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EL Sheldrick

Bio: EL Sheldrick is an academic researcher from University of Nottingham. The author has contributed to research in topics: Protein kinase C & Interferon. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 6 publications receiving 52 citations.

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A sheep type I interferon receptor (oIFNAR1) cDNA was isolated from a lambda-ZAP library using a reverse transcription (RT)-PCR product probe generated from oestrous endometrial RNA using semi-quantitative RT-PCR.
Abstract: A sheep type I interferon receptor (oIFNAR1) cDNA was isolated from a lambda-ZAP library using a reverse transcription (RT)-PCR product probe generated from oestrous endometrial RNA. The oIFNAR1 cDNA was 79, 66 and 95% homologous to human, murine and bovine IFNAR1 cDNAs respectively. The encoded receptor was a 560-amino acid transmembrane protein 80, 66 and 95% similar to human, murine and bovine IFNAR1 respectively. Northern blot analysis of endometrial mRNA revealed the presence of 6.5, 4.3 and 3.7 kb transcripts. Using semi-quantitative RT-PCR the oIFNAR1 mRNA was not found to be down-regulated after 72 h treatment with bovine recombinant IFN-alpha I in in vitro experiments with endometrial explants.

20 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results demonstrate a pathway to the induction of COX-2 by PUFAs requiring NF-kappaB but not PPAR or PKC, and the PPAR-independent effect of PUFA was mimicked by the PKC activators 4beta-PMA and prostaglandin F(2alpha), but was not blocked by thePKC inhibitor RO318425.

15 citations

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TL;DR: The data suggest that arachidonic acid antagonizes PGE(2) signalling through cAMP in the bovine endometrium, possibly acting to ensure a rapid return to oestrus in the case of failure of the maternal recognition of pregnancy.
Abstract: Second messenger signalling through cyclic AMP (cAMP) plays an important role in the response of the endometrium to prostaglandin (PG) E2 during early pregnancy. Arachidonic acid, which is a by-product of the luteolytic cascade in ruminants, is a potential paracrine signal from the epithelium to the stroma. We investigated the effects of arachidonic acid on the response of the stroma to PGE2. cAMP was measured in bovine endometrial stromal cells treated with agents known to activate or inhibit adenylyl cyclase, protein kinase C (PKC) or phosphodiesterase (PDE). PGE2increased the intracellularcAMP concentration within 10 min, and this effect was attenuated by arachidonic acid and the PKC activator, 4b-phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). The inhibitory effect of arachidonic acid on PGE2-induced cAMP accumulation was prevented by the PKC inhibitor, RO318425, and was absent in cells in which PKC had been downregulated by exposure to PMA for 24 h. The effect of arachidonic acid was also prevented by the PDE inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine. Arachidonic acid was shown by immunoblotting to prevent induction of cyclooxygenase-2 by PGE2, forskolin or dibutyryl cAMP. The results indicate that arachidonic acid activates PDE through a mechanism involving PKC, counteracting a rise in intracellular cAMP in response to PGE2. The data suggest that arachidonic acid antagonizes PGE2 signalling through cAMP in the bovine endometrium, possibly acting to ensure a rapid return to oestrus in the case of failure of the maternal recognition of pregnancy.

14 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Exposure to type I interferons (IFN) increased estrogen receptor (ER) ligand binding and induced protein kinase C (PKC) translocation within 30 min but had no effect on net incorporation of [32P] into ER in Madin Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells.
Abstract: Exposure to type I interferons (IFN) increased estrogen receptor (ER) ligand binding and induced protein kinase C (PKC) translocation within 30 min but had no effect on net incorporation of [32P] i...

2 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In Westernized societies, average consumption of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) far exceeds nutritional requirements, and adequate powered trials are required to determine the extent to which this aspect of the authors' diets does influence their fertility.
Abstract: In Westernized societies, average consumption of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) far exceeds nutritional requirements. The ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFAs is generally >10:1 whereas on a primitive human diet it was closer to 1:1. Diets fed to intensively farmed livestock have followed a similar trend. Both n-6 and n-3 PUFAs can influence reproductive processes through a variety of mechanisms. They provide the precursors for prostaglandin synthesis and can modulate the expression patterns of many key enzymes involved in both prostaglandin and steroid metabolism. They are essential components of all cell membranes. The proportions of different PUFAs in tissues of the reproductive tract reflect dietary consumption. PUFA supplements (particularly n-3 PUFAs in fish oil) are promoted for general health reasons. Fish oils may also benefit fertility in cattle and reduce the risk of preterm labor in women, but in both cases current evidence to support this is inconclusive. Gamma-linolenic acid containing oils can alter the types of prostaglandins produced by cells in vitro, but published data to support claims relating to effects on reproductive health are lacking. Spermatozoa require a high PUFA content to provide the plasma membrane with the fluidity essential at fertilization. However, this makes spermatozoa particularly vulnerable to attack by reactive oxygen species, and lifestyle factors promoting oxidative stress have clear associations with reduced fertility. Adequately powered trials that control for the ratios of different PUFAs consumed are required to determine the extent to which this aspect of our diets does influence our fertility.

668 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Because of their central role in early gestation, these proteins have excited the interest of reproductive physiologists, and their other properties, and the fact that their expression is controlled so precisely, have made them of interest to a wide range of biologists.
Abstract: The maternal recognition of pregnancy in ruminants requires the production of interferons by the preimplantation blastocyst. These proteins, the trophoblast interferons (IFN-tau), are the products of a number of similar genes, the expression of which is controlled by characteristic promoter regions. They are expressed for a short period in high concentrations, and have antiluteolytic, antiviral, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects, through receptors on the endometrial epithelium. The antiluteolytic effects of IFN-tau result from inhibition of endometrial expression of the oxytocin receptor, through which circulating oxytocin stimulates episodic prostaglandin F2a production. Some of the properties of IFN-tau differ from those of other type I interferons, and they may have novel therapeutic effects. Because of their central role in early gestation, these proteins have excited the interest of reproductive physiologists. However, their other properties, and the fact that their expression is controlled so precisely, have made them of interest to a wide range of biologists.

164 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the role of NF-κB in the pathogenesis of endometriosis has been evaluated using a literature search conducted in PubMed to identify all relevant citations, highlighting the important role of NGF in the pathwayophysiology of Endometria.

135 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Surprisingly, for an IFN, IFN-tau is also a pregnancy-embryonic signal with paracrine antiluteolytic activity and it directly regulates prostaglandin metabolism and possibly the PGE:PGF-2alpha ratio.

111 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The current understanding of the effects as well as the underlying mechanisms of ω-3 PUFAs on autoimmune diseases is summarized.
Abstract: The recognition of ω-3 polyunsaturated acids (PUFAs) as essential fatty acids to normal growth and health was realized more than 80 years ago. However, the awareness of the long-term nutritional intake of ω-3 PUFAs in lowering the risk of a variety of chronic human diseases has grown exponentially only since the 1980s (1, 2). Despite the overwhelming epidemiological evidence, many attempts of using fish-oil supplementation to intervene human diseases have generated conflicting and often ambiguous outcomes; null or weak supporting conclusions were sometimes derived in the subsequent META analysis. Different dosages, as well as the sources of fish-oil, may have contributed to the conflicting outcomes of intervention carried out at different clinics. However, over the past decade, mounting evidence generated from genetic mouse models and clinical studies has shed new light on the functions and the underlying mechanisms of ω-3 PUFAs and their metabolites in the prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes. In this review, we have summarized the current understanding of the effects as well as the underlying mechanisms of ω-3 PUFAs on autoimmune diseases.

99 citations