1,721,095 research outputs found
Primary cilia in the basal cells of equine epididymis : a serendipitous finding
No full textOccurrence of a solitary cilium was an unexpected discovery while studying the ultrastructure of epididymal epithelium in equidae. Primary cilia were detected in epididymal basal cells of all individuals of the equines studied - horses, donkey and mules - independently from age and tract of the duct, emerging from the basal cell surface and insinuating into the intercellular spaces. More rarely solitary cilia occurred also at the luminal surface of the principal cells. The ciliary apparatus was constituted by a structurally typical basal body continuous with the finger-like ciliary shaft extending from the cell surface, and an adjacent centriole oriented at right angles to the basal body. The cilium was structured as the typical primary, non-motile cilia found in many mammalian cells, having a 9+0 microtubular pattern. The basal diplosome was randomly associated with other cellular organelles including the Golgi complex, the endoplasmic reticulum, the microfilament network, the plasma membrane, vesicles and pits. Primary ciliogenesis is a new and unexpected finding in the epididymal epithelium. A monitoring role of luminal factors and extracellular liquids might be attributed to this organelle, likely acting as chemical receptor of the luminal environment, thus modulating the epithelial function by a cell-to-cell crosstalk involving the entire epithelium
The urothelium : anatomy, review of the literature, perspectives for veterinary medicine
No full textOver time, much knowledge has been accumulated about the active role of the urothelium, principally in rodents and human. Far from being a mere passive barrier, this specialized epithelium can alter the ion and protein composition of the urine, is able to sense and respond to mechanical stimuli such as pressure, and react to mechanical stimuli by epithelial cell communication with the nervous system. Most of the specialized functions of the urothelium are linked to a number of morpho-physiologic properties exhibited by the superficial umbrella cells, including specialized membrane lipids, asymmetric unit membrane particles and a plasmalemma with stiff plaques which function as a barrier to most substances found in urine, thus protecting the underlying tissues.Moreover, the entire mucosa lining the low urinary tract, composed of urothelium and sub-urothelium, forms a functional transduction unit, able to respond to eso- and endogenous physical and chemical stimuli in a manner assuring an adequate functional response.This review will summarize the available information on each area of inquiry from a morpho-functional point of view. Possible considerations pertaining to species of veterinary interest are reviewed as well. The review was prepared consulting the electronic databases PubMed and Cab Abstracts and retrieving all pertinent reports and the relative reference lists, in order to identify any potential additional studies that could be included. Full-length research articles and thematic reviews were considered. Information on the urothelium of some domestic animal species was also included
Are the basal cells of the mammalian epididymis still an enigma?
Full text linkBasal cells are present in the columnar pseudostratified epithelium covering the epididymis of all mammalian species, which regulates the microenvironment where the functionally incompetent germ cells produced by the testis are matured and stored. Striking novelties have come from investigations on epididymal basal cells in the past 30–40 years. In addition to an earlier hypothesised scavenger role for basal cells, linked to their proven extratubular origin and the expression of macrophage antigens, basal cells have been shown to be involved in cell–cell cross-talk, as well as functioning as luminal sensors to regulate the activity of principal and clear cells. Involvement of basal cells in the regulation of electrolyte and water transport by principal cells was hypothesised. This control is suggested to be mediated by the local formation of prostaglandins. Members of the aquaporin (AQP) and/or aquaglyceroporin family (AQP3, AQP7 and AQP8) are also specifically expressed in the rat epididymal basal cells. Transport of glycerol and glycerylphosphorylcholine from the epithelium of the epididymis to the lumen in relation to sperm maturation may be mediated by AQP. Most probably basal cells collaborate to the building up of the blood–epididymis barrier through cell adhesion molecules, implying an involvement in immune control exerted towards sperm cells, which are foreigners in the environment in which they were produced
Immunolocalization of Aquaporin Water Channels in the Domestic Cat Male Genital Tract
Full text linkFour different aquaporins (AQP1, 2, 5 and 9), integral
membrane water channels that facilitate rapid passive movement
of water, were immuno-localized in the excurrent ducts
collected from sexually mature cats during orchiectomy.
Aquaporins 1, 2 and 9, were immuno-localized at distinct
levels, whereas AQP5 was undetectable all along the feline
genital tract. No immunoreactivity was present at the level of
the rete testis with any of the antibodies tested. In the efferent
ducts, AQP1-immunoreactivity was strongly evidenced at the
apical surface of the non-ciliated cells, and AQP9-immunoreactivity
was shown at the periphery of both ciliated and nonciliated
cells. Aquaporins 2 was absent in the caput epididymidis,
either in the efferent ducts or in the epididymal duct.
Otherwise, AQP2 was increasingly localized at the adluminal
surface of principal cells from the corpus to the cauda
epididymidis and more weakly in the vas deferens epithelium.
The supranuclear zone of the epididymal principal cells was
AQP9-immunoreactive throughout the duct, with the exclusion
of the vacuolated sub-region of the caput and with higher
reaction intensity in the cauda region. AQP1 was present in the
blood vessels all along the genital tract. AQP1 was expressed
also in the smooth muscle layer of the vas deferens. The tested
AQP molecules showed a different expression pattern in
comparison with laboratory mammals, primates and the dog,
unique other carnivore species studied to date. The present
information is possibly useful in regard to the regional
morphology of the feline epididymis and correlated functions,
which are still a matter of debate
Nuclear configuration, microfilamenti and cortical granules as markers of nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation in compact horse oocytes after roscovitin inhibition
No full textImmunohistochemical study on the intramural innervation of the lower urinary tract in adult and foetal dogs
No full textTime course of In vitro maturation of compact cumulus horse oocytes after roscovitine-induced meiotic inhibition : effects on the coordination between nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation
No full textThis study was carried out to determine if meiotic suppression with 66 μM Roscovitine (ROS) for 18h in a fully supplemented maturation medium (IVM-ROS) or in a basic medium (M199-ROS) improves coordination of nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of horse compact cumulus oocytes. The nuclear maturation and the cytoskeletal organization of microfilaments and cortical granules (CG) were assessed by fluorescent dyes. The statistical analysis was performed by Z Test.
The proportion of oocytes (85,51%) resuming meiosis after 18h of culture in IVM-ROS was significantly higher (p<0.01) in comparison to M199-ROS and CTR oocytes, but only a few oocytes showed microfilaments and CG with peripheral distribution.
The 24.92% of untreated oocytes (IVM-control) matured in vitro after 29h of IVM but only 3.94% of matured oocytes were characterized by the presence of a microfilaments thickening at the cortical region and 8.66% had the CG migrated to the periphery of the cytoplasm.
The maturation rates of oocytes held in M199-ROS before maturation and investigated during maturation kinetics at 11h, 18h and 29h, increased to that of IVM-control at 29h and there were no difference in cytoplasmic maturation in respect to these oocytes. The treatment with IVM-ROS, instead, increased significantly (p<0.05) the attainment of metaphase II stage compared to the M199-ROS and the IVM-control (35.55% vs. 19.7% and 24.92% respectively) and the rate of oocytes with microfilaments and CG distributed to the cortical region.
Our results show that pre-culture in maturation medium containing gonadotropins and growth factors, during meiotic suppression, establishes a more suitable environment for partially improving the nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of horse Cp oocytes
Identificazione immunoistochimica di cellule con possibile funzione pacemaker nelle vie urinarie distali di verro e loro possibile relazione con la muscolatura e con l’innervazione intramurale
No full textGalanin in the enteric nervous system of Pleuronectiformes. An immunohistochemical study in three species: Psetta maxima (L., 1758), Platichthys flesus (L., 1758) and Solea solea (L., 1758)
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