Effects of pantothenic acid supplement on secretion of steroids by the adrenal cortex in female rats.

Purpose: The effect of pantothenic acid (PaA) supplementation on adrenal secretion of corticosterone and progesterone in female rats was investigated.

Methods: An in-vitro primary adrenal cell culture system was used. Pregnant rats were given 0.

Effects of acute restraint stress on sperm motility and secretion of pituitary, adrenocortical and gonadal hormones in adult male rats.

The effects of acute restraint stress on sperm motility and reproductive endocrinology were investigated in adult rats. Sperm motility was determined by computer-assisted sperm analysis. Acute restraint stress reduced sperm motility starting after 30 min, and the sperm motility parameters, percentage of motile spermatozoa (%), straight-line velocity, curvilinear velocity, deviation of the sperm head from the mean trajectory and the maximum amplitude of lateral head displacement decreased.

Effects of pantothenic acid on testicular function in male rats.

Pantothenic acid (PaA) is a water-soluble vitamin required to sustain various physiological functions in animals. The physiological roles of PaA on testicular function, in particular, testicular endocrinology and sperm mortility, were investigated in rats. Male rats at 3 weeks of age were fed a PaA-free diet or a 0.

FoxO4 is the main forkhead transcriptional factor localized in the gastrointestinal tracts of pigs.

Forkhead box (Fox) proteins play critical roles in the regulation of differentiation, proliferation, immunity and aging of cells. Most studies on Fox proteins are limited to cultured cells and rodent. The aim of the current study is to detect by immunohistrochemistry whether FoxO1, FoxO3a and FoxO4 proteins are localized in the stomach and intestine of the pig.

Role of phosphodiesterase in cyclic AMP signaling in cultured rat granulosa cells.

Inactivation of the cyclic nucleotide signal in granulosa cells depends on a complex array of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDE). In order to examine the role of PDE in cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling in granulosa cells, the present study examined the expression of PDE4D proteins and regulation of cAMP-PDE activities in cultured rat granulosa cells. The results of immunoblot analyses showed that two predominant PDE4D subtypes of approximately 80 and 70 kDa appeared when immature rat granulosa cells were treated with FSH.