabolic profiling and effects of two steroid types: natural and synthetic, specifically 17α-methyl testosterone (17α-MT) at... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Analyzing the impact of synthetic and natural steroids: a study of cytochrome P450 metabolism, morphological alterations through metabolomics, and histopathological Examination.
This study focuses on the comparative metabolic profiling and effects of two steroid types: natural and synthetic, specifically 17α-methyl testosterone (17α-MT) at varying concentrations (1.5, 2, and 3 mg/kg) in rainbow trout (). Over a 75-day feeding trial, growth metrics, such as feed efficiency, daily specific growth, live weight gain, total weight gain, and survival rate were systematically monitored every 15 days. At the end of the feeding trial, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and metabolome analyses were performed in the high-concentration groups (3 mg/kg natural and 3 mg/kg synthetic), in which the lowest survival rate was determined. Key findings reveal that the type of hormone significantly influences growth parameters. While some natural steroids enhanced certain growth aspects, synthetic variants often yielded better results. The metabolomic analysis highlighted significant shifts in the metabolism of tryptophan, purine, folate, primary bile acids, phosphonates, phosphinates, and xenobiotics cytochrome P450 pathways. Histopathologically, the natural hormone groups showed similar testicular, hepatic, muscular, gill, cerebral, renal, and intestinal tissue structures to the control, with minor DNA damage and apoptosis observed through immunohistochemistry. Conversely, the synthetic hormone groups exhibited moderate DNA damage and mild degenerative and necrotic changes in histopathology.
Topics: Animals; Oncorhynchus mykiss; Metabolomics; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; Male; Methyltestosterone; Testosterone Congeners; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Metabolome
PubMed: 38379298
DOI: 10.1080/15376516.2024.2322006 -
Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part... May 2024It is well known that hormones influence and direct most facets of physiology; however, there is still contention regarding the directions of certain relationships, for...
It is well known that hormones influence and direct most facets of physiology; however, there is still contention regarding the directions of certain relationships, for example, between gonadal hormones and immunity. Among the many proposed relationships relating to gonadal-immune interactions, support for immunosuppressive effects of androgens remains prominent within physiological literature. Although ample study has been directed toward the immunosuppressive effects of androgens, considerable disagreement remains regarding their influence on immune function. In this study, we test the hypothesis that androgens inhibit immunocompetence in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Developing alligators were incubated at female-producing temperatures with a subset of individuals being exposed to 17-α-methyltestosterone (MT) before sexual determination. 17-α-methyltestosterone is a potent androgen, not aromatizable by crocodilians, that has been found to exert masculinizing effects in exposed crocodilian populations in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, a subset of animals was exposed to a novel antigen to quantify innate and acquired immune function. We recovered no significant differences in leukocyte ratios or proportions between groups and found no significant differences in innate immune function as measured by hemolysis-hemagglutination. However, we did find significant differences in acquired immune function, where masculinized individuals expressed greater antibody titers. Our findings reject the hypothesis that androgens suppress immune function; rather, androgens may be immunoenhancing to acquired humoral responses and neutral to innate humoral immunity in crocodilians.
Topics: Humans; Female; Animals; Androgens; Methyltestosterone; Steroids; Gonads; Alligators and Crocodiles; Immunosuppression Therapy
PubMed: 38374761
DOI: 10.1002/jez.2795 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jan 2024This study investigates the role of lysosomal acid lipase in sex hormone regulation and gonadal development in . The full-length cDNA was cloned, and its expression...
This study investigates the role of lysosomal acid lipase in sex hormone regulation and gonadal development in . The full-length cDNA was cloned, and its expression patterns were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) in various tissues and developmental stages. Higher expression levels were observed in the hepatopancreas, cerebral ganglion, and testes, indicating the potential involvement of in sex differentiation and gonadal development. In situ hybridization experiments revealed strong signaling in the spermatheca and hepatopancreas, suggesting their potential role in steroid synthesis (such as cholesterol, fatty acids, cholesteryl ester, and triglycerides) and sperm maturation. Increased expression levels of male-specific genes, such as insulin-like androgenic gland hormone , sperm gelatinase , and mab-3-related transcription factor , were observed after (double-stranded ) injection, and significant inhibition of sperm development and maturation was observed histologically. Additionally, the relationship between and sex-related genes (, , and ) and hormones (17β-estradiol and 17α-methyltestosterone) was explored by administering sex hormones to male prawns, indicating that does not directly control the production of sex hormones but rather utilizes the property of hydrolyzing triglycerides and cholesterol to provide energy while influencing the synthesis and secretion of self-sex hormones. These findings provide valuable insights into the function of in and its potential implications for understanding sex differentiation and gonadal development in crustaceans. It provides an important theoretical basis for the realization of a monosex culture of .
Topics: Animals; Male; Palaemonidae; Semen; Gonadal Steroid Hormones; Cholesterol; Triglycerides; Arthropod Proteins
PubMed: 38338678
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031399