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Gland Secretions (gland + secretion)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	76%
Medical Sciences	15%

Selected Abstracts

Medicinal chemistry and therapeutic potential of muscarinic M3 antagonists

MEDICINAL RESEARCH REVIEWS, Issue 6 2009
Ilaria Peretto
Abstract Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors belong to the G-protein-coupled receptors family. Currently five different receptor subtypes have been identified and cloned. M3 receptor subtypes are coupled to Gq family proteins and increase phosphatidyl inositol hydrolysis and calcium release from internal stores. They are widely distributed both in the central nervous system and in the periphery. At the central level, M3 receptor subtypes are involved in modulation of neurotransmitter release, temperature homeostasis, and food intake, while in the periphery they induce smooth muscle contraction, gland secretion, indirect relaxation of vascular smooth muscle, and miosis. The main therapeutic applications of M3 antagonists include overactive bladder (OAB), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and pain-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The introduction of selective M3 antagonists has not improved clinical efficacy compared with the old non-selective antimuscarinics but has reduced the rate of adverse events mediated by the blockade of cardiac M2 receptors (tachycardia) and central M1 receptors (cognitive impairment). Improved tolerability has been obtained also with controlled release or with inhaled formulations. However, there is still a need for safer M3 antagonists for the treatment of COPD and better-tolerated and more effective compounds for the therapy of OAB. New selective muscarinic M3 antagonists currently in early discovery and under development have been designed to address these issues. However, as M3 receptors are widely located in various tissues including salivary glands, gut smooth muscles, iris, and ciliary muscles, further clinical improvements may derive from the discovery and the development of new compounds with tissue rather than muscarinic receptor subtype selectivity. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 29, No. 6, 867,902, 2009 [source]

Colleterial glands of Sesamia nonagrioides as a source of the host-recognition kairomone for the egg parasitoid Telenomus busseolae

PHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2008
FEDERICA DE SANTIS
Abstract The maize stemborer Sesamia nonagrioides glues its egg masses under the leaf sheaths or ear bracts using colleterial gland secretion. In spite of such concealed oviposition sites, these eggs are parasitized by Telenomus busseolae. The colleterial glands of S. nonagrioides are investigated as a possible source of the host-recognition kairomone for T. busseolae. This secretion, applied on glass beads, elicits intense antennal drumming and oviposition probing behaviour in the parasitoid. Through an histochemical study, neutral and acid glycoconjugates are identified as components of the secretion. Finally, using ultrastructural techniques, the colleterial glands are described and classified as comprising class 3 secretory cells. [source]

Effect of P2X7 receptor knockout on exocrine secretion of pancreas, salivary glands and lacrimal glands

THE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 18 2010
Ivana Novak
The purinergic P2X7 receptors are expressed in different cell types where they have varied functions, including regulation of cell survival. The P2X7 receptors are also expressed in exocrine glands, but their integrated role in secretion is unclear. The aim of our study was to determine whether the P2X7 receptors affect fluid secretion in pancreas, salivary glands and tear glands. We monitored gland secretions in in vivo preparations of wild-type and P2X7,/, (Pfizer) mice stimulated with pilocarpine. In cell preparations from pancreas, parotid and lacrimal glands we measured ATP release and intracellular Ca2+ activity using Fura-2. The data showed that pancreatic secretion and salivary secretions were reduced in P2X7,/, mice, and in contrast, tear secretion was increased in P2X7,/, mice. The secretory phenotype was also dependent on the sex of the animal, such that males were more dependent on the P2X7 receptor expression. ATP release in all cell preparations could be elicited by carbachol and other agonists, and this was independent of the P2X7 receptor expression. ATP and carbachol increased intracellular Ca2+ activity, but responses depended on the gland type, presence of the P2X7 receptor and the sex of the animal. Together, these results demonstrate that cholinergic stimulation leads to release of ATP that can via P2X7 receptors up-regulate pancreatic and salivary secretion but down-regulate tear secretion. Our data also indicate that there is an interaction between purinergic and cholinergic receptor signalling and that function of the P2X7 receptor is suppressed in females. We conclude that the P2X7 receptors are important in short-term physiological regulation of exocrine gland secretion. [source]

The Smell of New Competitors: The Response of American Mink, Mustela vison, to the Odours of Otter, Lutra lutra and Polecat, M. putorius

ETHOLOGY, Issue 5 2009
Lauren A. Harrington
We tested the response of wild American mink (an established alien species in the UK), to the odours of unfamiliar mink, European polecat and Eurasian otter. Polecats are similar in size and habits to mink, otters are larger than mink and a dominant competitor; both are native to the UK and both were absent during the original colonization by mink but are now undergoing natural population recoveries. The response of mink to experimental odours was assessed by counting the numbers of tracks (footprints) on rafts treated with anal gland secretions, and compared with response to a control raft, on two rivers in the Upper Thames valley, UK. Remote video showed that the number of tracks was positively correlated with the time that mink spent investigating an odour. We found that mink were attracted to the odours of both unfamiliar mink and polecats. There was little evidence that mink avoided the odour of otters. We suggest that, during an encounter with a polecat, mink may behave much as they would to a conspecific. We infer from the response of mink to the odour of otters, that, if mink do avoid otters, the mechanism of avoidance is likely to be complex, situation-dependent and perhaps affected by prior experience. [source]

A neglected gland: a review of Cowper's gland

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 2 2005
BILAL CHUGHTAI
Summary Cowper's glands are pea sized glands present inferior to the prostate gland in the male reproductive system. They produce thick clear mucus prior to ejaculation that drains into the spongy urethra. Though it is well established that the function of the Cowper's gland secretions is to neutralize traces of acidic urine in the urethra, knowledge regarding the various lesions and associated complications of this gland is scarce. This review provides a comprehensive report on the development, function and various lesions associated with Cowper's gland. [source]

Phagocytic capacity of leucocytes in sheep mammary secretions following weaning

JOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 5 2002
Liliana Tatarczuch
Abstract Lactating animals are particularly susceptible to mastitis during the early stages of mammary gland involution following weaning. In this study we compared the phagocytic capacity of cells collected from sheep mammary secretions at different stages of involution. The ability of neutrophils and macrophages to ingest latex beads in an in vitro phagocytosis assay was found to be dependent on how heavily the phagocytes were loaded with milk constituents. There was a decline in the phagocytic capacity of neutrophils from 1 to 2 days after weaning, while macrophages collected from fully involuted glands were more effective phagocytes compared with earlier stages (7,15 days) of involution. In addition, dendritic cells present in fully involuted mammary gland secretions (30 days after weaning) were highly phagocytic. These studies demonstrate that neutrophils and macrophages in sheep mammary secretions at early stages of involution are incapacitated, and as such may compromise the immune status of the mammary gland. [source]

Behavioral responses of nesting female dark-eyed juncos Junco hyemalis to hetero- and conspecific passerine preen oils

JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
Daniellr J. Whittaker
Several studies have suggested a greater role for olfactory cues in avian social interactions than previously recognized, but few have explicitly investigated the effect of odor on parental behavior. We present results from a preliminary study in which we applied hetero- and conspecific preen gland secretions, which are known to contain volatile compounds, to the nests and eggs of incubating female dark-eyed juncos Junco hyemalis. The responses to these two conditions were compared to the responses of females whose nests were treated with their own preen oil as a control condition, and to females whose nests were treated with the vehicle only. We found that females significantly reduced incubation bout length, a form of parental care, in response to alien secretions, more so if they came from a heterospecific than a conspecific. Females did not reduce incubation bout length in response to their own preen oil or to a vehicle-only control. These results suggest that odors in the nest may influence avian parental care. However, the behavioral change was only temporary and had no effect on later hatching success. In our study population, brood parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds is common, but resulting nest abandonment is rare; juncos are frequently able to successfully breed even with cowbird nestlings in their nests. Thus, we suggest that more extreme behavioral responses to alien odor, such as nest abandonment or egg ejection, may not be adaptive and should not be expected. [source]

Does diagnostic sonography alter thyroid and parathyroid hormone levels?

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ULTRASOUND, Issue 1 2008
Erdinc Serin MD
Abstract Purpose To investigate possible alterations in the levels of thyroid and parathyroid hormones (PTHs) and thyroglobulin (TG) in healthy individuals following diagnostic sonographic examination of the thyroid gland. Methods Thirty healthy women with no pathologic findings underwent sonographic examination, followed 6 weeks later by a second examination involving a probe-only application (PA) with the ultrasound scanner switched off. Duration times were identical for both examinations. Blood was drawn before and after the 2 applications. Thyroid hormone, PTH, and TG levels before and after the 2 applications were compared, and the difference between the variations for each parameter in the first and second applications was assessed. Blood samples were taken before and after the sonographic examination and the PA, and the serum concentrations of sensitive thyrotropin, total and free thyroxine, total and free tri-iodothyronine, TG, and PTH were measured. The pre- and post-examination levels of the hormones for the 2 applications were then compared and the difference between the variations for each parameter in the first and second application was then assessed. Results The only significant variations observed were in the TG levels after PA and PTH levels after both sonographic examination and PA. The comparison between the 2 difference values revealed no significant difference except for PTH. Conclusion This preliminary report on the possible influence of sonographic examination of the thyroid on the serum levels of thyroid and parathyroid hormones suggests that gland secretions such as PTH may be affected by external factors, including ultrasound. Clinicians should be aware of alterations in hormone levels by external factors. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2008 [source]

Individual signatures in scent gland secretions of Eurasian deer

JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, Issue 3 2000
R. E. Lawson
Abstract Evidence for individuality of odour profile, coding for individual identity, was sought in scent profiles derived from natural secretions of the preorbital gland of red deer Cervus elaphus (n= 26), sika deer C. nippon (15), fallow deer Dama dama (50), Chinese muntjac Muntiacus reevesi (23) and Chinese water deer Hydropotes inermis (53); from metatarsal secretions from red deer (n= 35), sika (30), fallow (193) and roe deer Capreolus capreolus (26), and from roe deer interdigital glands (n= 48). Volatiles were eluted from sample materials at body temperature, to restrict analysis to those elements that would occur within the natural odour signal; the different volatile elements were then separated by gas chromatography. For each species considered, secretions from at least one scent gland were individually distinct and sufficiently complex to code for identity. Within our samples no two individuals produced identical odour profiles; yet in analysis of metatarsal gland secretions of individual fallow deer sampled in successive years, odour signatures of individuals remained consistent over time. The wider potential for individual coding was assessed through calculation of the number of different possible combinations of all volatiles recovered in any species×gland system. Every secretion considered seems to have the potential to provide individually characteristic signals (with the exception of secretions from the fallow deer preorbital gland, which notably contained no odour information under any analytical system). Complexity of signals differed markedly between species as did the gland-type responsible for production of the most complex or distinctive signal. No simple evolutionary patterns are apparent to account for this variation and we suggest that the form of gland selected for production of a signal carrying information about individual identity is a function of habitat type and sociality. [source]

Anogenital gland secretions of Lemur catta and Propithecus verreauxi coquereli: A preliminary chemical examination

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
R.A. Hayes
Abstract Although prosimians are greatly olfaction-oriented, little is known about the specifics of how they use scent to communicate. In this preliminary study we attempted to delineate intra- and interspecific differences among the anogenital gland secretions of two lemur species (Lemur catta and Propithecus verreauxi coquereli) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results indicate that the two species are discernible through scent. Furthermore, we were able to identify reproductive status using this technique. The anogenital secretions of the different sexes in L. catta, though perhaps not P. v. coquereli, are chemically distinguishable. Given this information, it appears that at least some lemur species can use scent marks to determine species, sex, and reproductive status. Am J Primatol 63:49,62, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]