Pulse attenuation and countercurrent heat exchange in the internal spermatic artery of some Australian marsupials.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B P Setchell.
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1. Analysis of rams testes revealed that phosphatidylcholine was the major phospholipid and accounted for about 40% of the total. Only small amounts of choline plasmalogen were present. 2. The ratio of phosphatidylcholine to choline plasmalogen in the testis was very different from that occurring in the spermatozoa. This result was in contrast with those for rat testis and rat spermatozoa (obtained from the head of the epididymis), where the ratio of the two lipids was very similar. 3. Infusions of [(32)P]orthophosphate into the testicular artery of rams resulted in incorporation of radioactivity into most phospholipids; phosphatidylinositol labelling accounted for 68% and 39% of the radioactivity after infusions lasting 3hr. and 5hr. respectively. 4. With the exception of phosphatidic acid the specific radioactivity of phosphatidylinositol was higher than that of any other lipid. 5. After the infusion of [U-(14)C]glucose, triglycerides accounted for about 60% of the radioactivity in testicular neutral lipids, whereas diglycerides had only about 15% of the radioactivity. 6. Palmitic acid (16:0) was the major component both in neutral lipids and phospholipids of ram testes. 7. The effects of gonadotrophic hormones (luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone) on the incorporation of [(32)P]orthophosphate into total testicular phospholipids in vivo were also examined.
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1. Spermatozoa collected directly from the testis of the conscious ram contain 25% more phospholipid than ejaculated spermatozoa. The concentration of lecithin, phosphatidylethanolamine and ethanolamine plasmalogen was greater in testicular spermatozoa; little difference was observed in choline plasmalogen. Both types of spermatozoa had significant amounts of cardiolipin and alkyl ether phospholipid. 2. The fatty acids in the phospholipid extracted from testicular spermatozoa have a very high content of palmitic acid. The phospholipids of ejaculated spermatozoa contained less palmitic acid, but more myristic acid. 3. Ejaculated spermatozoa contained less acyl ester and cholesterol. It is suggested that lipids are a source of substrate for spermatozoa during their passage through the epididymis. 4. Testicular spermatozoa when incubated with [U-(14)C]glucose incorporated more radioactivity into the glycerol part of the phospholipid and neutral lipid fractions than did ejaculated cells. The distribution of radioactivity in the individual phospholipids and neutral lipids was similar for both cell types. No radioactivity was detected in choline plasmalogen, which accounted for approx. 40% of the total phospholipid. 5. Testicular spermatozoa incorporated more radioactivity from glucose into formate than into acetate, whereas a higher proportion of radioactivity was found in acetate in ejaculated cells. 6. The implications of these lipid changes in the process of spermatozoal maturation are discussed.
1. [U-(14)C]Glucose was infused into one or both testicular arteries of ten conscious rams and the specific activity of the glucose taken up by the testis was compared with the specific activity of the carbon dioxide produced by the testis. 2. Equilibration had occurred after infusion for 3hr. when a mean of 68% of the carbon dioxide was being derived by the testis from blood glucose and 86% of the glucose taken up by the testis was being oxidized to carbon dioxide. After 5hr. infusion, these values were 71% and 83% respectively. 3. In four other conscious rams, [1-(14)C]glucose was infused into one testicular artery and [6-(14)C] glucose into the other and the ;specific yields' of carbon dioxide calculated for the two forms of glucose. 4. From these values, it was calculated that a mean of 9.3% of the glucose taken up by the testis was metabolized via the pentose cycle.
1. Total phospholipid concentrations in liver, kidney and brain of the 140-day ovine foetus were only half of those in comparable maternal tissues. 2. Phosphatidylcholine was the predominant phospholipid in all foetal tissues examined. The most striking difference between foetal and maternal tissues in individual phospholipids was in the heart; foetal heart contained more ethanolamine plasmalogen than choline plasmalogen, whereas in adult tissue the concentration of these was reversed. Sphingomyelin content of foetal brain was only one-sixth of that of maternal brain tissue. 3. Oleic acid (18:1) was the predominant acid in the phospholipid extracted from foetal tissues, except in brain where palmitic acid (16:0) was slightly higher. In phospholipids from adult tissues there was a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid, 18:2, and linolenic acid, 18:3) and a correspondingly lower proportion of oleic acid (18:1). The distribution of fatty acids in the neutral lipid fraction of foetal and maternal tissues was very similar; oleic acid (18:1) was generally the principal component. 4. (14)C derived from [U-(14)C]-glucose and [U-(14)C]fructose infused into the foetal circulation in utero was incorporated into the neutral lipids and phospholipids of heart, liver, kidney, brain and adipose tissue. 5. Phospholipid analysis revealed that the specific activity of phosphatidic acid was higher in liver than in other tissues. The specific activity of phosphatidylethanolamine was less than that of phosphatidylcholine in heart, but in other tissues they were about the same. The specific activities of phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid in brain were very similar and were higher than the other components. The specific activity of phosphatidylserine was highest in liver and brown fat. 6. The pattern of incorporation of (14)C derived from [(14)C]glucose and [(14)C]fructose into foetal neutral lipids was similar. Diglyceride accounted for most of the radioactivity in brain, whereas triglyceride had more label in heart, liver, kidney and fat.
1. The testis of the ram secretes considerable amounts of amino acids (200mumoles/day) into the fluid collected from the efferent ducts. The principal amino acid in this testicular fluid is glutamate, which is present in concentrations about eight times those in testicular lymph or in blood from the internal spermatic vein. 2. The concentration of glutamate in seminal plasma from the tail of the epididymis is about ten times that in testicular fluid, and, though glutamate is the major amino acid in ejaculated seminal plasma, its concentration is less than in epididymal plasma. 3. After the intravenous infusion of [U-(14)C]glucose, labelled glutamate was found in the testicular fluid. Radioactivity was also detected in alanine, glycine, serine plus glutamine and aspartate. Alanine had the highest specific activity, about 50% of the specific activity of blood glucose. 4. When [U-(14)C]glutamate was infused, the specific activity of glutamate in testicular fluid was only about 2% that in the blood plasma. 5. Testicular and ejaculated ram spermatozoa oxidized both [U-(14)C]glutamate and [U-(14)C]leucine to a small extent, but neither substrate altered the respiration from endogenous levels. 6. No radioactivity was detected in testicular spermatozoal protein after incubation with [U-(14)C]glutamate or [U-(14)C]leucine. Small amounts of radioactivity were detected in protein from ejaculated ram spermatozoa after incubation with [U-(14)C]glutamate. 7. The carbon of [U-(14)C]glucose was incorporated into amino acids by testicular spermatozoa; most of the radioactivity occurred in glutamate.
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