METABOLIC AND ENDOCRINE ASPECTS OF THE WHIRLER MUTATION IN MALE MICE

1970 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-358
Author(s):  
A. Stanley Weltman ◽  
Arthur M. Sackler
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Heterozygous Female ◽  
Endocrine Organ ◽  
General Body ◽  
Adrenocortical Activity ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Seminal Vesicle Weight ◽  
Eosinophil Counts

ABSTRACT Body weight, metabolic rate, locomotor activity and alterations in endocrine organ activity were noted in recessive homozygous male whirler mice and the phenotypically »normal« heterozygotes. Representative populations of the two types were studied at different age levels. In general, body weights of the whirler mice were consistently and significantly lower. Open-field locomotion studies similarly indicated heightened locomotor activity. Total leukocyte and eosinophil counts were either markedly or significantly lower in the homozygous vs. heterozygous whirler groups. Evaluation of relative organ weights showed significantly increased adrenal weights in whirler mice sacrificed at 14 weeks and 11 months of age. These changes were accompanied by involution of the thymus. Thus, the varied data indicate persistent increased metabolism and adrenocortical activity during the life-span of the whirler mice. Seminal vesicle weight decreases in the whirler males at 11 months suggest lower gonadal function. The findings are in accord with previous studies of alterations in metabolic rates and endocrine function of homozygous whirler vs. heterozygous female mice.

PRE-MATERNAL ISOLATION EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOUR AND ENDOCRINE FUNCTION OF OFFSPRING

1969 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Sackler ◽  
A. S. Weltman ◽  
R. Schwartz ◽  
P. Steinglass
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
The Body ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Isolation Stress ◽  
Developmental Growth ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
And Control

ABSTRACT This report was designed to determine combined effects of maternal endocrine imbalances and abnormal behaviour due to prolonged isolation stress of female mice on the behaviour, developmental growth rate and endocrine function of their offspring. Sixty female albino mice averaging 19 g were divided equally into isolated and control groups. The isolated females were housed singly; control females were maintained in groups of 2 mice per cage. After observation of behavioural and physiological effects characteristic of isolation stress in the test mice, all isolated and control mice were mated after a 6½ month experimental, isolation period. No differences were observed in fertility and fecundity of the two groups of mothers. Analyses of developmental growth rates of the litters of the isolated versus control mothers showed significantly lower body weights in the test offspring at 3 and 4 weeks of age. The body weights of the female offspring remained significantly lower from the 4th to 11th weeks. The effects on the body weights of the male offspring declined and were no longer statistically significant at the 5th to 11 weeks. Locomotor activity at 4½ and 8 weeks of age was markedly or significantly higher in the male and female mice from isolated mothers. Tail-blood samples taken prior to autopsy at 5 and 11 weeks of age revealed significant decreases in the total leukocyte and eosinophil counts of both sexes. At the two ages, the absolute and relative spleen and thymus weights of the male and female offspring were markedly and/or significantly lower than the values observed in counterpart young from control females. Significant decreases were also observed in the absolute gonadal organ weights of both sexes at 11 weeks of age. The various data indicated inhibited growth rates, heightened locomotor activity and evasiveness, as well as evidence of increased adrenocortical function in the offspring from test mothers. The gonadal weight decreases suggested retarded gonadal development. Further studies using split-litter techniques are required to differentiate the effects of prenatal endocrine imbalances versus postnatal maternal influence (i. e., nursing care) on the offspring.

scholarly journals PUBERAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NIGERIAN DWARF SHEEP

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-76
Author(s):  
B. I. Orji ◽  
J. Steinbach
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
The Body ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Physiological Age ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Pituitary Glands ◽  
Ram Lambs

Eleven ram lambs, all born between June and July (rainy season) were slaughtered at four age groups — 75, 100, 125 and 150 days. The body weights of animals prior to slaughter, the weights of the testes, the epididymis, the vesicular glands, the ampullae, the adrenals, the thyroids and the pituitary glands were determined and subjected to a step-wise multiple regression analysis using age or body weight as the independent variable. The weights of the reproductive organs – testes, epididymides, ampullae, vesicular glands - showed significantly higher correlation with the body weight than with the age, thus emphasizing the greater importance of the physiological age over the chronological age in the development of the body organs. The highest growth rate of the organs of the reproductive tract occurred during puberty and thus coincided with the enhanced endocrine function observed in ram lambs at this stage.

Osteocalcin: A Protein Hormone Connecting Metabolism, Bone and Testis Function

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 1268-1275
Author(s):  
Luca De Toni ◽  
Kenda Jawich ◽  
Maurizio De Rocco Ponce ◽  
Andrea Di Nisio ◽  
Carlo Foresta
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Male Fertility ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Original Function ◽  
Endocrine Organ ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Depressive States ◽  
Novel Therapeutic

During the last decade, the disclosure of systemic effects of osteocalcin (OCN) in its undercarboxylated form contributed to switch the concept of bone from a merely structural apparatus to a fully endocrine organ involved in the regulation of systemic functions. Since that time, the role of OCN as osteokine has been more and more widened appreciated and detailed by the major use of animal models, starting from the original function in the bone extracellular matrix as Gla-protein and spanning from the protective effects towards weight gain, insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis, to the anabolic and metabolic roles in skeletal muscle, to the stimulating effects on the testis endocrine function and male fertility, to the most recent preservation from anxious and depressive states through a direct activity on the central nervous system. In this review, experimental data supporting the inter-organ communication roles of this protein are discussed, together with the available data supporting the consistency between experimental data obtained in animals and those reported in humans. In addition, a specific session has been devoted to the possible significance the OCN as a template agonist on its receptor GPRC6A, for the development of novel therapeutic and pharmacological approaches for the treatment of dismetabolic states and male infertility.

scholarly journals New Biosynthesis and Biological Actions of Avian Neurosteroids

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. JEN.S11148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuyoshi Tsutsui ◽  
Shogo Haraguchi ◽  
Kazuhiko Inoue ◽  
Hitomi Miyabara ◽  
Takayoshi Ubuka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
De Novo ◽  
The Other ◽  
Biosynthetic Pathways ◽  
Avian Brain ◽  
Endocrine Organ ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Biological Actions ◽  
Important Site

De novo neurosteroidogenesis from cholesterol occurs in the brain of various avian species. However, the biosynthetic pathways leading to the formation of neurosteroids are still not completely elucidated. We have recently found that the avian brain produces 7α-hydroxypregnenolone, a novel bioactive neurosteroid that stimulates locomotor activity. Until recently, it was believed that neurosteroids are produced in neurons and glial cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems. However, our recent studies on birds have demonstrated that the pineal gland, an endocrine organ located close to the brain, is an important site of production of neurosteroids de novo from cholesterol. 7α-Hydroxypregnenolone is a major pineal neurosteroid that stimulates locomotor activity of juvenile birds, connecting light-induced gene expression with locomotion. The other major pineal neurosteroid allopregnanolone is involved in Purkinje cell survival during development. This paper highlights new aspects of neurosteroid synthesis and actions in birds.

Winter bioenergetics of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (11) ◽  
pp. 2388-2393 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Chappel ◽  
R. J. Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Resting Metabolic Rate ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Bighorn Sheep ◽  
Dry Matter Intake ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Critical Temperatures ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Voluntary Intake

Changes in voluntary dry matter intake, body weight, and resting metabolic rates at 10 and −10 °C were measured in four adult Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep from October until May. Voluntary intake in mid-February decreased to 0.55 of that in mid-October. Body weights increased until January after which stasis or slight declines occurred. Resting metabolic rate at 10 °C fluctuated without a consistent pattern over winter. Resting metabolic rates at −10 °C were lowest in February and highest in May. The lower critical temperatures of fed animals in winter pelage were below −20 °C. As temperatures were lowered from −20 to −30 °C, metabolic rates increased 1.37- to 1.39-fold. Wind speeds from 4 to 8 m/s increased metabolic rates only at temperatures below −20 °C.

Effects of “crowding” on endocrine function and retention of the digenean parasite Microphallus pygmaeus in male and female albino mice

1974 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne R. Brayton
Keyword(s):  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Gonadal Function ◽  
Housing Density ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Adrenocortical Activity ◽  
Immunological Responses ◽  
Indirect Consequence

AbstractThe effects of housing density on endocrine organ weights and on retention of the parasite Microphallus pygmaeus by male and female mice arc described. A reduction in gonadal function with increasing housing density was found in each sex. Male mice showed clear evidence of greater adrenocortical activity at higher densities but this was not as clearly defined in females. Animals of both sexes showed a decline in relative weights of both thymus and spleen at the highest densities. The number of parasites recovered, a standard time interval after introduction by stomach tube, was increased significantly in both males and females housed at higher densities. The results suggest that a progressive increase in population density in both male and female mice stimulates pituitary-adrenocortical activity and that there is concomitant suppression of gonadal function. The change in susceptibility to the parasites may also be a direct or indirect consequence of the change in pituitary-adrenocortical activity, on immunological responses or intestinal physiology, such as an increase in the duration of exposure to adverse pH values.

Fetal testis—a very special endocrine organ

1994 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilpo Huhtaniemi
Keyword(s):  
Follicle Stimulating Hormone ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Gonadal Hormone ◽  
Hormone Action ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Hormone Production ◽  
Endocrine Organ ◽  
Adult Testis ◽  
Fetal Testis ◽  
Fetal Ovary

Huhtaniemi I. Fetal testis—a very special endocrine organ. Eur J Endocrinol 1994;130:25–31. ISSN 0804–4643 The fetal testis is a special organ endocrinologically and not at all like a smaller version of the adult testis. Unlike the quiescent fetal ovary, its hormone production is very active. Besides testosterone it produces a special 'fetal gonadal hormone', the anti-Müllerian hormone. These two hormones together play a key role in the induction and regulation of male sexual differentiation. To meet these functional requirements the fetal testis has many unique features, especially as regards luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone action, which discriminate it from the respective functions of the adult testis. In this article, some enigmatic features of fetal testicular endocrine function are concentrated on in an attempt to identify the most important questions for further research. Ilpo Huhtaniemi, Department of Physiology, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10,20520 Turku, Finland

THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND PHOTOPERIOD ON THE RESPIRATORY METABOLISM OF RAINBOW TROUT (SALMO GAIRDNERI)

1962 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Evans ◽  
F. C. Purdie ◽  
C. P. Hickman Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Temperature Compensation ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Salmo Gairdneri ◽  
Respiratory Metabolism ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Metabolic Compensation

Mid-winter spawning rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) were acclimated for a minimum of 43 days to one of four temperature–photoperiod conditions: 16 °C–16L (hours daily photoperiod), 16 °C–8L, 8 °C–16L, 8 °C–8L. Oxygen consumption of the intact fish and of samples of liver, gill, and brain were measured at acclimation temperature.Brain showed complete metabolic compensation to temperature ([Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] at 16 °C) and liver showed overcompensation ([Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] at 16 °C). No compensation occurred in gill respiration. Total respiration showed partial temperature compensation. It is suggested that complete compensation in brain would maintain nervous co-ordination and motor conduction at optimal levels, thus permitting a large degree of temperature independence of locomotor activity.[Formula: see text] values of the tissue showed a trend for the 8L tissues to metabolize more rapidly than the 16L group, except for gill at 16 °C. Photoperiod did not significantly affect total metabolic rates, but in the larger fish (> 40 g) at 16 °C, the 8L group tended to show a higher metabolic rate than the 16L group.

The other side of the orexins: endocrine and metabolic actions

2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (1) ◽  
pp. E13-E17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan M. Taylor ◽  
Willis K. Samson
Keyword(s):  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Sympathetic Tone ◽  
The Other ◽  
Endocrine Function ◽  
Increase Locomotor Activity ◽  
Relevant Role ◽  
Knockout Animals ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Physiological Systems

Although it is clear that the orexin/hypocretin peptides have a significant, physiologically relevant role in sleep/wakefulness, a broader picture has emerged indicating metabolic actions that may depend upon both neural and endocrine mechanisms for their manifestation. The ability of exogenous peptide to activate sympathetic tone, increase locomotor activity, and alter feeding behavior, together with the observed alterations in those functions in knockout animals, strongly suggests important neural actions of the endogenous orexins/hypocretins. Likewise, the action of exogenously administered peptides to alter endocrine function, in particular corticotropin release, has now been mirrored by potential endocrinopathies in knockout animals. Thus these pluripotent peptides hold great potential not only for the treatment of human narcolepsy but also to provide insight into the coordinated regulation of multiple physiological systems.

scholarly journals Energy supplementation reverses changes in the basal metabolic rates of chronically undernourished individuals

1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 593-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Soares ◽  
R. N. Kulkarni ◽  
L. S. Piers ◽  
M. Vaz ◽  
P. S. Shetty
Keyword(s):  
Negative Energy ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Fat Free Mass ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Metabolic Efficiency ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Body Weights ◽  
Energy Supplementation ◽  
Healthy Males ◽  
Apparently Healthy

The objective of the present study was to examine the influence of energy supplementation and its cessation thereafter on the basal metabolic rates (BMR) of chronically undernourished individuals. Seven apparently healthy males were supplemented daily with 3.35 MJ (15 g protein, 35 g fat, 105 g carbohydrate) for 12 weeks. The average gain in body-weight was 1.9 kg (body fat, 58%; fat-free mass (FFM), 42%). The rise in BMR exceeded that accounted for by the increases in FFM during the 12 weeks of supplementation and was attributed to increases in the amount and activity of the visceral tissue as well as to an added cost of lipogenesis. At 12 weeks after cessation of the supplement, body-weights and FFM had decreased to presupplementation levels. BMR at this stage were significantly lower than at the 12th week of supplementation, when expressed per kg FFM or when adjusted for FFM using an analysis of covariance. These results suggest an increase in the metabolic efficiency during this negative energy balance period. The study demonstrates that, in the chronically undernourished, the changes in BMR are reversible and, hence, physiologically important to the process of adaptation to low-energy intakes.

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