Impact of peptide growth factors on the culture of small preantral follicles of domestic cats.

Small preantral follicles (40 to 90 microm) of domestic cats were cultured in the presence or absence of epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) for 5 d. The success of culture was estimated by in vitro incorporation of Brom-desoxyuridine (BrdU) into the oocytes and granulosa cells. Addition of EGF (4, 20, or 100 ng/ml) to the culture medium had no significant effect on the incidence of in vitro DNA synthesis.

A comparative ultrastructural study of the parotid gland acinar cells of nine wild ruminant species (mammalia, artiodactyla).

The ultrastructural similarities and differences of the parotid gland acinar cells of nine wild ruminants (roe deer, nyala, tahr, Eld's deer, red deer, Pere David's deer, European mouflon, African buffalo, sable antelope) representing three feeding types i.e. concentrate selectors (CS), grass and roughage eaters (GR) and intermediate feeders (IM) were compared.

Epidermal growth factor and epidermal growth factor receptor in the ovary of the domestic cat (Felis catus).

Identification of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its distribution in the ovary were examined with an immunohistochemical technique using a polyclonal rabbit antibody against mouse EGF. A combination of HPLC and enzymeimmunoassay was elaborated to quantify EGF in different compartments of the feline ovary. In addition, EGF receptors were localized in ovarian cryostat sections with a new ligand-histochemical technique using biotinylated EGF for labelling.

The Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa, Bovidae) as an intermediate host of three Sarcocystis species in Mongolia.

The sarcocysts of three Sarcocystis species (Sporozoa: Coccidia: Sarcocystidae) found in the Mongolian gazelle are described using light and transmission electron microscopy. The host-parasite interface and the ultrastructure of the cyst wall are represented for the first time in the macrocysts of Sarcocystis mongolica Machul'skii, 1947, localised in connective tissue cells. The cyst wall is attributed to type 1 of the classification by Dubey et al.

The black-backed jackal (Carnivora: Canidae) in Namibia as intermediate host of two Sarcocystis species (Protozoa: Sarcocystidae).

Two structurally different sarcocysts are reported from the black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) in Namibia by means of light and transmission electron microscopy for the first time. They cannot be attributed to any of the hitherto described Sarcocystis species from Carnivora, of which the ultrastructure of the cyst wall is known.

One known Sarcocystis species and one found for the first time in fallow deer (Dama dama).

Sarcocysts of free-ranging indigenous fallow deer (Dama d. dama) from northeast Germany and captive Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) from the Zoo Berlin-Friedrichsfelde were described using the transmission electron microscope. Two Sarcocystis species (Sporozoa, Sarcocystidae) were found in D.

One known Sarcocystis species and two found for the first time in red deer and wapiti (Cervus elaphus) in Europe.

Three species of sarcocysts from indigenous red deer and captive wapiti (Cervus elaphus, Cervidae) were characterized by means of light and electron microscopy. Two of them were found in this intermediate host species for the first time. Comparison of the literature and our results led to the conclusion that the three Sarcocystis species (Sporozoa, Sarcocystidae) should be provisionally designated as S.

Cutaneous mast cell tumours in a lion (Panthera leo): a light and transmission electron microscopical study.

Cutaneous mast cell tumours of a 16-year-old female Indian lion (Panthera leo) were studied histologically and ultrastructurally. The proliferation index detected with an antibody against the nuclear antigen Ki-67 was 16.5%.

Chromatin condensation in cat spermatozoa during epididymal transit as studied by aniline blue and acridine orange staining.

Chromatin stability and DNA-resistance to acidic denaturation was evaluated by acidic aniline blue and acridine orange staining of cat sperm from different regions of the epididymis. The results were related to conventional sperm parameters. The percentage of aniline blue-stained spermatozoa (persisting histones) decreased significantly from the caput to the cauda region (31.

Inverse relationship between testicular proliferation and apoptosis in mammalian seasonal breeders.

Seasonal cycles of testicular activity occur in many mammals and can include transitions between total arrest and recrudescence of spermatogenesis. We hypothesize that involution and reactivation of testis result from two antagonistic processes, proliferation and programmed cell death (apoptosis), which are activated at different times. To test this hypothesis, quantitative measurements of both proliferation-specific marker and apoptotic produced nucleosomes have been compared with sperm and testosterone production in testes from adult roe deer during breeding and non-breeding seasons (May to September).

Quantification of apoptosis (programmed cell death) in mammalian testis by DNA-fragmentation ELISA.

Apoptosis (programmed cell death) could contribute to fluctuations in sperm production and involution of testis in dependence on seasonal, genetic, environmental or individual factors. Investigations of such factors require a reliable quantitative examination of apoptotic processes. Therefore, a standardized procedure was developed for quantification of apoptosis in samples of testicular parenchyma in bull.

Intestinal inflammation associated with flagellates in snakes.

The intestines of 51 snakes with histologically diagnosed or suspected amoebiasis were reinvestigated immunohistochemically with an Entamoeba invadens antibody. In 22 cases, trophozoites of Entamoeba invadens stained positively in the inflamed intestinal wall, but the protozoa visible in the pathologically changed intestines of a further 20 snakes were negative. On the basis of light and electron microscopical findings, these protozoa were identified as flagellates.

On the diagnostics and nomenclature of Sarcocystis species (Sporozoa) in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus).

Three species of sarcocysts from European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are characterised using light and electron microscopy. The hitherto existing descriptions of four species are attributed to the actual state of nomenclature.

Bovine virus diarrhea and mucosal disease in free-ranging and captive deer (Cervidae) in Germany.

From 1990 until 1992, 355 blood samples of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) (n = 123), red deer (Cervus elaphus) (n = 60), fallow deer (Dama dama) (n = 87) and other cervid species (n = 85) from three different habitats (n = 180) and 11 wildlife parks or zoos (n = 175) in Germany were tested for prevalence of pestivirus antibodies. Seventeen samples were seropositive for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV); only one animal had antibodies for Border disease virus. Microneutralization test titers ranged from 1:5 to 1:125.

Isolation of bovine viral diarrhea virus-like pestiviruses from roe deer (Capreolus capreolus).

Cytopathogenic pestiviruses were isolated from two seronegative free-ranging roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) from northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein): an adult female and a young buck collected on 6 December 1990 and 26 July 1991, respectively. The two isolates were identified by polymerase chain reaction as pestiviruses. However, they were negative when primers specific for bovine virus diarrhea virus or classical swine fever virus were used, indicating that the two isolates might belong to a separate group of pestiviruses of wild ruminants different from BVDV.

Enrichment of bovine X and Y spermatozoa by free-flow electrophoresis.

Conditions of separation of bovine spermatozoa according to their differences in electrophoretic mobility were studied using free-flow electrophoresis. Distribution of spermatozoa in the electric field depends on composition of buffer system, field intensities and temperature. Conditions are described for reproducible separation of anodically migrating spermatozoa into two distinct peaks both for cold-immobilized (10-13 degrees C) and for motile cells (25 degrees C).

The European badger (Carnivora:Mustelidae) as intermediate host of further three Sarcocystis species (Sporozoa).

Three species of sarcocysts are described by light and electron microscopy from the European badger (Meles meles): Sarcocystis hofmanni n. sp. (a species otherwise occurring in roe deer, Capreolus capreolus), S.

Assessment of pregnancy in Kiang mares (Equus hemionus holdereri ) using estrogen determination in feces.

Analysis of fecal estrogens was used to diagnose pregnancy in 6 Kiang mares (Equus hemionus holdereri ) that were kept at Tierpark Berlin. Three extraction methods were compared and were followed by an established RIA for total estrogen. Extraction of desiccated feces with chloroform/n-hexane and KOH, with and without enzyme hydrolysis showed better results than extraction with diethylether without hydrolysis.

The wisent (Bison bonasus, Bovidae) as an intermediate host of three Sarcocystis species (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) of cattle.

Sarocysts were found in muscle tissue of a wisent (Bison bonasus) which was born and kept in Germany. Light microscopic and TEM examination revealed all the three named species known from cattle: Sarcocystis cruzi ("thin-walled", with longer hair-like villar protrusions of the primary cyst wall); S. hirsuta ("thick-walled", with tongue-like protrusions of the cyst wall arising with very short and narrow stalklets from the surface of the cyst and containing rows of electron-dense granules in the core); and S.