In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.

[Q]: Context: Cystic ovarian disease is an important cause of infertility that affects bovine, ovine, caprine and porcine species and even human beings. Alterations in the ovarian micro-environment of females with follicular cysts could alter the normal processes of proliferation and programmed cell death in ovarian cells. Thus, our objective was to evaluate apoptosis and proliferation in ovarian cystic follicles in rats in order to investigate the cause of cystic follicle formation and persistence.', 'We compared the number of in situ apoptotic cells by TUNEL assay, expression of active caspase-3 and members of Bcl-2 family by immunohistochemistry; and cell proliferation by the expression of the proliferation markers: PCNA and Ki-67.', 'The proliferation index was low in granulosa of tertiary and cystic follicles of light exposed rats when compared with tertiary follicles of control animals, while in theca interna only cystic follicles presented low proliferation index when compared with tertiary follicles (p < 0.05). The granulosa of cysts exhibited a similar cell DNA fragmentation to early atretic follicles. In the granulosa and theca interna, active caspase-3 shown similar immunostaining levels in tertiary and cystic follicles (p < 0.05). The granulosa cells presented high expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and Bcl-w in the tertiary and cystic follicles with diminishing intensity in the atretic follicles, except with Bcl-w where the intensity was maintained in the atretic follicles (p < 0.05). The expression of Bax was weak in the healthy and cystic follicles. In the theca interna, Bcl-2 expression was the same as the pattern found in the granulosa; no differences were found between tertiary and cystic follicles from both groups for Bcl-xL and Bcl-w. The expression of Bax in this layer was higher in the tertiary follicles of the treated animals (p < 0.05) while the values for cystic follicles were similar to those in the tertiary follicles of controls. The theca externa showed low expression of the pro and anti-apoptotic proteins.\Question: Does an imbalance between apoptosis and proliferation contribute to follicular persistence in polycystic ovaries in rats?
[A]: These results show that the combination of weak proliferation indices and low apoptosis observed in follicular cysts, could explain the cause of the slow growth of cystic follicles and the maintenance of a static condition without degeneration, which leads to their persistence. These alterations may be due to structural and functional modifications that take place in these cells and could be related to hormonal changes in animals with this condition.


[Q]: Context: Hypercholesterolemia is a well-established risk factor for the development of kidney injury. Considering that female sex hormones may play a preventative role in both cardiovascular and renal diseases, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of female sex hormones on hypercholesterolemia-induced renal dysfunction.', "Apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE) and C57 control female mice underwent an ovariectomy (OVX) or sham surgery and after 2 months, creatinine clearance, uremia and proteinuria were determined. Renal oxidative stress and lipid deposition were also quantified. Values are presented as mean\u2009±\u2009SEM. Statistical analyses were performed using Two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test.", 'Creatinine clearance (μL/min) was similar between C57 (171\u2009±\u200917) and ApoE (140\u2009±\u200926) mice underwent sham surgery. OVX resulted in a reduced glomerular filtration rate in both C57 (112\u2009±\u20098, ~\u2009-\u200935%, p\u2009<\u20090.05) and ApoE (61\u2009±\u200910, ~\u2009-\u200956%, p\u2009<\u20090.05) animals. Plasma levels of urea (mg/dL) were higher in both ApoE groups (Sham: 73\u2009±\u20097; OVX: 73\u2009±\u20098, p\u2009<\u20090.05) when compared to C57 animals (Sham: 49\u2009±\u20093; OVX: 60\u2009±\u20094), with no changes among ovariectomized groups. Proteinuria levels (mg/24 h) were similar between C57 (Sham: 25.1\u2009±\u20095.7; OVX: 33.7\u2009±\u20094.7) and ApoE sham animals (26.4\u2009±\u20093.5), however, 24-h urine protein excretion was augmented in ApoE OVX animals (49.6\u2009±\u20095.8, p\u2009<\u20090.05). Histological kidney analysis demonstrated that the absence of female sex hormones resulted in increased oxidative stress, which was more severe in ApoE mice (C57 Sham: 9.2\u2009±\u20090.4; C57 OVX: 22.9\u2009±\u20091.0; ApoE Sham: 13.9\u2009±\u20090.7; ApoE OVX: 34.0\u2009±\u20091.4 au x 103, p\u2009<\u20090.05). As expected, ApoE mice presented higher lipid deposition, which was not affected by OVX (C57 Sham: 0\u2009±\u20090; C57 OVX: 0\u2009±\u20090; ApoE Sham: 6.8\u2009±\u20091.6; ApoE OVX: 5.2\u2009±\u20090.8% x 10-2, p\u2009<\u20090.05). Ovariectomy resulted in a similar reduction in ER-α protein expression in the renal cortex (C57: 0.78\u2009±\u20090.04; ApoE: 0.81\u2009±\u20090.04 au, p\u2009<\u20090.05) when compared to sham animals (C57:1.00\u2009±\u20090.04; ApoE: 1.03\u2009±\u20090.03 au).\Question: Do endogenous female sex hormones delay the development of renal dysfunction in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice?
[A]: Taken together these data indicate that female sex hormones may delay hypercholesterolemia-induced renal dysfunction and emphasizes the importance of plasma cholesterol control in post-menopausal women.


[Q]: Context: The objectives of this study are to identify oral commensal species which can inhibit the growth of the main periodontopathogens, to determine the antimicrobial substances involved in these inhibitory activities and to evaluate the influence of environmental factors on the magnitude of these inhibitions.', 'The spotting technique was used to quantify the capacity of 13 commensal species to inhibit the growth of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia. By altering experimental conditions (distance between spots and size of spots and concentration of commensal and pathogen) as well as environmental factors (inoculation sequence, oxygen and nutrition availability) the influence of these factors was evaluated. Additionally, the mechanism of inhibition was elucidated by performing inhibition experiments in the presence of peroxidase, trypsin and pepsin and by evaluating acid production.', 'Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus cristatus, Streptococcus gordonii, Streptococcus parasanguinis, Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus oralis significantly inhibit the growth of all pathogens. The volume of the spots and concentration of the commensal have a significant positive correlation with the amount of inhibition whereas distance between the spots and concentration of the pathogen reduced the amount of inhibition. Inhibition is only observed when the commensal species are inoculated 24h before the pathogen and is more pronounced under aerobic conditions. Hydrogen peroxide production by the commensal is the main mechanism of inhibition.\Question: Are antimicrobial effects of commensal oral species regulated by environmental factors?
[A]:
Bacterial antagonism is species specific and depending on experimental as well as environmental conditions. Blocking hydrogen peroxide production neutralizes the inhibitory effect.