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Newsletter
A publication of the Center for Reproductive Science
Northwestern University, Evanston and Chicago
Spring 2004 Volume 1 No. 6
From the Director
Seminars
Marcia L. Storch MD Scholarship Fund for Undergraduate Women
Travel Awards for Undergrads
CRS Undergraduate Achievements
Recent Ph.D. Graduates
Faculty & Interest Areas
Research Notes
Minisymposium
Recent Publications
CRS Faculty Honors
From the Director
I am very pleased to inform you
that the CRS Executive Committee has approved 7 new faculty for membership in
the Center. Serdar Bulun, Sherman Elias, Julie Kim and Lee Shulman join us from
Obstetrics & Gynecology; Caroline Bledsoe from Anthropology; Joseph Bass from
Medicine/ENH; and Margrit Urbanek from Endocrinology, Metabolism & Molecular
Medicine. Please join me in welcoming them all into the Center. To find out more
about their research interests, visit the CRS website!
Our October Minisymposium was a
great success, and this issue includes information about the event and the
various trainee award winners. It is hard to believe that the 2004 Minisymposium
is just around the corner- October 18, 2004 to be precise. This will be the 25th
annual Minisymposium on Reproductive Biology, a significant event in the history
of the Center. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. William Crowley from the
Massachusetts General Hospital. Please mark your calendars now!
I am also happy to inform you that two of our
long-standing CRS grants were successfully renewed in the last few months. The
"Training Program in Reproductive Biology" (Jon Levine, P.I.) was renewed for
years 26-30, while the Program Project Grant "Hormonal Signals that Regulate
Ovarian Differentiation" (Mary Hunzicker-Dunn, P.I.) was renewed for years
16-20. Congratulations to Jon and Mary!
Finally, remember - with growing concern about
an increasing world population and a deteriorating environment:
Finally, remember - with growing concern
about an increasing world population and a deteriorating environment---reproduction
matters!
Kelly Mayo, Director
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Seminars
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March 22, 2004 - Art Arnold from UCLA School of
Medicine. Seminar Title: "Sex differences in the brain: Are XX and XY brain
cells equivalent?" At 3:45 p.m. in Pancoe Auditoriuam, 2000 Campus Drive,
Evanston Campus.
March 23, 2004 - Humphrey Yao from University of Illinois, Urbana.
Seminar Title: "Emerging evidence of active signaling during mammalian ovary
organogenesis." At 4:00 p.m. in Room 2-058, Cook Hall, Evanston Campus.
May 3, 2004 - Evan Simpson from Prince HenryÕs Institute of Medical
Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. Seminar Title: "Life without estrogens -
the gonads of mice and men with deficiency." At 3:00 p.m. in Room 407, Wieboldt
Hall, Chicago Campus.
May 10, 2004 - Richard Schultz from the University of
Pennsylvania. Seminar Title: "RNAi in mouse oocytes and embryos." At 3:45 p.m.
in Room 2-058, Cook Hall, Evanston Campus.
May 24, 2004 - John H. Nilson from Washington State University. Title: "TBA."
At 3:45p.m. in Room 2-058, Cook Hall, Evanston Campus.
The 16 th Chicago
Transduction Symposium will be held on May 20, 2004
at NorthwesternÕs Chicago Campus. For further information and registration forms
see:
http://www.pharm.northwestern.edu/SignalTransduction/SYMPOSIUMWELCOMPAGE.html
Awards for Undergraduate Research
Marcia L. Storch MD Scholarship Fund for Undergraduate Women
Before her death from ovarian cancer Dr. Marcia Storch
expressed the wish that contributions be sent to the Center for Reproduction
Science at Northwestern University to establish a fund to encourage
undergraduate women to study the basic physiology and biochemistry to the ovary.
With contributions we have received the Center invites applications from
undergraduate women working in the laboratories of Center faculty. A committee
will review the applications, which should include a brief description of
projected work and a statement from the advisor, and budget for supplies (not to
exceed $400). Please submit supporting documents to Dr. Kelly Mayo, Center for
Reproductive Science, Hogan 2-171, 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston campus by June 1st
, 2004.
CRS Go-to-Meeting Travel Award for Undergraduates
A number of undergraduates at Northwestern work in the research laboratories
of Center faculty. We have started a fund to enable some of them to attend
professional meetings with their preceptors and other lab members. We invite
applications for travel for the year 2004 meetings. Undergraduates should submit
a letter outlining their research project and a description of the meeting to
which they wish to go. They should also estimate the travel cost. Faculty
advisors should countersign the documents. Please submit supporting documents by
June 1 st , 2004 to Dr. Kelly Mayo,
Center for Reproductive Science, Hogan 2-171, 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston campus.
Undergraduate Student Achievements
Molly Morgan, with Jon Levine, was awarded the Constance Campbell Research
Award in May 2003 in the Biological Sciences for her research entitled, "Role of
neuropeptide Y1 receptors in the regulation of reproductive hormone secretion".
Daniel Balkin, with Teresa Woodruff, received the Erwin Macey Scholarship
in the Life Sciences in Summer 2003.
Sudhi Kurup, with Teresa Woodruff, received an Endocrine Society Summer
2003 Fellowship. She graduated December 2003, with an Honor Thesis, "Mutational
analysis of activin A at the Activin A:ActRIIB luteface and a putative
ALK4-binding site".
 Recent
Ph.D. Graduates
Jaqueline Jeruss (with Teresa Woodruff) "The role of activin in
mammary gland development and breast cancer progression."
Jose Santiago (with Teresa Woodruff)
"TGF-b
superfamily signaling systems in ovarian cancer".
Beiyan Zhou (with Dan Linzer) "Two placental
hematopoietic cytokines: PLP-E and PLP-F".
Dr. Sarah Leupen, formerly with Jon Levine, has recently accepted
a position as Assistant Professor in the Biology Department of the Ohio Weslyan
University in Delaware.
CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE SCIENCE
FACULTY & INTEREST AREAS
Testis Function
James Bartles, Cell & Molecular Biology
Erwin Goldberg, Bio Chem Mol & Cell Biology
Richard Scarpulla, Cell & Molecular Biology
Pituitary Function
J. Larry Jameson, Medicine
Neena Schwartz, Neurobiology & Physiology
Jeffrey Weiss, Endocrine, Metabolism & Molecular Medicine
Circadian Rhythms
Joseph Takahashi, Neurobiology & Physiology
Fred Turek, Neurobiology & Physiology
Teresa Horton, Neurobiology & Physiology
Neural Control of Sexual Function
Kevin McKenna, Physiology
Prostate Biology
Chung Lee, Urology
Robert E. Brannigan, Urology
Zhou Wang, Urology
Neuroendocrinology
George Flouret, Physiology
Jon Levine, Neurobiology & Physiology
Thomas W. McDade, Anthropology
Eva Redei, Psychiatry & Behavioral Science
Catherine Woolley, Neurobiology & Physiology
Clinical Fertility & Infertility
Serdar Bulun, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Sherman Elias, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Ralph Kazer, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Julie Kim, Obstetrics & Gynecology
John Sciarra, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Lee P. Shulman, Obstetrics & Gynecology
Margrit Urbanek, Endocrine, Metabolism & Molecular Medicine
Growth & Development
Joe Bass, Medicine
Gerhard Baumann, Medicine
Daniel Linzer, Bio Chem Mol & Cell Biology
Kelly Mayo, Bio Chem Mol & Cell Biology
H. William Schnaper, Pediatrics
Warren Tourtellotte, Pathology
Infection & Inflammation
Emmet Hirsch, Obstetrics & Gynecology/ENH
Ovarian Function
Reproduction & Society
Caroline Bledsoe, Anthropology
Steroid Hormones & Receptors
Magdy Milad, Obstetrics & Gynecology
V. Craig Jordan, Cancer Center
CRS - RESEARCH NOTES
CRS researcher explores the molecular pathology of premature
labor
Emmet Hirsch, M.D.
Dr. Hirsch is an Associate Professor at Evanston Northwestern
Healthcare Research Institute, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology,
Northwestern University
Premature birth is the major cause of neonatal morbidity and
mortality in the developed world, accounting for at least 75% of neonatal deaths
that are not due to congenital malformations. An infant weighing less than 3.3
pounds at birth is approximately 200 times more likely to die in the first year
of life than an infant weighing more than 5.5 pounds. This immense toll in loss
of life is compounded by the suffering endured by survivors of premature birth.
Neonates who survive preterm delivery are 10 times more likely than are term
babies to be neurologically impaired and are more likely to suffer mental
retardation, blindness, deafness, chronic lung disease and cerebral palsy. It
was estimated that in 1988 there were 4 million low-birth-weight children aged
0-15 in the US and that the cost to society of caring for them was 5.4 billion
dollars. Prematurity affects approximately 10% of all deliveries in the United
States, or 390,000 women yearly. By comparison, the American Cancer Society
predicted that in 2003 there would be 1.3 million new cases of all types of
cancer, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 42,745 new
cases of AIDS in 2002.
Given the magnitude of this problem, it is remarkable that
the rate of prematurity in the United States has not fallen over the last five
decades and in fact has been rising in recent years. In part this is due to our
lack of understanding of the complex interactions of fetal and maternal systems
required for both normal and abnormal labor. This knowledge deficit in turn has
contributed to the paucity of effective interventions to either prevent preterm
labor or to treat it once it has occurred.
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Preterm birth is the major cause of neonatal morbidity
and mortality in developed countries! |
The main thrust of Dr. HirschÕs research is to advance the
state of knowledge of the mechanisms underlying preterm labor, with a focus on
bacterial infection (the cause of up to 30-40% of cases). Using mouse models and
data and tissue samples obtained from pregnant women, members of his lab are
investigating the roles of the uterus, fetus and placenta in this process.
Ongoing work includes the use of mutant animals with altered expression of
candidate critical factors (knockout and transgenic mice). A DNA microarray chip
experiment is being used to characterize on a global scale the maternal and
fetal signals important for preterm labor. This technology will help generate
large and unique gene expression databases of laboring human and mouse pregnancy
tissues.
Recent studies in Dr. HirschÕs lab have focused on the roles
of inflammatory mediators such as interleukin 1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF),
prostaglandins and members of the innate immune systemÕs recognition pathway for
bacterial pathogens (toll-like receptors and their downstream mediators). Data
from the lab were the first to demonstrate that interleukin 1 is not an
essential mediator of bacterially induced preterm labor, although it plays a
critical role together with TNF. Important distinctions between fetal and
maternal gene expression have led to novel insights regarding the relative roles
of the fetus and mother in initiating labor. Other studies have shown that the
expression of prostaglandins (long considered the central downstream player in
generating uterine contractions) is regulated via altered degradation rather
than altered production.
The goal of these studies is to improve our understanding of the physiology
and pathophysiology of parturition. Once the critical fetal and maternal signals
responsible for labor have been defined, those factors can be used to develop
therapeutic targets.
A cDNA microarray comparing gene expression in the uteruses
of mice in preterm labor to normal controls
MINISYMPOSIUM Ð 2003
The 24th Annual Minisymposium on Reproductive Biology took place on October
20, 2003, at the Omni Orrington Hotel in Evanston. 35 trainees presented their
work in oral platform presentations and in the poster session. In addition to
presenters from the Chicago and Evanston campuses of Northwestern, papers were
given by trainees from the University of Illinois (Chicago and Urbana campuses),
the University of Chicago ChildrenÕs Hospital, Rush Medical College, the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Chicago Medical School. The day ended
with the keynote address by Dr. Louis J. Guillette, Jr., Distinguished Professor
of Zoology and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Florida. Dr.
GuilletteÕs research focuses on the mechanism by which environmental factors
influence the evolution, development and functioning of the reproductive systems
in vertebrates. His talk was titled, "New Lessons from an Old Beast:
Alligators, Contaminants and Reproductive Biology".
Six Constance Campbell Memorial Awards are presented at the end of the
meeting: 1 st, 2nd
and 3rd place prizes in both the
oral presentation and poster categories. This yearÕs winners were:
Oral Presentations
First Place:
Anna D. Burkart (Northwestern University). The title of her
talk was, "Multiple mechanisms of repression of the inhibin
a subunit gene by the
transcription factor C/EBPb".
Second Place:
Denise Holsberger (University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign). The title of her talk was, "Cell cycle inhibitors
p27kip1 and p21Cip1 regulate Sertoli cell proliferation".
Third Place:
Pamela K. Kreeger (Northwestern University). The title of her
talk was, "Collagen type I improves survival and stimulates granulose-oocyte
complex growth in vitro".
Poster Presentations
First Place (jointly):
Jingjing Liu Kipp and Sarah Bristol (Northwestern
University). The title of their poster was, "Neonatal genistein exposure induces
multi-oocytic follicles and alters activin subunit gene expression in wild type
and inhibin a
transgenic mouse ovaries".
Second Place:
Veronica Ledoux (Northwestern University). The title of her
poster was, "Ultrastructural correlates of estrogen-induced disinhibition of CAI
pyramidal cells".
Third Place:
Vimal Selvaraj (University of Illinois). The title of his
poster was, "Gene expression profiling of 17b-estradiol
and genistein effects on the mouse thymus".
The Symposium was organized by a committee of CRS trainees: Sumit
Bhattacharyya, Jingjing Kipp (Chair), Christine Lauay, Brooke Miller and
Susan Park, under the supervision of Muhkthar Rafiqi and Susan-Hall Perdomo.
The general consensus after every Minisymposium has been that the papers and
posters presented by our trainees equal or exceed in quality those presented at
national professional meetings, and that the meeting serves as an excellent
training ground for our students. Thanks you all for your support of the 24th
Minisymposium, and put on your calendar the date for the 25th
, October 18, 2004!
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Loomis PA, Zheng L, Sekerkova G, Changyaleket B, Mugnaini E, Bartles JR.
Espin cross-links cause the elongation of microvillus-type parallel actin
bundles in vivo. J Cell Biol. 2003 Dec 8;163(5):1045-55.
Quing-xin, H, Wilken, J, Nakagawa, S, Ramos, MR, Jia, W, Bass J, and
Weiss MA. A divergent invertebrate protein structurally resembles human insulin
and activates the human insulin receptor. 2003. Genes and Development 17:826-831
(Perspective p813-818).
Jang TL, Yap RL, Batler RA, Brannigan RE. Intraperitoneal bladder rupture
and bowel injury from perirectal impalement. J Urol. 2003 Dec;170(6 Pt
1):2383-4.
Maheshwari, H.G., Bouillon, R., Nijs, J., Oganov, V.S., Bakulin, A.V.,
Baumann, G. The Impact of Congenital, Severe, Untreated Growth Hormone (GH)
Deficiency on Bone Size and Density in Young Adults: Insights from Genetic GH-Releasing
Hormone Receptor Deficiency. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 88:2614-2618, 2003.
Bulun SE. Ovulation induction in women with infertility: a new indication
for aromatase inhibitors. Fertil Steril. 2003 Dec; 80(6): 1338; discussion 1339.
Chatterton, R.T., Jr., Geiger, A.S., Gann, P.H., and Khan, S.A. Formation
of estrone and estradiol from estrone sulfate by normal breast parenchymal
tissue. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 86:159-166, 2003.
Sam S, Dunaif A. Polycystic ovary syndrome: syndrome XX? Trends
Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Oct;14(8):365-70.
Bischoff FZ, HZhn S, Johnson, Simpson JL, Bianchi DW, Lewis DE, Weber WD,
Klinger K, Elias S, Jackson LG, Evans MI, Holzegreve W, de la Cruz F.
Intact fetal cells in maternal plasma: are they really there? Lancet 361:
139-140, 2003.
Flouret G, Chaloin O, Slaninova J. Analogues of a potent oxytocin
antagonist with truncated C-terminus or shorter amino acid side chain of the
basic amino acid at position 8. J Pept Sci. 2003 Jun;9(6):393-401.
Kroft TL, Li S, Doglio L, Goldberg E. A transgenic analysis of mouse
lactate dehydrogenase C promoter activity in the testis. J Androl. 2003
Nov-Dec;24(6):843-52
Wang H and Hirsch E. Bacterially induced preterm labor and regulation of
prostaglandin metabolizing enzyme expression in mice: the role of toll-like
receptor 4. Biol Reprod published 6 August 2003; 10.1095/biolreprod.103.019620 .
Anand S, Turek FW, Horton TH. Chemosensory Stimulation of
Luteinizing Hormone Secretion in Male Siberian Hamsters (Phodopus sungorus).
Biol Reprod. 2003 Nov 26.
Cottom J, Salvador L, Maizels ET, Reierstad S, Park Y, Carr D, Davare MA, Hell
J, Dent P, Palmer S, Kawakatsu H, Ogata M, and Hunzicker-Dunn M (2003)
Follicle Stimulating Hormone Stimulates Activation of Extracellular Regulated
Kinases via Protein Kinase A-Dependent Phosphorylation of a 100 kDa
Phosphotyrosine Phosphatase , J Biol Chem 278, 7167-7179.
Weiss J, Meeks JJ, Hurley L, Raverot G, Frassetto A, Jameson JL.
Sox3 is required for gonadal function, but not sex determination, in males and
females. Mol Cell Biol. 2003 Nov; 23(22):8084-91.
Bentrem D, Fox JE, Pearce ST, Liu H, Pappas S, Kupfer D, Zapf JW, Jordan VC.
Distinct molecular conformations of the estrogen receptor alpha complex
exploited by environmental estrogens. Cancer Res. 2003 Nov 1;63(21):7490-6.
Zhang X, Barnes R, Confino E, Milad M, Puscheck E, Kazer RR. Delay
of embryo transfer to day 5 results in decreased initial serum beta-human
chorionic gonadotropin levels. Fertil Steril. 2003 Dec;80(6):1359-63.
Kim, J.J., Taylor, H.S., Akbas, G.E., Foucher, I., Trembleau, A., Jaffe,
R.C., Fazleabas, A.T., Unterman, T.G. 2003. Regulation of insulin-like
growth factor binding protein-1promoter activity by FKHR and HOXA10 in primate
endometrial cells. Biology of Reproduction 68(1):24-30.
Zhou W, Park I, Pins M, Kozlowski JM, Jovanovic B, Zhang J, Lee C,
Ilio K. Dual regulation of proliferation and growth arrest in prostatic stromal
cells by transforming growth factor-beta1. Endocrinology. 2003
Oct.144(10):4280-4.
Schneider JS, Stone MK, Wynne-Edwards KE, Horton TH, Lydon J, OÕMalley B,
Levine JE. Progesterone receptors mediate male aggression toward infants.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Mar 4.100(5):2951-6.
McDade TW. Life history theory and the immune system: Steps toward a
human ecological immunology. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2003;Suppl 37:100-25.
Podlasek CA, Zelner DJ, Harris JD, Meroz CL, Tang Y, McKenna KE, McVary
KT. Altered Sonic hedgehog signaling is associated with morphological
abnormalities in the penis of the BB/WOR diabetic rat. Biol Reprod. 2003
Sep;69(3):816-27.
Runyan CE, Schnaper HW, Poncelet AC. The PI3K-Akt pathway enhances
Smad3-stimulated mesangial cell collagen I expression in response to TGF-beta 1.
J Biol Chem. 2003 Nov 10.
Sciarra JJ, Valle RF. Endometriosis: treatment strategies. Ann N Y
Acad Sci. 2003 Nov. 997:229-39.
Shulman LP, Goldzieher JW. The truth about oral contraceptives and venous
thromboembolism. J Reprod Med. 2003 Nov;48(11 Suppl):930-8.
Kolker DE, Fukuyama H, Huang DS, Takahashi JS, Horton TH, Turek FW.
Aging alters circadian and light-induced expression of clock genes in golden
hamsters. J Biol Rhythms. 2003 Apr;18(2):159-69.
Feng Jiang and Zhou Wang: Identification of androgen-response genes in
the rat ventral prostate using cDNA subtraction and microarray. Endocrinology,
144:1257-65, 2003.
Chapman SC, Woodruff TK 2003. Betaglycan localization in the female rat
pituitary: Implications for the regulation of FSH by inhibin. Endocrinology.
2003 Dec;144(12):5640-9.
Rudick CN, Woolley CS. Selective estrogen receptor modulators regulate
phasic activation of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells by estrogen. Endocrinology.
2003 Jan;144(1):179-87.
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CRS Faculty Honors
CRS member
G. Baumann was listed in "WhoÕs Who in America" and also listed
in "AmericaÕs Top Physicians".
CRS member
Mary Hunzicker-Dunn was elected President of the Society for
the Study of Reproduction. Mary is also an Associate Editor
of Molecular Endocrinology. She is on the editorial board of Endocrine
Reviews.
CRS member
V. Craig Jordan was given the NAMS/Eli Lilly award which
recognizes research in any area including osteoporosis, raloxifene and
SERM action. Dr. JordanÕs work on tamoxifen, raloxifene and selective
estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) was also honored with the Third
George and Christine Sosnovsky Award from the Royal Society of
Chemistry (UK) which recognizes land mark achievements in the medicinal
chemistry of cancer diseases. In addition, Dr. Jordan received the
Charles F. Kettering Prize. It is the highest cancer prize in the
world and is given by the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation. The
award recognizes Dr. JordanÕs role in the development of tamoxifen that
has resulted in the survival of thousands of women with breast cancer.
CRS member
Chung Lee was presented with the 2003 Distinguished Preceptor Award
by the American Foundation in Urological Disease/American Urological
Association.
The Medical
School established the John J. Sciarra Professorship after CRS
member John Sciarra. He also received the Honorary Fellowship
from the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.
CRS member
Zhou Wang was named the OÕConnor Family Research Professor of
Urology.
CRS member
Kelly Mayo was the recipient of the Beacon Award in Reproductive
Science.
CRS member
Joseph Takahashi was elected Member of the National Academy of
Sciences and also received the W. Alden Spencer Award from the
Columbia University.
CRS member
Catherine S. Woolley was the recipient of the Distinguished Young
Scholar in Medical Research Award from the W.M. Keck Foundation.
CRS member J. Larry Jameson was elected
Member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association.
CRS congratulates each of these individuals for this
recognition of their outstanding achievements! |
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