Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0038187 (starvation)
 24,951 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The ultrasonographic appearance of ovaries and uterus during weight-gain in patients with anorexia nervosa is described. In 11 patients who had sequential scans, ovarian volume on admission was considerably smaller than that of normal women but increased logarithmically with weight-gain. When body mass index (BMI) reached 17 kg/m2, ovaries were shown to contain multiple small cysts in all cases. In 5 patients further weight-gain led to the appearance of a dominant cyst; average BMI was approximately 19 kg/m2 at this stage. The changes in ovarian morphology resembled those of normal pubertal development. These results lend support to the suggestion that hypothalamic-gonadal axis dysfunction in anorexia nervosa is a concomitant of starvation; in the management of infertility, an ultrasonographic appearance of cystic ovaries should alert the clinician to the likelihood of undernutrition as the primary disorder in need of treatment.
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PMID:Cystic ovaries: a phase of anorexia nervosa. 286 90

Attention is directed to preindustrial and transitional societies to illustrate the great variety of techniques and conditions under which abortion is practiced. The discussion covers changes in abortion status and attitudes through time as well as past and current attitudes in the US. Abortion traditionally has been performed under 2 primary sets of circumstances: the mother (or couple) does not want the pregnancy; or, for a variety of reasons, the pregnancy is deemed unacceptable by the given society, extended family, or a specific family member, usually the husband. Most accounts of abortion deal with its voluntary practice, revealing often the lengths to which women will go to control their fertility in the absence of contraception. Yet, examples exist from both preindustrial and modern societies where the decision to have an abortion is not made by the woman alone but is influenced either wholly or in part by political or cultural factors. Women who want an abortion either have performed the procedures themselves or have sought help from community practitioners, friends, or relative. Abortion techniques are highly varied and include abortifacients, magic, mechanical methods (such as instrumentation, constriction, and insertion of foreign objects into the uterus), heat applied externally, strenuous physical activity, jolts to the body, and starvation. Although abortion is extensively and rather openly practiced in many primitive societies, few groups give it unqualified approval. Cross-culturally, the most prevalent conditions for either approving of or imposing abortion include unmarried status of the mother, adultery, ambiguous paternity, mother's poor health, lactation of the mother, consent of the father, death of the father, rape, incest, and other varieties of illegal union. In Western civilization attitdues vary and have been changing in most cases. As of mid-1982, 10% of the world's population lived in countries where abortion was prohibited under all circumstances and 18% in countries where it was permitted only to save the mother's life. Close to 2/3 of the countries in Latin America, most countries in Africa, most Muslim Countries in Asia, and the 5 European countries of Belgium, Ireland, Malta, Portugal, and Spain belong in these 2 categories. An additional 8% lived in countries that permitted abortion under broad medical grounds. The remaining 64% of the world's population were governed by statutes that either allowed abortion on broad social grounds, such as unmarried status of the mother and financial problems, or permitted it on demand (usually within the 1st trimester). Recent estimates of the number of abortions have ranged up to 55 million, corresponding to an abortion rate of 70/1000 women of reproductive age and to an abortion ratio of 300/1000 known pregnancies. The US liberalized its abortion policy and then subsequently added restrictions at federal, state or local levels. Abortion is 1 of the most divisive issues in the US. Opinions range from disapproval under all circumstances, even to save the mother's life, to approval for any reason, i.e., on demand.
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PMID:A cross-cultural history of abortion. 351 38

The effects of chronic starvation (1/4 of ad libitum food intake) for 21 or 30 days were studied on the hypothalamic and serum concentrations of LHRH, the pituitary and serum concentrations of LH, and the weights of the anterior pituitary, ovary and uterus in adult female Wistar rats (chronic starved group, CSG). Control female rats were fed ad lib. for the same periods (control group, CG). On day 22 or 31, half of the rats of each group were weighed and sacrificed by decapitation. Since there were no difference on above parameters between the experiments on 22nd and 31st day, the results were combined for each parameters. At the time of sacrifice, the body weight of CSG was on the average 44% lower than that of CG rats, and also marked reduction in anterior pituitary (44%), ovarian (61%) and uterine weights (69%) was observed. Serum LH concentrations (mean +/- SE; 5.67 +/- 0.67 versus 33.30 +/- 6.00 ng/ml, P less than 0.001) and pituitary LH content (286.7 +/- 19.4 vs 451.0 +/- 32.8 micrograms, P less than 0.001) were significantly decreased in CSG than in CG rats. However, pituitary LH concentration was not reduced because of the proportional reduction to the pituitary weight of CSG rats. Hypothalamic immunoreactive LHRH (IR-LHRH) content in CSG showed a significant increase as compared to CG rats (5.77 +/- 0.52 vs 4.41 +/- 0.27 ng/hypothalamic extract, P less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Immunoreactive LHRH in chronic starved rats. 352 26

The study of uterine metabolism in pregnancy under chronic steady-state conditions has been confined to large mammals and, more recently, to the guinea pig. The pregnant rabbit is of interest because of its short gestation and large litter size. We developed an indirect approach involving retrograde catheterization of the uterine venous drainage, permitting measurement of both uterine metabolic quotients and uterine uptakes. Radioactive microspheres were used to measure blood flow. A large lactate and ammonia efflux from the uterus was found. In the fed state, ketogenic substrates were taken up in small amounts. However, during starvation a significant increase in ketoacid uptake was observed with a concurrent fall in acetate uptake. There was a large glucose/oxygen quotient across the uterus, but the glucose plus lactate/oxygen quotient was comparable to that found in the sheep and guinea pig (0.6 +/- 0.1). It is apparent that in all three species studied under chronic steady-state conditions (sheep, guinea pig, and rabbit) there is a large glucose uptake associated with a net lactate production, and fuels other than glucose and lactate must be used by the uterus.
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PMID:Uterine metabolism of the pregnant rabbit under chronic steady-state conditions. 370 43

Rats subjected to a restricted-diet (50% of the normal intake for 15 days) presented a progressive reduction of body weight. The isometric developed tension (IDT) of uterine horns obtained from these animals during estrus exhibited greater initial (postisolation) values and a better constancy with time than preparations from normal-fed controls. The enhanced contractions were diminished after a refeeding period of 6 days as well as following the addition into the suspending medium of inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase (indomethacin or acetylsalicylic acid). Cumulative dose-response curves to oxytocin documented a greater sensitivity in uterine horns from restricted-diet rats than in those from controls or refed animals. The output of prostaglandin (PG) E2 but not that of PGF2 alpha into the external solution was significantly higher (P less than 0.001) in the case of uterine tissue from restricted-diet rats than in normal fed controls. The findings suggest that changes in IDT evoked by partial starvation are associated with the enhanced generation of some PGs by the uterus.
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PMID:Dietary restriction alters the "in vitro" spontaneous or oxytocin-induced contractions of uterine smooth muscle from estrous rats. Possible participation of prostaglandins. 640 89

We have recently demonstrated that the receptor for parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PTH-related peptide (PTHrP), PTHR, can be localized to the nucleus of cells within the liver, kidney, uterus, gut, and ovary of the rat. We set out to determine the localization of the PTHR in cultured osteoblast-like cells. MC3T3-E1, ROS 17/2.8, UMR106, and SaOS-2 cells were cultured in alpha-modified eagle medium containing 15% fetal calf serum under standard conditions. Untreated cells were grown on glass coverslips to 75-95% confluence and fixed in 1% paraformaldehyde. For experiments designed to examine cells synchronized by serum starvation, cells were grown on glass coverslips, starved of serum for 46 h, and then fixed at 2-h intervals for a total of 26 h after the addition of serum to the medium. Parallel sets of cells were pulsed with [3H]thymidine to track the DNA duplication interval. The PTHR was localized by immunocytochemistry using a primary antibody raised against a portion of the N-terminal extracellular domain of the PTHR. The results presented herein indicate that the PTHR attains a nuclear localization in each cell line examined. In UMR106 cells, PTHR immunoreactivity was restricted to the nucleolus. After cell synchronization, MC3T3-E1 cells double approximately 24 h after the addition of serum. Immunocytochemistry for the PTHR in these cells showed that the receptor staining is initially diffuse for the first 6 h, then becomes more perinuclear in distribution by 12-16 h. Nuclear localization of the receptor is achieved approximately 16-20 h after the addition of serum and remains there throughout the mitotic phase. Intense staining of mitotic and postmitotic cells was observed. No change in cell proliferation kinetics was observed in MC3T3-E1 cells cultured in the presence of 25 nM PTH(1-34). These data suggest an important role for the PTHR in the nucleus of MC3T3-E1 cells at the time of DNA synthesis and mitosis.
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PMID:Nuclear localization of the type 1 parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone-related peptide receptor in MC3T3-E1 cells: association with serum-induced cell proliferation. 1070 93

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, was shown to be involved in the response to various stresses in cultured cells. However, there is little in vivo evidence indicating a role for a JNK pathway in the stress response of an organism. We identified the Caenorhabditis elegans mek-1 gene, which encodes a 347 amino acid protein highly homologous to mammalian MKK7, an activator of JNK. Mek-1 reporter fusion proteins are expressed in pharyngeal muscle, uterus, a portion of intestine, and neurons. A mek-1 deletion mutant is hypersensitive to copper and cadmium ions and to starvation. A wild-type mek-1 transgene rescued the hypersensitivity to the metal ions. Double mutants of mek-1 with an eat-5, eat-11 or eat-18 mutation, which are characterized by a limited feeding defect, showed distinct growth defects under normal conditions. Expression of an activated form of MEK-1 in the whole animal or specifically in the pharynx inhibited pharyngeal pumping. These results suggest a role for mek-1 in stress responses, with a focus in the pharynx and/or intestine.
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PMID:A Caenorhabditis elegans MAP kinase kinase, MEK-1, is involved in stress responses. 1101 17

Rho family small GTPases regulate multiple cellular functions through reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Among them, Cdc42 and Tc10 induce filopodia or peripheral processes in cultured cells. We have identified a member of the family, designated as RhoT, which is closely related to Tc10. Tc10 was highly expressed in muscular tissues and brain and remarkably induced during differentiation of C2 skeletal muscle cells and neuronal differentiation of PC12 and N1E-115 cells. On the other hand, RhoT was predominantly expressed in heart and uterus and induced during neuronal differentiation of N1E-115 cells. Tc10 exogenously expressed in fibroblasts generated actin-filament-containing peripheral processes longer than the Cdc42-formed filopodia, whereas RhoT produced much longer and thicker processes containing actin filaments. Furthermore, both Tc10 and RhoT induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 and N1E-115 cells, but Cdc42 did not do this by itself. Tc10 and RhoT as well as Cdc42 bound to the N-terminal CRIB-motif-containing portion of N-WASP and activated N-WASP to induce Arp2/3-complex-mediated actin polymerization. The formation of peripheral processes and neurites by Tc10 and RhoT was prevented by the coexpression of dominant-negative mutants of N-WASP. Thus, N-WASP is essential for the process formation and neurite outgrowth induced by Tc10 and RhoT. Neuronal differentiation of PC12 and N1E-115 cells induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP and by serum starvation, respectively, was prevented by dominant-negative Cdc42, Tc10 and RhoT. Taken together, all these Rho family proteins are required for neuronal differentiation, but they exert their functions differentially in process formation and neurite extension. Consequently, N-WASP activated by these small GTPases mediates neuronal differentiation in addition to its recently identified role in glucose uptake.
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PMID:Small GTPase Tc10 and its homologue RhoT induce N-WASP-mediated long process formation and neurite outgrowth. 1245 25

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is central to mammalian reproductive function, including conception, pregnancy maintenance, parturition, and breastfeeding. Pregnancy is associated with substantial physiologic changes within this endocrine axis to meet the demands of pregnancy, which include support of the fetus (volume support, nutritional and oxygen supply, clearance of fetal waste), protection of the fetus (from starvation, drugs, toxins), preparation of the uterus for labor, and protection of the mother from potential cardiovascular injury at delivery. This article reviews the anatomy, embryology, and physiology of the pituitary. The effect of pregnancy on pituitary structure and function, in health and disease, also is discussed.
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PMID:Pituitary gland and pregnancy. 1555 Mar 40

Keratin polypeptide 20 (K20) is an intermediate filament protein with preferential expression in epithelia of the stomach, intestine, uterus, and bladder and in Merkel cells of the skin. K20 expression is used as a marker to distinguish metastatic tumor origin, but nothing is known regarding its regulation and function. We studied K20 phosphorylation as a first step toward understanding its physiologic role. K20 phosphorylation occurs preferentially on serine, with a high stoichiometry as compared with keratin polypeptides 18 and 19. Mass spectrometry analysis predicted that either K20 Ser(13) or Ser(14) was a likely phosphorylation site, and Ser(13) was confirmed as the phospho-moiety using mutation and transfection analysis and generation of an anti-K20-phospho-Ser(13) antibody. K20 Ser(13) phosphorylation increases after protein kinase C activation, and Ser(13)-to-Ala mutation interferes with keratin filament reorganization in transfected cells. In physiological contexts, K20 degradation and associated Ser(13) hyperphosphorylation occur during apoptosis, and chemically induced mouse colitis also promotes Ser(13) phosphorylation. Among mouse small intestinal enterocytes, K20 Ser(13) is preferentially phosphorylated in goblet cells and undergoes dramatic hyperphosphorylation after starvation and mucin secretion. Therefore, K20 Ser(13) is a highly dynamic protein kinase C-related phosphorylation site that is induced during apoptosis and tissue injury. K20 Ser(13) phosphorylation also serves as a unique marker of small intestinal goblet cells.
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PMID:Keratin 20 serine 13 phosphorylation is a stress and intestinal goblet cell marker. 1660 57


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