scholarly journals A rat model of male pregnancy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongjia Zhang ◽  
Yuhuan Liu

Male pregnancy is a unique phenomenon in syngnathidae which refers to the incubation of embryos or fetuses by males. However, whether male mammalian animals have the potential to conceive and maintain pregnancy remains unclear. Here, we constructed a rat model of male pregnancy by a four-step strategy: a heterosexual parabiotic pair was firstly produced by surgically joining a castrated male rat and a female rat. Uterus transplantation (UTx) was then performed on the male parabiont 8 weeks later. After recovery, blastocyst-stage embryos were transplanted to the grafted uterus of male parabiont and the native uterus of female parabiont. Caesarean section was performed at embryonic day (ED) 21.5. The success rate of modeling was only 3.68%, but 10 pups could still be delivered from male parabionts and developed. Our experiment reveals the possibility of normal embryonic development in male mammalian animals, and it may have a profound impact on reproductive biology.

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-177
Author(s):  
Fay A. Guarraci ◽  
Chantal M.F. Gonzalez ◽  
Devon Lucero ◽  
Lourdes K. Davis ◽  
Sarah H. Meerts

Background: Aging is associated neuroendocrine changes in women. Animals can be used to model these changes, as well as changes in reproductive behavior. Objective: The current study was designed to characterize mating behavior across age and assess the effects of age and sexual history on mating behavior. Methods: Sexual motivation was assessed using the partner-preference test, in which a female rat is given the choice to interact with a same-sex conspecific or a sexually-vigorous male rat, with which she can mate. Results: Across repeated mating tests (2-12 months of age), female rats spent more time with the male, displayed more solicitation behaviors, were less likely to leave the male after mounts, but visited both stimulus animals less frequently. Comparing a separate group of age-matched, hormoneyoked female rats mated for the first time at 12 months of age to female rats mated for the first time at 2 months of age showed that the 12 month rats visited both stimulus animals less, were less likely to leave the male after mounts, took longer to return to the male after mounts, and displayed fewer solicitation behaviors than their younger counterparts. Relative to middle-aged female rats once they were sexually experienced, 12 month naïve rats spent less time with the male, were more likely to leave the male after mounts, and displayed fewer solicitation behaviors. Furthermore, 12 month naïve rats failed to discriminate between the stimulus animals, visiting both stimulus animals at the same rate unlike 2 month naïve or 12 month experienced rats. Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggest that aging affects some measures of sexual behavior, but most effects of age can be mitigated by regular, repeated mating.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-400
Author(s):  
Tatiana Zupekan ◽  
Sandhya Bondada ◽  
Catherine E. Lewis ◽  
Daniel A. DeUgarte

Parasitology ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 51 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 499-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Dobson

1. The male rat is more susceptible to infections ofNematospiroides dubiusthan the female. As the rat grows older the resistance of the female rat to infection increases at a greater rate than that of the male.2. The course of the infection is modified by the sex of the host.3. More larvae penetrated the intestinal mucosa to encyst in the male than in the female. More larvae, however, formed cysts in the female than in the male rat by the fifth day.4. The male harboured more adult worms than the female rat, although this difference was not significant in the immature animals.5. The sex resistance of the rat toN. dubiusinfections was removed by bilateral gonadectomy. Castration decreased the susceptibility of the male rat, while spaying increased it in the female compared with the susceptibility in the respective normal hosts.6. Subsequent replacement of the homologous sex hormone in the gonadectomized rat restores the sex resistance, and may even increase it (particularly in the immature animals). Oestradiol increased the resistance of the spayed female rat, while testosterone increased the susceptibility of the castrate male rat to infection.7. Oestradiol implanted in castrate male rats increased the resistance of these hosts to a greater level than was shown in the normal male rat.8. The rat shows a marked age resistance over which the sex resistance is superimposed.9. The relationship between the sex of the host and its resistance to infection is discussed.This work was done during the tenure of a Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Studentship. My thanks are due to Dr E. T. B. Francis for his helpful and critical supervision and to Professor I. Chester Jones, in whose department the work was done, for the facilities he provided.


1998 ◽  
Vol 335 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. SHERRATT ◽  
Margaret M. MANSON ◽  
Anne M. THOMSON ◽  
Erna A. M. HISSINK ◽  
Gordon E. NEAL ◽  
...  

A characteristic feature of the class Theta glutathione S-transferase (GST) T1-1 is its ability to activate dichloromethane and dibromoethane by catalysing the formation of mutagenic conjugates. The level of the GSTT1 subunit within tissues is an important determinant of susceptibility to the carcinogenic effects of these dihaloalkanes. In the present study it is demonstrated that hepatic GST activity towards these compounds can be elevated significantly in female and male Fischer-344 rats by feeding these animals on diets supplemented with cancer chemopreventive agents. Immunoblotting experiments showed that increased activity towards the dihaloalkanes is associated with elevated levels of the GSTT1 subunit in rat liver. Sex-specific effects were observed in the induction of GSTT1 protein. Amongst the chemopreventive agents tested, indole-3-carbinol proved to be the most potent inducer of hepatic GSTT1 in male rats (6.2-fold), whereas coumarin was the most potent inducer of this subunit in the livers of female rats (3.5-fold). Phenobarbital showed significant induction of GSTT1 only in male rat liver and had little effect in female rat liver. Western blotting showed that class Alpha, Mu and Pi GST subunits are not co-ordinately induced with GSTT1, indicating that the expression of GSTT1 is determined, at least in part, by mechanisms distinct from those that regulate levels of other transferases. The increase in amount of hepatic GSTT1 protein was also reflected by an increase in the steady-state level of mRNA in response to treatment with chemopreventive agents and model inducers. Immunohistochemical detection of GSTT1 in rat liver supported the Western blotting data, but showed, in addition to cytoplasmic staining, significant nuclear localization of the enzyme in hepatocytes from some treated animals, including those fed on an oltipraz-containing diet. Significantly, the hepatic level of cytochrome P-450 2E1, an enzyme which offers a detoxification pathway for dihaloalkanes, was unchanged by the various inducing agents studied. It is concluded that the induction of GSTT1 by dietary components and its localization within cells are important factors that should be considered when assessing the risk dihaloalkanes pose to human health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Moises Muratt Bustamante-Pozo ◽  
Alejandra Alejandra Garate-Carrillo ◽  
FRANCISCO VILLARREAL ◽  
Bruce Robert Ito ◽  
GUILLERMO CEBALLOS ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol Volume 16 ◽  
pp. 6231-6247
Author(s):  
Mazhar Ali Raja ◽  
Martin Maldonado ◽  
Jianying Chen ◽  
Ying Zhong ◽  
Jiang Gu
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Cucinello‐Ragland ◽  
Roshaun Mitchell‐Cleveland ◽  
W. Trimble ◽  
Amy Urbina Lopez ◽  
Alice Yeh ◽  
...  

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