scholarly journals Studies on sperm storage in the vas deferens of the spinifex hopping mouse (Notomys alexis)

Reproduction ◽  
2003 ◽  
pp. 233-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
EJ Peirce ◽  
HD Moore ◽  
CM Leigh ◽  
WG Breed

The cauda epididymidis, with its relatively cool temperature (32-35 degrees C), is considered to be the main site of sperm storage in male mammals. However, in the adult male spinifex hopping mouse, Notomys alexis, similar numbers of spermatozoa are found in the vas deferens to those in the cauda epididymidis. The present study shows that, unlike in the laboratory mouse in which spermatozoa of the vas deferens are found mainly in the epididymal region of the duct, spermatozoa in the hopping mouse are localized mainly to the middle and urethral regions of the vas deferens which lies in the inguinal and lower abdominal region of the body cavity. After ligation of the vas deferens close to its connection with the epididymis, many spermatozoa in the vas deferens retain the potential for motility for up to 2 weeks, indicating that the viability of spermatozoa is not compromised by being restricted to core body temperature. This urethral region of the vas deferens, in which spermatozoa reside, has a highly divergent structural organization compared with that of common laboratory rodents in which there is an expanded lumen with a network of epithelial folds. Ultrastructural observations of the cells lining the duct indicate that there are not any marked differences in morphology compared with the cells lining the duct in common laboratory murids, but the infoldings of the vas deferens of the hopping mouse are highly vascular which might facilitate supply of oxygen and nutrients to the spermatozoa residing in the lumen.

2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (1) ◽  
pp. C220-C232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Isnard-Bagnis ◽  
Nicolas Da Silva ◽  
Valérie Beaulieu ◽  
Alan S. L. Yu ◽  
Dennis Brown ◽  
...  

Epithelial cells of the epididymis and vas deferens establish an optimum luminal environment in which spermatozoa mature and are stored. This is achieved by active transepithelial transport of various ions including Cl−and H+. We investigated the localization of three closely related members of the ClC family, ClC-3, ClC-4, and ClC-5, in the epididymis and vas deferens. RT-PCR using mRNA isolated by laser capture microdissection (LCM)-detected ClC-3 and ClC-5 transcripts but did not detect any ClC-4-specific transcript. Western blot and immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that ClC-3 and ClC-5 proteins are present in all regions of the epididymis and in the vas deferens. ClC-5 is expressed exclusively in H+-ATPase-rich cells (narrow and clear cells). Confocal microscopy showed that ClC-5 partially colocalizes with the H+-ATPase in the subapical pole of clear cells. ClC-3 is strongly expressed in the apical membrane of principal cells of the caput epididymidis and the vas deferens and is less abundant in principal cells of the body and cauda epididymidis. These findings are consistent with a potential role for ClC-3 in transepithelial chloride transport by principal cells and for ClC-5 in the acidification of H+-ATPase-containing vesicles in narrow and clear cells. ClC-5 might facilitate endosome trafficking in the epididymis, as has been proposed in the kidney.


1924 ◽  
Vol s2-68 (269) ◽  
pp. 147-186
Author(s):  
H. R. MEHRA

1. The genital organs of Stylaria lacustris are described in detail. The vas deferens opens into the atrium on the anterior face near the opening of the ejaculatory duct and not at the top as described by all the previous authors. The prostate surrounds not only the atrium but also the vas deferens in segment 6. 2. The prostate secretion passes through the atrial epithelium, which consequently hypertrophies and disappears 3. The development of the genital organs proceeds with great rapidity when the sexual phase appears, which occurs only once a, year from the end of September to the beginning of December. There is no long intervening period between the development of the gonads, and other genital organs. 4. The order of development seems to be connected with the time or order of their functioning. 5. The gonads are peritoneal in origin. The sperm-sac and orisac are large portions of the body-cavity enclosed by the extension backwards of septa ⅚ and 6/7 respectively. The yolk-mass is formed by a process of metabolic change in the cytoplasm of some of the ova. 6. The sperm-duct is partly peritoneal in origin and partly an ectodermal invagination. The funnel and the vas deferens rudiments arise by a proliferation of the peritoneal cells on the anterior face of septum ⅚, which assumes the form of a deeply shining plate of columnar cells with prominent nuclei. This after the funnel rudiment becomes the sperm-cord and penetrates the septum in front of the ovary, reaching near the body-wall the atrial rudiment, which is soon formed as an ec todermal invagination. The prostate cells arise from the peritoneum near the rentral body-wal1 of the sixth segment in the neighbourhood of the atrial rudiment. 7. The rudimentary female funnel, which opens ont at the female opening, arises as, an outgrowth from the peritoneum at the base of septum 6/7. 8. The spermatheca srises as an invagination from the ectoderm. I agree with Bergh that the sperm, zthecae are to be considered as new structures, and not phylogenetically connected with the genital ducts as Gatenby supposes to be the case in Tubifex rivulorum. 9. A fern stages obtained showing the development of these organs in Nais e1inguis confirm the above observntions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 611 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bauer ◽  
C. Leigh ◽  
E. Peirce ◽  
W. G. Breed

In most mammals, post-testicular sperm maturation is completed in the caput and corpus epididymides, with storage occurring in the cauda epididymides. However, in the spinifex hopping mouse, Notomys alexis, epididymal sperm transit is rapid and some sperm storage occurs in the distal region of the vas deferens. The aim of the present study was to determine whether the rapid progression of sperm into the vas deferens in the hopping mouse results in late sperm maturation. To determine this, sperm nuclei from the epididymides and vasa deferentia of laboratory and hopping mice were compared for: (1) thiol content after staining with monobromobimane (mBBr); (2) chromatin resistance to acid denaturation following incubation with acetic alcohol and staining with acridine orange; and (3) chromatin resistance to in vitro decondensation after incubation with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). It was found that, whereas laboratory mouse sperm completed chromatin condensation by the time they reached the cauda epididymidis, hopping mouse sperm nuclei from the vas deferens showed significantly less mBBr fluorescence and a greater proportion of sperm were resistant to decondensation with SDS than those in the cauda epididymidis. Therefore, the results of the present study indicate that, unlike in the laboratory mouse, hopping mouse chromatin condensation of spermatozoa continues in the vas deferens and this may be due, at least in part, to rapid epididymal transit.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2316
Author(s):  
Daniel Mota-Rojas ◽  
Dehua Wang ◽  
Cristiane Gonçalves Titto ◽  
Jocelyn Gómez-Prado ◽  
Verónica Carvajal-de la Fuente ◽  
...  

Body-temperature elevations are multifactorial in origin and classified as hyperthermia as a rise in temperature due to alterations in the thermoregulation mechanism; the body loses the ability to control or regulate body temperature. In contrast, fever is a controlled state, since the body adjusts its stable temperature range to increase body temperature without losing the thermoregulation capacity. Fever refers to an acute phase response that confers a survival benefit on the body, raising core body temperature during infection or systemic inflammation processes to reduce the survival and proliferation of infectious pathogens by altering temperature, restriction of essential nutrients, and the activation of an immune reaction. However, once the infection resolves, the febrile response must be tightly regulated to avoid excessive tissue damage. During fever, neurological, endocrine, immunological, and metabolic changes occur that cause an increase in the stable temperature range, which allows the core body temperature to be considerably increased to stop the invasion of the offending agent and restrict the damage to the organism. There are different metabolic mechanisms of thermoregulation in the febrile response at the central and peripheral levels and cellular events. In response to cold or heat, the brain triggers thermoregulatory responses to coping with changes in body temperature, including autonomic effectors, such as thermogenesis, vasodilation, sweating, and behavioral mechanisms, that trigger flexible, goal-oriented actions, such as seeking heat or cold, nest building, and postural extension. Infrared thermography (IRT) has proven to be a reliable method for the early detection of pathologies affecting animal health and welfare that represent economic losses for farmers. However, the standardization of protocols for IRT use is still needed. Together with the complete understanding of the physiological and behavioral responses involved in the febrile process, it is possible to have timely solutions to serious problem situations. For this reason, the present review aims to analyze the new findings in pathophysiological mechanisms of the febrile process, the heat-loss mechanisms in an animal with fever, thermoregulation, the adverse effects of fever, and recent scientific findings related to different pathologies in farm animals through the use of IRT.


Parasitology ◽  
1924 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-112
Author(s):  
Edward Hindle

In December, 1922, whilst dissecting a large female example of Bufo regularis, one of my students noticed a cylindrical structure extending along the ventral region of the body-cavity. A careful examination showed that this structure consisted of an elongated sac-like diverticulum of the right lung, containing an almost full-grown specimen of a dipterous larva, which could be seen through the membraneous wall of the diverticulum. The base of the latter, in addition to its point of origin from the lung, was also connected to the dorsal surface of the liver by strands of fibrous tissue, suggesting that the growth had been in existence some considerable time in order to cause such adhesions. Posteriorly, the diverticulum hung freely in the body cavity and extended to the extreme hinder end. Its dimensions were 5·5 cm. in length, by 0·5 cm. in diameter, but tapering towards each extremity.


1962 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 1269-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan F. Bronskill

In third and fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti (L.), juveniles of the rhabditoid, DD136, penetrate the blood sinus and cardial epithelium of the proventriculus to enter the body cavity of the host, where they complete their development. By 5 hours, a thick capsule developed about many of the ensheathed immature adults of DD136 within the body cavity of A. aegypti larvae. This rapid defence reaction of the mosquito to DD136, which has both a melanin and a cellular manifestation, occurs both in the exotic mosquito A. aegypti and in the two endemic species tested, Aedes stimulans (Walker) and Aedes trichurus (Dyar). The resistance of A. stimulans to an endemic rhabditoid, possibly of the Diplogasteridae, is also similar. The histological structure of the capsule is not affected during metamorphosis in A. aegypti; however, during histogenesis of adult tissue displacement and (or) distortion of some tissues and organs may be caused by the presence of the capsule within the host's body cavity. The activity of the adult A. aegypti is normal when this distortion or displacement is minor. Though usually encapsulated DD136 are retained within the body cavity of A. aegypti during metamorphosis, sometimes they are partially or completely expelled from the host's body cavity at the time of molting.


1949 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
J. D. SMYTH

1. Plerocercoid larvae of the pseudophyllidean cestode Ligula intestinalis from the body cavity of roach, were cultured in vitro at 40°C. in a variety of saline and nutrient media. About 65% of such cultures were aseptic. 2. During cultivation, larvae produced acid by-products (unidentified) and the pH fell rapidly. 3. The presence of these acid by-products slowed down development, or, if present in sufficient quantity, caused death. 4. In order to obtain development in nutrient media in a period (3 days) comparable to that required in a bird (the normal host) it was necessary to renew the medium 24-hourly. 5. 6% of the eggs produced from a worm cultured in horse serum were fertile. Fertile eggs were never obtained from larvae cultured in any other media. 6. Certain bacterial infections had no apparent detrimental effect on development, but others were toxic. 7. Some larvae underwent development in non-nutrient medium (¾ strength Locke's solution). The exact conditions under which this occurred was not determined. 8. Fragments (3 cm. long), of larvae or larvae with either scolex or posterior half removed, underwent development to the stage of oviposition in nutrient media. 9. Histochemical examination revealed that the plerocercoid larvae were almost fat-free. During cultivation, very large quantities of cytoplasmic fat were produced the quantity being proportional to the duration of cultivation. Fat was produced even under starvation conditions (i.e. during cultivation in saline) and can be considered a metabolic by-product. 10. The fresh plerocercoid contained great quantities of glycogen in the parenchyma and muscle regions. After cultivation in nutrient or saline media, considerable quantities were still present.


Author(s):  
M. Barson

Clarias gariepinus were collected from Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe, and examined for nematode parasites from November 2000 to May 2002. Of the 202 specimens collected, 42.6 % were infected with third-stage larvae of Contracaecum sp. in the body cavity. The intensity of the infection was 1-7 worms per fish (mean intensity = 2.2). Seasonal variation in the prevalence of the parasite was not obvious and there was no significant difference in the prevalence of infection between males and females (c2 = 2.228; P > 0.05). No significant relationship between host size and prevalence was established. There was also no significant relationship between intensity and the body condition factor (r = 0.11; P > 0.05). The low parasite prevalence may have been caused by the disruption of the infection cycle since piscivorous birds, which are the final hosts of the parasite, do not feed on C. gariepinus in Lake Chivero.


Parasitology ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. S. Beer

The egg and larval stages of Trichuris suis can be briefly characterized as follows: The egg: barrel shaped, possesses a thick shell consisting of three thick outer layers and an inner thin vitelline membrane, is operculate at each end and is unsegmented and unfertilized when freshly deposited. L. 1 within the egg: presence of an oral spear, a poorly denned oesophagus and an intestinal tract consisting of undifferentiated granulated material. L. 1 within the host: initial differentiation of an oesophagus, cell body, intestine and rectum. L. 2: further differentiation of the body organs and the appearance of the rudiments of the reproductive system. L. 3: initial development of reproductive system and development of a cloaca in the male thus distinguishing the sexes. L. 4: differentiation of reproductive system into vagina, uterus, oviduct and ovary in the female, and testis, vas deferens, ejaculatory duct, spicule and spicular muscle, sheath and tube in the male. L. 5 or adult stage: completed development of the sexual organs including formation of the vulval orifice and eggs in the female and seminal vesicle in the male.


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