Palatine Mucosa of Aging and Experimentally Induced Diabetic Aging Rabbits: Light-Microscopic, Scanning Electron Microscopic and Transmission Electron Microscopic Qualitative Study

Reproductive injury in male BALB/c mice infected with Neospora caninum

Background

Neospora caninum is one of the main causes of abortion in pregnant animals. However, N. caninum-induced reproductive injury in male mice is still unclear.

Methods

Male BALB/c mice were infected with a bovine isolate of N. caninum, and the organ coefficients of the testis and epididymis were measured. Lesions in the testis and epididymis were observed by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Expression of the spermatogenic cell apoptosis-related proteins p53 and caspase-3 was detected by western blot. The expression of spermatogenesis-related genes in the testis was detected by reverse transcription-PCR. Sperm morphology and motility were observed. The levels of nitric oxide (NO) and antisperm antibody (AsAb) in the testicular homogenates and hormones in the serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The reproductive capacity of the male mice was detected using a reproduction test.

Results

The organ coefficients of the testis and epididymis of the experimental group were significantly downregulated. Light microscopy examination revealed that the spermatogenic cells of the testis were arranged in a disordered manner, and the number was reduced. The number of sperm in the epididymal lumen was significantly reduced, and the cytoplasm exhibited vacuolation and degeneration. Ultrastructural studies revealed that the cells of the testis and epididymis tissues showed varying degrees of disease. The level of p53 and caspase-3 expression in the testis was significantly upregulated. The expression of the testicular spermatogenesis-related genes Herc4, Ipo11 and Mrto4 were strongly downregulated. Observation of sperm by microscopic examination revealed significantly reduced sperm density and sperm motility, and the number of sperm deformities was significantly increased. The level of NO and AsAb was significantly increased. The levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone were significantly upregulated, whereas the levels of testosterone, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone were significantly downregulated. After challenge, the infected male mice and healthy female mice were caged together: the subsequent fetal death rate was increased, and the conception rate, litter size, number of live births and the birth weight were significantly reduced.

Conclusions

Infection of male BALB/c mice with the bovine isolate of N. caninum induced varying degrees of injury to the testis, epididymis and sperm of the mice, destroyed spermatogenesis and affected the reproductive capacity.

Three-dimensional aspects of the structural characteristics and kidney angioarchitecture of adult and aged Wistar rats: a scanning electron microscopy study

The aim of this study was to describe the structural morphological characteristics and organization of the kidney angioarchitecture in adult and aged Wistar rats using different scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. Twenty male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus) were divided into two groups: the Adult Group (n = 10), which included animals at 3 months of age, and the Aged Group (n = 10), which included animals at 24 months of age. Kidney samples from both groups were analyzed using three distinct SEM methods: coronal sections, cryofracturing and vascular corrosion casts/angioarchitecture. This study demonstrates the specificity of each technique for three-dimensional morphological analyses of the kidney using SEM. In the coronal sections, it was possible to view the structures on a given plane; the stratigraphy was best observed in the cryofracture method, and the vascular corrosion casts showed the organization and arrangement of the angioarchitecture. Thus, we concluded that the SEM methods together provide the best description of the morphological characteristics of normal and pathological kidneys of adult and aged Wistar rats.