Distinct types of lipofuscin pigment in the hippocampus and cerebellum of aged cheirogaleid primates.

The formation of autofluorescent lipopigment or lipofuscin is a highly consistent and reliable cytological change that correlates with cellular aging in postmitotic cells. One causal factor of lipofuscinogenesis involves free radical-induced lipid peroxidation. In mammals, dentate gyrus neurons and Purkinje cells are usually affected widely.

In vitro effects of inhibin on apoptosis and apoptosis related proteins in human ovarian granulosa cells.

Objective: To clarify the in vitro effects of inhibin A (I) on apoptotic cell death and its mechanisms in ovarian granulosa cells the immunoexpression patterns of the apoptosis markers caspase-3 and pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, Bak) were evaluated in ovarian granulosa cells collected from women with different hormonal status.

Materials And Methods: Granulosa cells were isolated from follicles of women participating in an in vitro fertilization (IVF) program, normally cyclic (NC) and premenopausal women (PrM). The obtained cells were cultured for 72 h with inhibin A (Sigma, USA)--10 ng/ml.

Correlation between nuclear bodies and estrogen receptors in endometrial epithelial cells of old rats.

Nuclear bodies (NB) are prominent round structures in interchromatin regions of interphase nuclei, regarded as markers of stimulated rRNA synthesis. Their frequency was found to be estrogen-dependent and correlated with estrogen receptor (ER) content in endometrial epithelial cells of prepubertal and cyclic rats. The present study was designed to simultaneously examine the frequency of simple and complex NB and the status of ER in endometrial epithelia of old rats in relation to age and vaginal cytology.

Lysozyme expression in the rat parotid gland: light and electron microscopic immunogold studies.

Lysozyme (muramidase) is capable of direct bacteriolytic action by hydrolyzing glycosidic bonds in bacterial cell walls. Although it is broadly distributed in vertebrate tissues and secretions, the cellular and subcellular localizations of the enzyme are still not well known. The present study examines the distribution of lysozyme expression in the various cell types of LR gold-embedded rat parotid gland, applying a postembedding immunogold-silver staining technique for light microscopy.

Thiamine pyrophosphatase cytochemistry in rat endometrium during the oestrous cycle.

The functional morphology of the Golgi apparatus was studied in various types of cells in the rat endometrium during the oestrous cycle. A cerium-based enzyme-cytochemical method was used for the ultrastructural visualization of the activity of thiamine pyrophosphatase (TPPase). The cerium-based method was evidently superior to the classical lead technique, which was used for comparison.