Publications by authors named "Toru Sawasaki"
Growth hormone (GH) is secreted in a pulsatile manner, but the underlying mechanisms of GH pulse generation remain to be resolved. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between GH pulses in the peripheral circulation and GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin (SRIF) profiles in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of male goats. The effects of an intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of neuropeptide Y (NPY), galanin and ghrelin were also analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study was conducted in order to characterize the secretory pattern of GH in the Shiba goat, a native Japanese miniature goat, and to examine the effects of castration and KP102, a GH secretagogue, on this pattern. Blood samples were taken from an indwelling jugular catheter every 15 min for 24 h, and plasma GH was measured by radioimmunoassay. In intact males, GH was secreted in a pulsatile manner with very regular 5-h periodicity, which consisted of a distinctive GH pulse and a trough of virtually no GH secretion.
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- Our understanding of how embryos move through the fallopian tubes is limited, but this study highlights the importance of molecules on the zona pellucida (ZP) in mouse embryos' transport.
- Interspecifically transferred embryos from bovine and porcine species tended to get stuck in the mouse oviduct rather than moving to the uterus, suggesting species compatibility affects transport.
- Treatments with specific antisera and enzymes showed that altering the ZP molecules significantly disrupted the transport process, leading to the hypothesis that unique ZP structures may interact with cilia or epithelial cells in the oviduct to facilitate transport.