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Interstitial Tissue (interstitial + tissue)
Selected AbstractsHistology, histochemistry and morphometry of the ovary of the adult plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus) in different reproductive stagesACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 4 2009Mirta Alicia Flamini Abstract Lagostomus maximus is a South American Hystricognathi rodent whose reproductive behaviour shows characteristics unusual for mammals, such as polyovulation (200,800 oocytes) and a high rate of embryo mortality. Thirty-six mature females captured in the province of Buenos Aires showed different physiological reproductive stages. Most of them presented a postpartum oestrus in August,September. This characteristic is different from that reported in other geographical areas. The stages considered were: anoestrus, follicular phase, early pregnancy and late pregnancy. The ovaries were light-pink and smooth and presented a tortuous cord-like aspect. Many primordial follicles were found in all the females studied. Follicles in different states of maturation and primary and accessory corpora lutea were observed in the cortex. These structures were smaller than those present in other related species. Follicles did not project into the surface of the organ. Calcified follicles of diverse size were found in all the ovaries. Atretic follicles were found in all the stages analysed. Interstitial tissue surrounding the follicles and the corpora lutea was also observed. The number and proportion of different cortical structures varied in the physiological stages analysed. The ovaries of the viscacha have differential characteristics in comparison to other Hystricognathi, some of them related to polyovulation. [source] A histo-morphological study of the testis of the sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus) as reference for future toxicological assessmentsJOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY, Issue 4 2008J. C. Van Dyk Summary The sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus) has recently been shown to be a useful indicator species of oestrogen polluted waters in South Africa (Barnhoorn et al., 2004). Knowledge of the normal reproductive biology of this species is important to be able to assess the morphological changes caused by the exposure to potentially harmful toxicants including endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs). Eleven sexually mature C. gariepinus males were selected from an aquarium population bred through hormone induced spawning in reconstituted reverse osmosis water. The fish were reared under controlled conditions averting exposure to potentially EDCs and allowing the description of the normal testis histomorphology of unexposed healthy specimens. The testes of C. gariepinus are paired elongated organs situated in the dorsal region of the visceral cavity. Histologically, the testes possess a lobular organization enclosed by a thin tunica albuginea. Depending on the tissue region, each seminiferous lobule contains some or all of the various developmental stages of spermatogenesis including a single primary spermatogonia, groups of secondary spermatogonia, cysts of primary and secondary spermatocytes, spermatids, and spermatozoa. Nutritive Sertoli cells are visible on the periphery of the seminiferous lobules. Interstitial tissue (including groups of Leydig cells) and blood vessels constitute most of the interlobular space. It is expected that the histological results of this study will contribute to a currently limited, but growing gonadal histological database for southern African freshwater fish species to serve as reference in future toxicity assessments. [source] IL-10 is highly expressed in the cryptorchid cryptepididymal epithelium: a probable mechanism preventing immune responses against autoantigenic spermatozoa in the epididymal tubuleINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 3 2002E. Veräjänkorva The expression of several immunoregulatory adhesion proteins and cytokines was studied in the normal epididymis, cryptorchid cryptepididymis, the epididymis of oestrogen-treated mice and the epididymis of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice at the protein level to see which of these immunoregulatory proteins may be involved in lymphocyte regulation in the normal or pathological epididymis and if cytokine balance in this organ is on the cellular or humoral side. The aim of the study was to characterize the immunological microenvironment of the epididymis to explain the survival of the autoantigenic spermatozoa in this site. In the 6-week-old BALB/c or NOD mouse epididymis there were some CD18 and CD44 expressing cells in the interstitial tissue. There were no differences between these strains in the expression of the studied antigens, except that some CD4 positive cells were present in the interstitial tissue of BALB/c mice. In the cryptorchid cryptepididymis CD4, CD8, CD18, CD44, CD54 and CD106 expressing cells were occasionally present in the connective tissue surrounding the epididymal tubule. In the epididymis of the oestrogen-treated mice these antigens were not expressed. In the cryptorchid cryptepididymis the epithelial cells expressed IL-10 highly and the myoid peritubular cells IL-6. The present results suggest that the epididymal epithelial IL-10 suppressing TH0, TH1 and TH2 immune responses may be involved in the protection of autoantigenic spermatozoa from immune destruction. [source] Testosterone-immunopositive primordial germ cells in the testis of the bullfrog, Rana catesbeianaJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 6 2005E. Sasso-Cerri Abstract In amphibia, steroidogenesis remains quiescent in distinct seasonal periods, but the mechanism by which spermatogenesis is maintained under low steroidogenic conditions is not clear. In the present study, testosterone location in the testes of Rana catesbeiana was investigated immunohistochemically during breeding (summer) and nonbreeding (winter) periods. In winter, the scarce interstitial tissue exhibited occasional testosterone immunopositivity in the interstitial cells but the cytoplasm of primordial germ cells (PG cells) was clearly immunopositive. By contrast, in summer, PG cells contained little or no immunoreactivity whereas strong immunolabelling was present in the well-developed interstitial tissue. These results suggest that PG cells could retain testosterone during winter. This androgen reservoir could be involved in the control of early spermatogenesis in winter and/or to guarantee spermiogenesis and spermiation in the next spring/summer. The weak or negative immunoreaction in the summer PG cells might reflect consumption of androgen reservoir by the intense spermatogenic activity from spring to summer. Thus, besides acting as stem cells, PG cells of R. catesbeiana could exert an androgen regulatory role during seasonal spermatogenesis. [source] Ontogeny of the androgen receptor expression in the fetal and postnatal testis: Its relevance on Sertoli cell maturation and the onset of adult spermatogenesisMICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 11 2009Rodolfo A. Rey Abstract From fetal life to adulthood, the testis evolves through maturational phases showing specific morphologic and functional features in its different compartments. The seminiferous cords contain Sertoli and germ cells, surrounded by peritubular cells, and the interstitial tissue contains Leydig cells and connective tissue. Sertoli cells secrete anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), whereas Leydig cells secrete androgens. In the fetal and early postnatal testis, Leydig cells actively secrete androgens. Sertoli cells are morphologically and functionally immature,e.g., they secrete high levels of AMH,and germ cells proliferate by mitosis but do not enter meiosis. During infancy and childhood, Leydig cells regress and testosterone secretion declines dramatically. Sertoli cells remain immature and spermatogenesis is arrested at the premeiotic stage. At puberty, Leydig cells differentiate again, and testosterone concentration increases and provokes Sertoli cell maturation,e.g., down-regulation of AMH expression,and germ cells undergo meiosis, the hallmark of adult spermatogenesis driving to sperm production. An intriguing feature of testicular development is that, although testosterone production is as active in the fetal and early postnatal periods as in puberty, Sertoli cells and spermatogenesis remain immature until pubertal onset. Here, we review the ontogeny of the androgen receptor expression in the testis and its impact on Sertoli cell maturation and the onset of pubertal spermatogenesis. We show that the absence of androgen receptor expression in Sertoli cells underlies a physiological stage of androgen insensitivity within the male gonad in the fetal and early postnatal periods. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Immunohistochemical expression of aminopeptidase N (CD13) in human lung squamous cell carcinomas, with special reference to Bestatin adjuvant therapyPATHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2006Eiji Ichimura Bestatin, a specific inhibitor of aminopeptidase N (CD13), has been reported to prolong survival time in patients with completely resected stage I lung squamous cell carcinoma. Considering the antitumor mechanism of Bestatin, it is interesting to know whether CD13 is expressed in human lung squamous cell carcinoma. The immunohistochemical expression of CD13 was examined in human lung carcinoma and the question of whether CD13 was immunohistochemically expressed in the interstitial tissue was investigated, mainly in the fibroblasts and blood vessels, surrounding the tumor nests of various kinds of non-small cell lung cancers, especially of squamous cell carcinomas. In Japanese squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, 38 (61.3%) out of 62 cancers were positively stained in the same manner on immunohistochemistry for CD13. The area of interstitial tissue positively stained for CD13 varied depending on the case. To confirm the cell nature of the interstitial tissue with CD13 positivity, double immunohistochemistry using CD34 and ,-smooth muscle actin was performed. Double immunohistochemistry showed that the majority of CD13-positive cells were slender fibroblastic cells around the blood vessels and some endothelial cells. [source] Vibrio vulnificus infection and metalloproteaseTHE JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2006Shin-ichi MIYOSHI ABSTRACT Vibrio vulnificus,is ubiquitous in aquatic environments; however, it occasionally causes serious and often fatal infections in humans. These include invasive septicemia contracted through consumption of raw seafood, as well as wound infections acquired through contact with brackish or marine waters. In most cases of septicemia, the patients have underlying disease(s), such as liver dysfunction or alcoholic cirrhosis, and the secondary skin lesions including cellulitis, edema and hemorrhagic bulla appear on the limbs. Although V. Vul,produces various virulent factors including polysaccharide capsule, type IV pili, hemolysin and proteolytic enzymes, the 45-kDa metalloprotease may be a causative factor of the skin lesions, because the purified protease enhances vascular permeability through generation of chemical mediators and also induces serious hemorrhagic damage through digestion of the vascular basement membrane. As well as other bacteria, V. Vul,can regulate the protease production through the quorum-sensing system depending on bacterial cell density. However, this system operates efficiently at 25°C, but not at 37°C. Therefore, V. vulnificus may produce sufficient amounts of the protease only in the interstitial tissue of the limbs, in which temperature is lower than the internal temperature of the human body. [source] Origin and evolution of somatic cell testicular tumours in transgenic mice,THE JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Silvina Quintana Abstract Transgenic mice bearing a construct in which the expression of the SV40 oncogene is directed by the AMH promoter (AT mice) develop testicular tumours in adult life. We aimed to study early steps of tumour development and characterize tumours at different ages by histological, morphometric, and immunohistochemical techniques. One- to 3-month-old AT mice depicted multifocal Leydig cell hyperplasia. The testicular volume occupied by interstitial tissue was significantly higher in 3-month-old AT mice in comparison with littermate controls. Between 5 1/2 and 7 months, microscopic interstitial tumours developed that progressively evolved to form large confluent areas of high mitotic index in 7- to 14-month-old AT mice. Tumour cells had the characteristics and histoarchitecture of Leydig cells, or formed solid cord-like structures reminiscent of those seen in Sertoli cell tumours. Hyperplastic areas and tumours diffusely expressed 3,-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3,-HSD) in Leydig cell areas. AMH expression was negative in Leydig cell conglomerates and tumours and variable in cord-like tumours. The SV40 T antigen and markers of cell proliferation (PCNA) were intensely positive in hyperplastic cells and tumours. Control mice of similar ages showed neither hyperplasia nor tumours, and SV40 T expression was always negative. In conclusion, transgenic mice develop large testicular tumours that are preceded by interstitial hyperplasia and microtumours. The histological and immunohistochemical phenotype of tumours (Leydig and Sertoli cell differentiation, positive 3,-HSD, and variable AMH) suggests a mixed differentiation of somatic cells of the specialized gonadal stroma. The finding that an oncogene directed by a promoter specifically active in fetal Sertoli cells has given rise to testicular tumours of mixed differentiation is compatible with a common origin of Leydig and Sertoli cells from the specific stroma of the gonadal ridge, as supported by double labelling experiments in fetal mice showing co-localization of the transgene with Sertoli and Leydig cell markers. Copyright © 2010 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Intraovarian Localization of Growth Factors in Induced Cystic Ovaries in RatsANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 2 2007H. H. Ortega Summary We hypothesized that the special hormonal environment present in animals with cystic ovarian disease (COD) interferes with cellular production of growth factors (GFs). The objective of the present study was to characterize the expression of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in induced COD using immunohistochemistry. We used an experimental model based on the exposure to constant light of adult rats during 15 weeks. We quantified the expression of GFs in cystic and normal ovaries by the Immunohistochemical Stained Area (IHCSA). In animals with COD, a significant reduction in the IHCSA of IGF-I in the follicular fluid, theca and granulosa layers of cysts occurred; and an increase in the interstitial tissue with regard to the control group. We found moderate immunoreactivity of FGF-2 in granulosa and theca layers of secondary and tertiary follicles and lower expression in the granulosa and theca interna layers of cystic follicles. Immunoexpression of VEGF was found in granulosa and theca cells of secondary and tertiary follicles. This study shows changes in the ovarian expression of IGF-I, FGF-2 and VEGF in induced COD. We can propose that an alteration in the control of the follicular dynamic, through the GFs, added to other features, could be involved in the ovarian cyst pathogenesis. [source] Effect of growth hormone on testicular dysfunction induced by methotrexate in ratsANDROLOGIA, Issue 2 2009H. Serati Nouri Summary Methotrexate (MTX) is a chemotherapeutic agent causing defective oogenesis and spermatogenesis. This study was performed to assess the role of human growth hormone (GH) on testis recovery after treatment with MTX. Forty male Wistar rats were selected and randomly divided into four groups (n = 10): control (vehicle), GH group (0.3 mg kg,1 GH for 28 days, IP), MTX group (MTX 1 mg kg,1 week,1 for 4 weeks, IP) and GH/MTX group (0.3 mg kg,1 GH for 28 day plus 1 mg kg,1 week,1 MTX for 4 weeks, IP). On days 14 and 28, five rats from each group were killed, testes of rats of all groups were removed, spermatozoa were collected from epididymis and then prepared for analysis. MTX caused significant increase in interstitial tissue and capsular thickness and decrease of testicular and body weight (P < 0.05). Moreover, it caused significant decline in seminiferous tubule diameter and epithelium thickness (P < 0.05). There was no obvious change in morphometrical parameters between MTX/GH and control groups. In MTX group, sperm parameters decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Administration of GH plus MTX reduced the effects of MTX on sperm parameters and testosterone concentration. These results suggested that GH had a protective effect on almost all destructive effects caused by MTX in rat testes and thus improved sperm parameters. [source] Appearance of Osteonectin-expressing Fibroblastic Cells in Early Rat Stomach Carcinogenesis and Stomach Tumors Induced with N-Methyl-N,-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidineCANCER SCIENCE, Issue 9 2002Hack-Young Maeng The present study was designed to define molecular alterations in the initiation stage of rat stomach carcinogenesis. Groups of male Lewis rats, 6 weeks old, were given drinking water with or without N-methyl-N,-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG; 100 mg/liter). Total RNA was isolated from the stomach pyloric mucosa, and fluorescent differential display analysis was performed. A cDNA fragment of 125 bp encoding an extracellular matrix-associated matricellular glycoprotein, osteonectin, was identified after 14 days of MNNG exposure. A severalfold increase in expression was observed after 14 and 27 days of MNNG exposure, as determined by northern blot and RT-PCR. Immunohistochemistry revealed that osteonectin-mAb-stained flbroblastic cells appeared in interstitial tissue of pyloric mucosa. Additionally the gene expression of other extracellular matrix proteins, viz., collagen type III, fibronectin, osteopontin, proteoglycan NG2, laminin ,1 and S-laminin, was also markedly increased, as determined by competitive RT-PCR after 14 days of MNNG exposure. The gene expression of osteonectin and the six other extracellular matrix proteins was elevated in twelve stomach adenocarcinomas and adenomas induced by MNNG in Lewis and WKY rats. Osteonectin-mAb-stained flbroblastic cells were evident in interstitial tissue of stomach tumor. These results suggest that osteonectin-expressing flbroblastic cells appear in the interstitial tissue of pyloric mucosa from the early initiation stage of rat stomach chemical carcinogenesis, and that this phenomenon probably plays a role in cancer development. [source] Posthatching development of Alligator mississippiensis ovary and testisJOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Brandon C. Moore Abstract We investigated ovary and testis development of Alligator mississippiensis during the first 5 months posthatch. To better describe follicle assembly and seminiferous cord development, we used histochemical techniques to detect carbohydrate-rich extracellular matrix components in 1-week, 1-month, 3-month, and 5-month-old gonads. We found profound morphological changes in both ovary and testis. During this time, oogenesis progressed up to diplotene arrest and meiotic germ cells increasingly interacted with follicular cells. Concomitant with follicles becoming invested with full complements of granulosa cells, a periodic acid Schiff's (PAS)-positive basement membrane formed. As follicles enlarged and thecal layers were observed, basement membranes and thecal compartments gained periodic acid-methionine silver (PAMS)-reactive fibers. The ovarian medulla increased first PAS- and then PAMS reactivity as it fragmented into wide lacunae lined with low cuboidal to squamous epithelia. During this same period, testicular germ cells found along the tubule margins were observed progressing from spermatogonia to round spermatids located within the center of tubules. Accompanying this meiotic development, interstitial Leydig cell clusters become more visible and testicular capsules thickened. During the observed testis development, the thickening tunica albuginea and widening interstitial tissues showed increasing PAS- and PAMS reactivity. We observed putative intersex structures in both ovary and testis. On the coelomic aspect of testes were cell clusters with germ cell morphology and at the posterior end of ovaries, we observed "medullary rests" resembling immature testis cords. We hypothesize laboratory conditions accelerated gonad maturation due to optimum conditions, including nutrients and temperature. Laboratory alligators grew more rapidly and with increased body conditions compared with previous measured, field-caught animals. Additionally, we predict the morphological maturation observed in these gonads is concomitant with increased endocrine activities. J. Morphol. 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Lymphedema diagnosis and managementJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS, Issue 2 2007Dayna E. Gary ACNP, FCCWS Abstract Purpose: To provide advanced practice nurses with a greater understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and management of lymphedema. Data sources: Comprehensive literature review of the relevant clinical journals, systematic reviews, and medical textbooks. Conclusions: Lymphedema is a poorly known and understood condition. If not properly diagnosed and promptly treated, lymphedema can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Diagnosis is based on suggestive history and characteristic findings on physical exam that ideally would be confirmed by lymphoscintigraphy. The primary goal in lymphedema treatment is the removal of excess plasma proteins from the interstitial tissues. The goals of management are to decrease the extremity size, maintain the decreased size, prevent complications, and improve function and overall sense of psychological well-being. Implications for practice: The ability to properly diagnose lymphedema is crucial to prevent the significant morbidity and mortality that is associated with this condition. It is imperative that patients with lymphedema are referred to specially trained healthcare professionals to ensure optimal treatment. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||