Current Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Treatment of Premature Ovarian Failure: An Update Review.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) encompasses a wide range of different non-mainstream therapies that have been increasingly used for the treatment or adjunct treatment of various ailments, with premature ovarian failure (POF) being one of the most common conditions treated with CAM. This review updates the progress of CAM in the treatment of POF, and we focus specifically on reviewing the evidence for the efficacy and mechanisms of a range of CAM treatments in POF, including single herbal medicines and their active ingredients, compound Chinese medicines, acupuncture and moxibustion, psychotherapy, exercise, vitamins, massage, and dietary supplements. According to the literature, CAM is very helpful for improving POF symptoms, and we hope to provide some instructive suggestions for clinical treatment and experimental research in the future. However, more clinical trials are needed to prove the safety of CAM.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency: A Review of Utilization and Mechanisms.

Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as a decline in ovarian function before the age of 40 and is one of the leading causes of infertility in women. The etiology is complex, and the pathogenesis is not clear. The main treatment is hormone replacement therapy, but a growing body of data confirms that such treatment can increase the risk of endometrial disease and cardiovascular disease. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been widely used in patients with POI due to its limited adverse reactions and high efficiency. According to literature reports, CAM therapy for POI mainly includes traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, psychotherapy, dietary supplements, and exercise therapy. This article reviews the application of CAM in the treatment of POI and attempts to determine the therapeutic effects and the mechanisms behind these effects based on existing clinical and experimental studies in order to provide theoretical support for the treatment of POI.

Brassinosteroid-mediated reactive oxygen species are essential for tapetum degradation and pollen fertility in tomato.

Phytohormone brassinosteroids (BRs) are essential for plant growth and development, but the mechanisms of BR-mediated pollen development remain largely unknown. In this study, we show that pollen viability, pollen germination and seed number decreased in the BR-deficient mutant d^im , which has a lesion in the BR biosynthetic gene DWARF (DWF), and in the bzr1 mutant, which is deficient in BR signaling regulator BRASSINAZOLE RESISTANT 1 (BZR1), compared with those in wild-type plants, whereas plants overexpressing DWF or BZR1 exhibited the opposite effects. Loss or gain of function in the DWF or BZR1 genes altered the timing of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and programmed cell death (PCD) in tapetal cells, resulting in delayed or premature tapetal degeneration, respectively. Further analysis revealed that BZR1 could directly bind to the promoter of RESPIRATORY BURST OXIDASE HOMOLOG 1 (RBOH1), and that RBOH1-mediated ROS promote pollen and seed development by triggering PCD and tapetal cell degradation. In contrast, the suppression of RBOH1 compromised BR signaling-mediated ROS production and pollen development. These findings provide strong evidence that BZR1-dependent ROS production plays a critical role in the BR-mediated regulation of tapetal cell degeneration and pollen development in Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) plants.

Melatonin Alleviates High Temperature-Induced Pollen Abortion in Solanum lycopersicum.

Melatonin is a pleiotropic signal molecule that plays critical roles in regulating plant growth and development, as well as providing physiological protections against various environmental stresses. Nonetheless, the mechanisms for melatonin-mediated pollen thermotolerance remain largely unknown. In this study, we report that irrigation treatment with melatonin (20 µM) effectively ameliorated high temperature-induced inactivation of pollen and inhibition of pollen germination in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants. Melatonin alleviated reactive oxygen species production in tomato anthers under high temperature by the up-regulation of the transcription and activities of several antioxidant enzymes. Transmission electron micrograph results showed that high temperature-induced pollen abortion is associated with a premature degeneration of the tapetum cells and the formation of defective pollen grains with degenerated nuclei at the early uninuclear microspore stage, whilst melatonin protected degradation of organelles by enhancing the expression of heat shock protein genes to refold unfolded proteins and the expression of autophagy-related genes and formation of autophagosomes to degrade denatured proteins. These findings suggest a novel function of melatonin to protect pollen activity under high temperature and support the potential effects of melatonin on reproductive development of plants.