Maternal high-fat diet during pregnancy and lactation affects factors that regulate cell proliferation and apoptosis in the testis of adult progeny.

Context A maternal high-fat diet is thought to pose a risk to spermatogenesis in the progeny. Aims We tested whether a maternal high-fat diet would affect Sertoli cell expression of transcription factors (insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I); glial-cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF); Ets variant 5 (ETV5)) and cell proliferation and apoptotic proteins, in the testis of adult offspring. Methods Pregnant rats were fed ad libitum with a standard diet (Control) or a high-fat diet (HFat) throughout pregnancy and lactation.

Maternal undernutrition during pregnancy and lactation increases transcription factors, ETV5 and GDNF, and alters regulation of apoptosis and heat shock proteins in the testis of adult offspring in the rat.

We tested whether changes in Sertoli cell transcription factors and germ cell heat shock proteins (HSPs) are linked to the effects of maternal undernutrition on male offspring fertility. Rats were fed ad libitum with a standard diet (CONTROL) throughout pregnancy and lactation or with 50% of CONTROL intake throughout pregnancy (UNP) or lactation (UNL) or both periods (UNPL). After postnatal Day 21, 10 male pups per group were fed a standard diet ad libitum until postnatal Day 160 when testes were processed for histological, mRNA and immunohistochemical analyses.

Heat shock protein HSP90 immunoexpression in equine endometrium during oestrus, dioestrus and anoestrus.

Heat shock proteins play a crucial role in cellular development, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) has been localised in the human endometrium, where its immunoexpression changes during the menstrual cycle. Similar studies have not been done for the equid species, so the present study aimed to describe endometrial HSP90 immunoexpression in mare endometrium.

Maternal undernutrition during pregnancy and lactation affects testicular morphology, the stages of spermatogenic cycle, and the testicular IGF-I system in adult offspring.

Maternal undernutrition decreases sperm production in male offspring, possibly through insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I). To test this hypothesis, we fed pregnant Wistar rats ad libitum with a standard diet (CONTROL) or fed 50% of CONTROL intake, either throughout pregnancy (UNP), lactation (UNL, or both (UNPL). After weaning, male offspring (n = 10 per treatment) were fed a standard diet until postnatal day 160, when testes process for histological and molecular analyses.

In utero betamethasone affects 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and inhibin-α immunoexpression during testis development.

Prenatal glucocorticoids, commonly used in women at risk of preterm delivery, can predispose the newborn to disease in later life. Since male reproductive function is likely to reflect testis development during fetal life, we studied the effects of prenatal glucocorticoids on two key intra-testicular factors that play roles in cellular proliferation and differentiation, 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) and inhibin-α. Pregnant sheep (n=42) were treated with betamethasone (0.

Accessibility of blood affects the attractiveness of cattle to horn flies.

The burden of infestation of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Muscidae), differs among bovines within the same herd. We hypothesized that these differences might be related to the epidermal thickness of the cattle and the blood intake capacity of the fly. Results showed that dark animals carried more flies and had a thinner epidermis than light-coloured animals, which was consistent with the greater haemoglobin content found in flies caught on darker cattle.

Apoptosis-related protein expression during pre- and post-natal testicular development after administration of glucocorticoid in utero in the sheep.

Pre-natal glucocorticoids are used in women at risk of preterm delivery to induce foetal lung maturation. However, glucocorticoids can produce negative outcomes for other tissues such as the reproductive system. We therefore tested the effects of pre-natal betamethasone on testicular morphology and apoptotic protein immune expression during pre- and post-natal development.

Effects of pre-natal glucocorticoids on testicular development in sheep.

We tested the hypothesis that acute pre-natal exposure to high levels of synthetic glucocorticoid (betamethasone) would alter fetal testicular development through actions on gonadal glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). Pregnant Merino ewes bearing singleton male fetuses (n = 24) were allocated randomly among four equal groups to be injected intramuscularly with saline or betamethasone (0.5 mg/kg) either on day 109 of gestation or on both day 109 and day 116 of gestation.

Mycotic bovine nasal granuloma.

A case of mycotic bovine nasal granuloma in a 10 year-old Jersey cow, produced by Drechslera halodes is presented. Histopathological sections showed abundant hyaline and pigmented extra and intracellular fungal structures together with a polymorphic cellular granuloma formed by neutrophils, lymphocytes, plasmocytes, histiocytes and giant cells of the Langhans type. It is the first case of mycotic bovine nasal granuloma recognized in Uruguay although this disease seems to be frequent according to the opinion of veterinarian specialists.

Low maternal nutrition during pregnancy reduces the number of Sertoli cells in the newborn lamb.

The nutritional status of females during pregnancy can play a critical role in the postnatal growth and development of the offspring, often leading to permanent changes ('fetal programming'). The Sertoli cells are a strong candidate for fetal programming of future performance because the number of Sertoli cells is highly correlated with adult testicular size and the maximum rate of sperm production. For Merino ewes, we imposed different levels of metabolizable energy (ME) intake (LowME: 70% of requirements for maintenance of ewe body mass and normal growth of conceptus (n = 13); HighME: 110% of those requirements (n = 12)) from Week 10 of pregnancy until parturition and then tested for effects on testicular histology in newborn males.

An immunohistochemical study on the regulation of estrogen receptor alpha by estradiol in the endometrium of the immature ewe.

The effects of estradiol-17beta (E2) on the expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in stromal and epithelial cells of endometrium in prepubertal lambs were investigated. Twenty three-month-old lambs were treated or not treated with one, two or three i.m.

Nutritional management during fetal and postnatal life, and the influence on testicular stereology and Sertoli cell numbers in Corriedale ram lambs.

The aim of the experiment was to determine whether supplementation of the lamb-ewe unit during intra-uterine and postnatal life affects testicular stereology, particularly Sertoli cell numbers, in 120 pregnant Corriedale ewes grazed either native pastures (control group) or improved pastures+grain supplement (treated group). Ewes bearing single ram lambs were maintained under the same feeding regime until lambs were castrated (99 days of age). Body weight, testosterone and FSH blood serum levels were recorded at 45, 75 and 99 days of age.

Influence of pre- and post-pubertal grazing regimes on adult testicular morphology in extensively reared corriedale rams.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether pre- and post-pubertal young rams on different grazing regimes, resulting in differences in live weight (LW), would show corresponding differences in testicular growth or testicular morphometry that could influence the reproductive traits of these rams upon reaching adulthood. Forty-one spring-born Corriedale rams were reared on either native pasture (low feeding level, Group L, n=22) or improved pasture (higher feeding level, Group H, n=19) from 1 to 7 months of age. Thereafter, half the animals in the native-pasture group were placed on improved pasture and vice versa, thus creating an additional four differential-grazing treatment groups (Groups LL, n=11; LH, n=11; HL, n=10; and HH, n=9).

Influence of grazing management on the seasonal change in testicular morphology in Corriedale rams.

The present study was conducted: (a) to determine the degree of seasonal variation in testis stereology in Corriedale rams between autumn and winter; (b) to test the hypothesis that testis stereology of Corriedale rams grazing native pastures during autumn and winter would differ from those of Corriedale rams grazing sown pastures and supplemented with grain during the same period; and (c) to determine whether Sertoli cell numbers differ in adult rams between the breeding season (autumn) and the following non-breeding season (winter). Twenty experimental animals were studied. Six rams (autumn control group, C-A) that had been grazing on native pasture (stocking rate = 2-3 animals ha(-1)) were castrated at the beginning of the experiment (March, early autumn).