Tomoo Inomata

Influence of Adrenalectomy on the Development of the Neonatal Thymus in the Rat

Adrenalectomy of 1-, 6-, 11- and 16-day-old male and female rats did not cause any changes in the weight of thymus 5 days later. Adrenalectomy on days 21, 26, 31 and 81 of age induced a significant hypertrophy of the thymus 5 days later. These results indicate that after about the time of weaning, the thymus is under some inhibitory regulation by the adrenal gland.

Effects of in utero exposure to di(n-butyl) phthalate for estrogen receptors α, β, and androgen receptor of Leydig cell on rats.

Estrogens and androgens affect male and female reproductive systems. Recently, we reported that prenatal di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) exposure induced atypical Leydig cells (LCs) hyperplasia during adulthood. The present study investigated the expression of estrogen receptor α (ERα), estrogen receptor β (ERβ), and androgen receptor (AR) in LCs of 5-, 7-, 9-, 14-, and 17-week-old Sprague-Dawley (srl) rats whose dams had been administered DBP intragastrically at 100 mg/kg/day or the vehicle (corn oil) from days 12 to 21 postconception. Immunohistochemical, Western blotting, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed that the expressions of ERα, ERβ, and AR proteins and mRNAs in the DBP group were similar to those of the vehicle group at 5 and 7 weeks, but significantly higher ERα and lower ERβ and AR levels were observed in the DBP group at 9 to 17 weeks. The rats prenatally exposed to DBP had seminiferous tubule degeneration and atypical hyperplasia of LCs during adulthood, which was associated with an increase in expression of ERα and a decrease of ERβ and AR in the testis.

Nuclear Morphometric Analysis of Leydig Cells of Male Pubertal Rats Exposed In Utero to Di(n-butyl) Phthalate

We recently reported that prenatal rat exposure to di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) induced Leydig cell (LC) hyperplasia after nine weeks (wks) of age, yet the number of LCs was similar to that of the vehicle group until seven weeks. Nuclear pleomorphism of hyperplastic LCs is common and is considered to be continuous progressive degeneration. Thus, computer-assisted image cell nuclear analysis of LCs was performed on 5- and 7-wk-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats whose dams had been administered DBP (i.g.) at 100 mg/kg/day or vehicle (corn oil) on gestation day 12 to 21. The results of the 5-wk-old DBP group were similar to those of the vehicle group; LC nuclei of the 7-wk-old DBP group showed normal ploidy and similar amounts of DNA. However, the size, elongation and peripheral chromatin aggregation parameters were significantly higher, and the reticular chromatin distribution and isolated chromatin aggregation parameters were significantly lower compared with the vehicle group. The present study quantitatively demonstrated nuclear morphological alterations in rat LCs at 7 wks old (puberty) due to the prenatal DBP administration before apparent LC hyperplasia developed.

Three-Dimensional Study of the Terminal Portion in Sprague-Dawley Rat Ejaculatory Ducts.

In mammals, a pair of ejaculatory ducts exists in the urethra at the seminal colliculus. The detailed anatomical structures of the distal end of the ejaculatory ducts of Sprague‐Dawley rats were investigated by the computer‐assisted three‐dimensional reconstruction analysis using light‐microscopic serial sections. A three‐dimensional reconstruction revealed that in adult rats, the ejaculatory sinus pair consists of two parts: the cranial section – a compartment region composed of a fusion of the ampullary gland duct and the seminal vesicle duct, and the caudal section – a grooved region composed of a long slitlike ejaculatory ostium that extends into the urethra on both sides of the seminal colliculus. But the sphincter structure was not observed. The long axis of the compartment region was approximately 58 μm in length, and that of the groove region was approximately 495 μm. Although many epithelial glands ducts were distributed throughout the ejaculatory sinuses, the prostate and coagulation gland ducts did not open in these sinuses. The urethra was composed of transitional epithelium, while the ejaculatory sinuses were composed of single to stratified cuboidal epithelium. The ejaculatory ducts continued to the ejaculatory ostium in male adult Sprague‐Dawley rat were composed of the seminal vesicle ducts received the ampullary gland ducts.

The Effects of Iron Administrations on Vitamin B12 Contents in Blood, Body Weight and Other Characteristics of Blood in Piglets.

鉄剤の投与が仔豚の血中ビタミンB12 (以下, B12) 含量や貧血に関与する血液の諸性状 (Ht, Hb, Fe) および体重にどのような影響を与えるのかについて単味鉄剤とB12添加鉄剤を筋肉注射して, 鉄剤無投与豚と比較した。その結果, B12添加鉄剤は単味鉄剤の抗貧血効果を増強し, 増体効果があることが示唆された。

A comparative study on measured values of porcine blood biochemical constituents and hemolysis severity from serum and plasma.

豚血液の生化学成分の測定について血清を用いた場合と血漿を用いた場合の濃度差を比較し, あわせてそれぞれの溶血傾向について検討し, 以下の成績を得た。溶血程度を吸光度測定 (日豚会誌. 25. 1988) で比較し, 血清および血漿の溶血程度を区分した場合, 血清では-が53.3%, ±が33.3%, +が6.7%, ++が6.7%を占めたのに対し, 血漿では-が46.6%, ±が16.7%, +が20.0%, ++が16.7%を占めた。生化学成分の測定値について血清と血漿を比較した結果, 血清と血漿で差がないものとしてAlb, BUN, Na, K, Cl, ALP, CPK, GPT, LDH, Glu, T-chol および Tri-G があげられ, 差があるものとしてTP, T-bil, Cre, Ca, GGTおよびGOTがあげられた。血清と血漿の測定値で差があった項目について, 相関をみると, すべての項目について, 両者の間には有意な相関が成立した。さらに, 相関係数が0.7以上, 回帰係数が0.7～1.2の範囲のものとしては, TPおよびCaがあげられた。