Immunoproteomic characterization of a Dermatophagoides farinae extract used in the treatment of canine atopic dermatitis.

Background: Canine atopic dermatitis is a pruritic allergic skin disease. House dust mites have been identified as the main non-seasonal responsible agent. Unlike in human allergic patients, groups 1 and 2 antigens have been described as minor allergens in dogs, while groups 15 and 18 are considered the major allergens.

The presence and function of dopamine type 2 receptors in boar sperm: a possible role for dopamine in viability, capacitation, and modulation of sperm motility.

Several studies have shown that dopamine and other catecholamines are present in oviduct luminal fluid. We recently reported that dopamine type 2 receptors (DRD2) are present in a wide range of mammalian sperm, suggesting a role for dopaminergic signaling in events such as fertilization, capacitation, and sperm motility. In the present study, we used Western blot analysis to show that boar sperm express DRD2 and that their activation with dopamine (100 nM) has a positive effect on cell viability that can be correlated with AKT/PKB phosphorylation.

Hexose-specificity of hexokinase and ADP-dependence of pyruvate kinase play important roles in the control of monosaccharide utilization in freshly diluted boar spermatozoa.

Incubation of boar sperm from fresh ejaculates in a minimal medium with 10 mM glucose induced a fast and intense activation of glycolysis, as indicated by the observed increases in the intracellular levels of glucose 6-phosphate (G 6-P) and ATP and the rate of formation of extracellular L-lactate. The effect of glucose was much more intense than that induced by fructose, sorbitol, and mannose. The greater utilization of glucose was related to a much greater sensitivity to hexokinase when compared with the other monosaccharides.

Utilization of citrate and lactate through a lactate dehydrogenase and ATP-regulated pathway in boar spermatozoa.

Incubation of boar spermatozoa in Krebs-Ringer-Henseleit medium with either 10 mM lactate or 10 mM citrate induced a fast and robust increase in the intracellular levels of ATP in both cases, which reached a peak after 30 sec of incubation. Utilization of both citrate and lactate resulted in the export of CO(2) to the extracellular medium, indicating that both substrates were metabolized through the Krebs cycle. Incubation with citrate resulted in the generation of extracellular lactate, which was inhibited in the presence of phenylacetic acid.