Structural study and expression of the androgen receptors during the reproductive cycle in the Harderian gland of the male Meriones libycus.

The goal of this study was to evaluate for the first time the expression of the androgen receptors (AR) in Harderian glands (HG) of the male Meriones lybicus in relation to the reproductive cycle. Six male Harderian glands of the resting period and 6 of the breeding period were collected. The animals were trapped in the desert of Béni Abbès (Algeria).

Light and electron microscopic studies of the Gerbillus tarabuli (Thomas, 1902) Harderian gland.

The purpose of this investigation was to study the morphological aspects of the Harderian gland in Gerbillus tarabuli. Tissues were obtained from both male and female adult Gerbillus tarabuli and processed for light and electron microscopy. The Harderian gland in gerbil is large and well developed, covered by a thin capsule, from which thin septae extend, subdividing the gland into lobes and lobules.

[Cellular aspects of aging in the pineal gland of the shrew, Crocidura russula].

The Greater White-toothed shrew Crocidura russula is short-lived species and the phase of senescence is greatly elongated in captivity. The loss of rhythmicity of biological functions that accompanies its aging is also well documented. C.

Distribution of osmoregulatory peptides and neuronal-glial configuration in the hypothalamic magnocellular nuclei of desert rodents.

The desert rodents Psammomys obesus and Gerbillus tarabuli live under extreme conditions and overcome food and water shortage by modes of food and fluid intake specific to each species. Using immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy, we found that the hypothalamic magnocellular nuclei, and in particular, their vasopressinergic component, is highly and similarly developed in Psammomys and Gerbillus. In comparison to other rodents, the hypothalamus in both species contains more magnocellular VP neurons that, together with oxytocin neurons, accumulate in distinct and extensive nuclei.

The distribution of vasotocin and mesotocin immunoreactivity in the hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory nuclei of the Saharan herbivorous lizard, Uromastix acanthinurus Bell, 1825 (Sauria-Agamidae).

An immunohistochemical study of the magnocellular neurosecretory nuclei was performed in the hypothalamus of the desert lizard Uromastix acanthinurus using polyclonal antibodies against arginine vasotocin (AVT), mesotocin (MST) and neurophysins I and II (NpI, NpII). AVT- and MST-immunoreactivities were localized in individual neurons of the supraoptic, periventricular, and paraventricular nuclei and in scattered neurosecretory cells. The supraoptic nuclei (SONs) can be subdivided into rostral, medial and caudal portions.