Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “REPRODUCTION”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Role of the pineal gland in the photoperiodic control of reproductive and non-reproductive functions in mink (Mustela vison).

Mink are long-lived mammals that exhibit seasonal changes in body weight, gonadal activity, pelage and plasma prolactin levels. Mating in February-March is followed by an obligatory delay in implantation during which the corpora lutea stay quiescent. All these events are controlled by annual variations in daylength. The role of the pineal gland and its product, melatonin, in conveying photic information to the target organs has been studied. Pineal denervation by bilateral ablation of the cervical superior ganglia rendered the mink unresponsive to artificial manipulations of the daily photoperiod: prolactin and progesterone secretion and the spring moult were no longer stimulated by long days or inhibited by short days in pregnant females; in the same way the increase in body weight in late summer and the autumn moult were no longer advanced by artificial shortening of the photoperiod. Pinealectomy seemed to desynchronize body weight, prolactin and moulting cycles from those in intact mink. Melatonin injections reproduced the effects of short days on hormonal secretion during the delayed implantation period. Melatonin capsules given to males during the phase of testicular activity delayed the decrease in body weight, testicular regression and onset of the spring moult exactly as did short days. In contrast, melatonin administered during the phase of testicular inactivity triggered an increase in body weight, the onset of the spring moult and testicular recrudescence in this short-day breeder. These results support the hypothesis that in mink all photoperiodic signals are conveyed by the pineal gland. But although the pineal seems essential for the seasonal timing of the cycles, it does not modify the events themselves once they are initiated.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Changes in the testicular microvasculature during photoperiod-related seasonal transition from reproductive quiescence to reproductive activity in the adult golden hamster.

The structure and permeability of the testicular microvasculature in the adult golden hamster during different phases of gonadal activity was examined. After 12 weeks of exposure to a short photoperiod (SD; 6L:18D), maximal testicular regression with over tenfold reduction in size was achieved as compared with active testes of animals maintained in long photoperiod (LD; 16L:8D). Testes weights and volumes in regressed testes were not significantly different from the values measured in animals undergoing early recrudescence (transfer from SD to LD for 1 or 2 weeks). The volume density of testicular blood vessels and their lumina did not differ significantly between fully gonadally active, fully regressed animals or those transferred from SD to LD for 2 weeks. However, in animals transferred for 1 week from SD to the stimulatory LD, the density of testicular blood vessels and vascular permeability to the endothelial tracer horseradish peroxidase were significantly increased, as compared to all other groups. An angiogenic process was observed by electron microscopy, which was initiated in the regressed gonad and which was prominent 1 week after transfer from SD to LD, but it was less conspicuous 2 weeks after transfer from SD to LD. The angiogenic process was characterized by activated developing blood vessels with a basal lamina and a lumen, which was formed by dilatation of an interendothelial space. There were two types of endothelial sprouts: the first with one layer of basal lamina, indicating true neovascularization, and the second with additional layers of basal lamina. In the latter, the presence of a superfluous basal lamina indicates that regeneration takes place along the path of old vessels. In fully regressed animals isolated basal-lamina-like structures were observed. Basal laminae are known to survive endothelial cell death, and these basal laminae later appear to serve as a scaffold for regeneration of new vessels. The rapid renewal of the testicular microvasculature under physiological stimuli suggests that the recrudescing testis of the golden hamster can be viewed as a physiological model of angiogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

[Reproduction and sexuality of parasitic copepods of fishes. I. The reproductive apparatus of Chondracanthus angustatus Heller, 1865: anatomy, histology, and spermiogenesis (author's transl)].

The pygmy males of Chondracanthus angustatus are fixed on the genital segment of the female on two anterior-ventral tubercules. The genital system is formed by two dorsal testes, two broad vas deferens and two seminal vesicles each one containing a spermatophore. Two types of cells can be seen in the interstitial tram: the sexual (normal and abortive) and the somatic ones. The plasmic and nuclear membranes joined together on one end of the spermatid; on the opposite pole, the mitochondria penetrate into the cytoplasmic expansions. The non-motile starfish spermatozoa present neither di-ferentiated acrosome nor centrioles. The male gametes are stocked in the spermatophore and enveloped by many kinds of secretions. Spermatozoa are discharged into the female integument folds and they reach the seminal receptacle with the help of the villosities movement; they stay there till fertilization occurs.

Animals↗