The International journal of developmental biology
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Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst. These cells can proliferate indefinitely and differentiate into all cell lineages. Germ cell cancers (GCC) mimic embryonic development to a certain extent. ⋯ Therefore, investigation of miRs can shed light on the process of pathogenesis, and may provide biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. A subset of miRs is specifically expressed in ES cells and GCC, suggesting their critical role in early embryogenesis and development. In this review we discuss the current view of the biology of embryonic stem cell proteins and miRs in GCC, and their potential clinical impact.
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It has long been known that estradiol influences synaptic plasticity in the female hippocampus. The density of dendritic spines varies during the estrous cycle and correlates positively with varying levels of estradiol in serum. In accordance, ovariectomy results in a loss of spines that can be rescued by estradiol treatment in animals, suggesting that estradiol originating from the ovaries induces spine formation in the hippocampus. ⋯ This paradigm may also be true in males. In support of this hypothesis, we found that the content of estradiol in hippocampal tissue is higher in female compared to that in male animals, with low levels of estradiol in serum and tonic and acyclical GnRH release. In summary, our data point to important sex-specific differences in sexual steroid-induced synaptogenesis.