Constitutive polypeptides of retrovirus produced by a Suncus murinus mammary tumor cell line (Sm-MTV) were characterized by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting. The major structural polypeptide of Sm-MTV, molecular weight 44/43K, immunologically cross reacted with the structural polypeptides of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (MPMV) (molecular weights 27K and 12/10K). Sm-MTV constitutive polypeptides did not show antigenic relatedness with those of the following mammalian retroviruses: murine mammary tumor virus, Rausher murine leukemia virus, Molony murine leukemia virus, Osborn-Mendel rat leukemia virus, feline leukemia virus, RD114 virus, simian sarcoma virus 1, and human T-cell leukemia virus type I.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new type of retrovirus (Sm-MTV) released by cultured cells of a spontaneous mammary tumor from a house musk shrew, Suncus murinus, is described. The Sm-MTV is distinct morphologically from type C particles. In spite of certain morphological similarities to type B and type D retroviruses, the Sm-MTV is readily distinguishable.
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December 1981
Electron microscopy studies on the epididymal epithelium and lumen contents of hamster between 3 and 14 months after vasectomy, showed ultrastructural changes in the clear cells and spermatozoids within the lumen. These changes on the clear cells were as follows: accumulation of electron dense bodies of irregular forms distributed between luminal and basal zones of clear cells, presence of large vacuoles of low electron density and a loss of stereocilia; flattening of luminal border and emission of projections toward the lumen. Spermatozoid population was low within the lumen and is accompanied by large amounts of detritic material.
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July 1980
The ultrastructure of adult hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) testis was studied by means of light and electron microscopes during fourteen months after bilateral vasectomy. In all the vasectomized animals there was marked degeneration of the semniiferous tubules as well as reduction of spermatogenesis. The thickening of the basal membrane was quite evident and showed extensive infolding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring meiosis and espermiogenesis the Golgi apparatus shows the greatest morphological and physiological changes. During the second meiotic division it appears as a very large organelle, formed by prominent dictyosomes and by two types of vesicles: one in the external part of the body with diameters that range from 40--100 nm, and the other in the central part of the organelle, larger in size, from 200 to 500 nm. The acrosome, once formed, is spheric (1600 nm in diameter) with the glucoproteins forming a round and dense body occupying its central zone.
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