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<p>The vervet monkey, Chlorocebus aethiops, an Old World monkey, has been often used in biomedical research programs (toxicological studies and fertility) because of the inaccessibility of relevant human tissues. Data from nonhuman primates have been a vital component of advances in areas such as infertility, contraception, and other reproductive processes because of the phylogenetic closeness of the primates to humans. The aims and objectives of the study were 1) to describe the gross morphology, histology and ultrastructure of the male reproductive system, 2) to describe and compare the processes of spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis of the vervet monkey to humans and other nonhuman primates, and 3) to evaluate the vervet monkey as a possible experimental model for future human reproductive studies.</p> <p>Twenty-nine adult male vervet monkeys, aged between 5 and 11 years, were used. Gross morphological features of different organs of the reproductive tract were recorded. Light and electron microscopic techniques, and methacrylate sections were used on selected tissues of the reproductive tract. The results showed that the vervet monkey has a male&nbsp / reproductive system similar to many non-human primates studied and man. The epididymis was distinctively subdivided into the caput, corpus, and the caudal regions. No significant differences were observed on the epithelial height of these three regions. Four cell types, apical, principal, and basal cells, and the intraepithelial lymphocytes were observed. The basal cell distribution showed significant differences among three regions of the epididymis (P &le / 0.01). There were numerous phagocytic vesicles found in three regions of the epididymis. The Sertoli cells showed perforated sleeve-like processes which encased elongated and mature spermatids ready for spermiation. The nuclei of the Sertoli cells were found to be multilobed (4 to 5) compared to the less lobular nuclei of the human Sertoli cells (2 to 3). The Leydig cells showed typical features of steroidogenic cells with abundant smooth endoplasmic reticulum, numerous large mitochondria, and few rough endoplasmic reticulum.</p> <p>It was concluded that the gross morphology and structure of the reproductive tract of the vervet monkey has many similarities to humans and other mammals. Secondly, the organization of spermatogenesis is similar to that found in humans, and is commonly known as a helical arrangement. The results further suggest that the vervet monkey could be regarded as suitable model for human male reproductive studies.</p> <p>&nbsp / </p>

The need for an unlimited source of islets and a safer method of immunosuppression has limited the widespread application of islet transplantation. To remedy the shortage of donor tissue, xenotransplantation of neonatal porcine islets (NPI) has been proposed. In this study we sought to determine if combining co-transplantation of NPI with Sertoli cells (SC) with a short-term monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy would prevent NPI xenograft rejection. We hypothesize that this combination of treatments will lead to long-term NPI xenograft survival. Our result show a significant increase in the proportion of mice achieving long-term graft survival compared to untreated mice transplanted with NPI alone, as 7/7 mice treated with anti-LFA-1 mAb (p=0.001), 7/8 mice treated with anti-CD154 mAb (p=0.003), and 4/9 mice treated with anti-CD45RB mAb (p=0.020) achieved and maintained normoglycemia long-term. Therefore, we conclude that the combination of mAb therapy with SC is highly efficacious in preventing NPI xenograft rejection. / Experimental Surgery

Des changements dans le statut thyroïdien altèrent les fonctions testiculaires, impliquant, entre autre, le récepteur à la T3, TRα1. Lorsqu’un récepteur dominant-négatif de TRα1 (TRα AMI) est spécifiquement introduit dans les cellules de Sertoli (lignée TRα AMI-SC), on observe une augmentation significative de l’index de prolifération des cellules de Sertoli à 3 jpp, induisant une augmentation de la densité de ces cellules et du poids testiculaire chez l’adulte. Ce phénotype est corrélé à une modification de l’expression de gènes clés du cycle cellulaire dont Cdk4, JunD et c-myc. Lorsque le récepteur TRα AMI est introduit également dans les cellules de Leydig (lignée TRα AMI-Aro), la sécrétion de testostérone est augmentée. Enfin, nous montrons l’implication de l’isoforme mitochondriale p43 du récepteur TRα1, dans ce contrôle T3- dépendant et autonome de la prolifération des cellules de Sertoli suggérant l’existence d’un crosstalk entre génome nucléaire et mitochondrial dans cette régulation par la T3. / Changes in the thyroid status altered testicular functions, involving thyroid hormone receptors, among them, TRα1 is implied The expression of a TRα1 dominant-negative receptor (TRα AMI) specifically in Sertoli cells (TRα AMI-SC mice) leads to a significant increase in Sertoli cell proliferation at 3 dpp, inducing an increase in Sertoli cell density, testis weight and testicular spermatic reserve at adulthood. This phenotype is correlated with changes in cell cycle gene expression like Cdk4, JunD and c-myc. When TRα AMI is also expressed in Leydig cells (TRα AMI-Aro mice), it induces an increase in testosterone levels. Finally, we demonstrate that the mitochondrial p43 receptor is involved in this T3-dependant control of Sertoli cell proliferation, suggesting the existence of a crosstalk between nuclear and mitochondrial genomes.

La metformine est utilisée chez les patients et patientes atteints du diabète de type II. Elle est également administrée lors d’une infertilité liée à une insulino-résistance ou à un désordre métabolique. Mon projet de recherche a été d’analyser les effets de cet antidiabétique sur la fonction gonadique administré au stade foetal ou à la puberté. Nous avons montré par une approche in vivo sur deux modèles animaux: 1) qu'une administration orale de metformine à des poulets pré-pubères entraine un retard de puberté. Il se caractérise par une réduction du poids testiculaire, du diamètre des tubes séminifères et par une baisse de la testostérone sérique. 2) qu’une exposition des foetus mâles à de la metformine, chez la souris, conduit une fois adulte a une diminution de la taille des portées de 30%. Ce dysfonctionnement est associé à des marques épigénétiques sur l’ADN et des anomalies morphologiques de la tête des spermatozoïdes. Des techniques à haut débit (protéomique et métabolomique) réalisées sur des cultures de cellules de Sertoli immatures traitées ou non à la metformine ont permis de démontrer : 1) que le traitement mène à un métabolisme cellulaire de type Warburglike. 2) que des protéines présentent des différences d’abondance entre les deux conditions et qu’elles sont impliquées dans l’organisation du cytosquelette, de l’adhésion cellulaire, de la compaction de l’ADN, de la régulation de la réponse cellulaire à l’hypoxie et de l’immunité. Les résultats obtenus suggèrent que les grandes fonctions de sécrétion, de support et de protection des cellules de Sertoli sont modifiées par cet antidiabétique et qu’une exposition in utero à la metformine pourrait agir sur la fertilité et sur le métabolisme. / Metformin is used to treat patients with type II diabetes, it could be also administered to improve infertility associated to insulin-resistance or metabolic disorder. My research project was to analyse the consequence of a metformin exposure on gonad function from fetal to adult period. We showed by an in vivo approach on two animal models: 1) that oral administration of metformin to young chickens delay the puberty. It is characterized by a reduction in the testis weight, diameter of seminiferous tubule and decrease in testosterone level. 2) that mice, exposed in utero with metformin leads at adulte age to a lower fertility. This dysfunction is associated with morphological abnormalities of the sperm head and epigenetic marks on DNA. The second approach used proteomic and metabolomic strategy on cultured Sertoli cells treated or not with metformin. We demonstrated : 1) that the treatment leads to Warburg-like cellular metabolism. 2) that proteins present differences of abundances are involved in cytoskeleton organization, cell adhesion, DNA compaction, reponsiveness to hypoxia and immunity. The results suggest that the main function of secretion, support and protection of germ cell by Sertoli cells are modified by this antidiabetic, and that in utero exposure to metformin could act on the fertility and metabolism.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The vervet monkey, Chlorocebus aethiops, an Old World monkey, has been often used in biomedical research programs (toxicological studies and fertility) because of the inaccessibility of relevant human tissues. Data from nonhuman primates have been a vital component of advances in areas such as infertility, contraception, and other reproductive processes because of the phylogenetic closeness of the primates to humans. The aims and objectives of the study were 1) to describe the gross morphology, histology and ultrastructure of the male reproductive system, 2) to describe and compare the processes of spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis of the vervet monkey to humans and other nonhuman primates, and 3) to evaluate the vervet monkey as a possible experimental model for future human reproductive studies. Twenty-nine adult male vervet monkeys, aged between 5 and 11 years, were used. Gross morphological features of different organs of the reproductive tract were recorded. Light and electron microscopic techniques, and methacrylate sections were used on selected tissues of the reproductive tract. The results showed that the vervet monkey has a male reproductive system similar to many non-human primates studied and man. The epididymis was distinctively subdivided into the caput, corpus, and the caudal regions. No significant differences were observed on the epithelial height of these three regions. Four cell types, apical, principal, and basal cells, and the intraepithelial lymphocytes were observed. The basal cell distribution showed significant differences among three regions of the epididymis (P ≤ 0.01). There were numerous phagocytic vesicles found in three regions of the epididymis. The Sertoli cells showed perforated sleeve-like processes which encased elongated and mature spermatids ready for spermiation. The nuclei of the Sertoli cells were found to be multilobed (4 to 5) compared to the less lobular nuclei of the human Sertoli cells (2 to 3). The Leydig cells showed typical features of steroidogenic cells with abundant smooth endoplasmic reticulum, numerous large mitochondria, and few rough endoplasmic reticulum. It was concluded that the gross morphology and structure of the reproductive tract of the vervet monkey has many similarities to humans and other mammals. Secondly, the organization of spermatogenesis is similar to that found in humans, and is commonly known as a helical arrangement. The results further suggest that the vervet monkey could be regarded as suitable model for human male reproductive studies

Orientadores: Rejane Maira Góes, Maria Etelvina Pinto Fochi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T12:07:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Reame_Vanessa_M.pdf: 2703536 bytes, checksum: ca5e54abedb9ba4eb714ecc22d220f3a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A obesidade está associada a vários prejuízos para a saúde, mas os efeitos sobre o sistema genital e reprodução masculina ainda são pouco compreendidos. Um estudo concluído recentemente em nosso laboratório comparou os efeitos do ambiente obesogênico (AO) em diferentes fases do desenvolvimento de ratos sobre a produção espermática na idade adulta. Todos os grupos expostos ao AO apresentaram prejuízos espermáticos. Para esclarecer esses achados, no presente trabalho, nós investigamos se os diferentes períodos de exposição ao AO resultaram em alterações funcionais nas células de Sertoli e modificaram permanentemente o ambiente parácrino intratesticular. Foram utilizados ratos Wistar adultos expostos à obesidade materna na gestação (O1), na gestação/ lactação (O2), ou sujeitos ao AO após desmame (O3), da lactação até a idade adulta (O4) ou da gestação até a idade adulta (O5) e grupo controle (C). A obesidade materna ou o AO foram induzidos por dieta com 20% de lipídeos (ração controle: 4% de lipídeos), por 15 semanas. As análises em microscopia de luz não mostraram alterações morfológicas nas células de Sertoli e no número dessas células expressando o receptor de andrógeno nos estágios VII e VIII do ciclo do epitélio seminífero. Entretanto, a percentagem de túbulos com descolamento prematuro de células germinativas foi acentuada em O5, moderada nos grupos O1, O2 e O3 e menor em O4. A testosterona sérica diminuiu 60% em O3 e O5, 27 % em O2, ~45% em O4 e não variou no O1. A dosagem de citocinas e de fator de crescimento, com o uso de ensaios multiplex, indicou aumento do TNF-'alfa' e a diminuição do FGF-2 no testículo dos grupos O1, O3 e O4, diminuição da IL-1'alfa' e IL-1'beta' no grupo O2, e diminuição da IL-1'alfa' no grupo O5. Nenhum grupo apresentou alteração para a IL-6. Adicionalmente, as análises por imunocitoquímica e por Western blotting mostraram que a expressão de conexina 43 diminuiu para o grupo exposto ao AO por toda a vida. As alterações no TNF-'alfa' e na IL-1'alfa1 pode ter aumentado a permeabilidade da barreira hematotesticular e juntamente com a queda na testosterona, podem explicar o descolamento de células germinativas e o prejuízo na eficiência e produção espermática. Esses dados indicam que o AO modula os fatores parácrinos testiculares de maneira diferencial, dependendo do período de exposição / Abstract: Obesity is associated with several health damage, but the effects on the reproductive system and male reproduction are still poorly understood. A study recently in our laboratory compared the effects of the obesogenic environment (OE) at different stages of development of rats on sperm production in adulthood. All the groups exposed to OE showed sperm damage. To clarify these findings in the present study, we investigated whether the different periods of exposure to OE resulted in functional changes in Sertoli cells and permanently changed the intratesticular paracrine environment. Wistar adult rats exposed to maternal obesity during pregnancy (O1), during pregnancy / lactation (O2), or subject to OE after weaning (O3), lactation to adulthood (O4) or from pregnancy to adulthood ( O5) and control group (C) were used. The maternal obesity or OE were induced by diet with 20% lipids (control diet: 4% lipid) for 15 weeks. The analysis by light microscopy showed no morphological changes in Sertoli cells and in the number of these cells expressing the androgen receptor in the seventh and eighth stages of the cycle of seminiferous epithelium. However, the percentage of tubules with premature separation of germ cells was accentuated in O5, moderate in groups O1, O2 and O3 and lower in O4. Serum testosterone decreased by 60% in O3 and O5, 27% in O2, ~ 45% in O4 and did not change in O1. The dosage of cytokines and growth factor with the use multiplex assays, showed an increase of TNF-'alpha' and the reduction of FGF-2 in the testis of groups O1, O3 and O4, reduced IL-1'alpha' and IL-1'beta' in O2 group, and decreased IL-1'alpha' in the O5 group. Neither group showed a change for IL-6. Additionally, analysis by immunocytochemistry and Western blotting showed that the expression of connexin 43 decreased to the group exposed to OE for all life. Changes in TNF-'alpha' and IL-1'alpha' may have increased the permeability of Blood-Testis barrier and along with the drop in testosterone may explain the detachment of germ cells and the loss in efficiency and sperm production. These data indicate that the OE modulates testicular paracrine factors differentially, depending on the exposure period / Mestrado / Biologia Celular / Mestra em Biologia Celular e Estrutural

Cellular mechanisms involved in neurodegeneration and neuroprotection are continuing to be explored, and this paper focuses on some novel discoveries that give further insight into these processes. Oligodendrocytes and activated astroglia are likely generators of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as the tumor necrosis factor family and interleukin family, and these glial support cells express adhesion receptors (e.g., VCAM) and release intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) that have a major role in neuronal apoptosis. Even brief exposure to some substances, in ontogeny and sometimes in adulthood, can have lasting effects on behaviors because of their prominent toxicity (e.g., NMDA receptor antagonists) or because they sensitize receptors (e.g., dopamine D2 agonists), possibly permanently, and thereby alter behavior for the lifespan. Cell cycle genes which may be derived from microglia, are the most-recent entry into the neuroprotection schema. Neuroprotection afforded by some common substances (e.g., melatonin) and uncommon substances [e.g., nicotine, green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), trolox], ordinarily thought to be simple radical scavengers, now are thought to invoke previously unsuspected cellular mechanisms in the process of neuroprotection. Although Alzheimer's disease (AD) has features of a continuous spectrum of neural and functional decline, in vivo PET imaging and and functional magnetic resonance imaging, indicate that AD can be staged into an early phase treatable by inhibitors of β and γ secretase; and a late phase which may be more amenable to treatment by drugs that prevent or reverse tau phosphorylation. Neural transplantation, thought to be the last hope for neurally injured patients (e.g., Parkinsonians), may be displaced by non-neural tissue transplants (e.g., human umbilical cord blood; Sertoli cells) which seem to provide similar neurotrophic support and improved behavior-without posing the major ethical dilemma of removing tissue from aborted fetuses. The objective of this paper is to invite added research into the newly discovered (or postulated) novel mechanisms; and to stimulate discovery of additional mechanisms attending neurodegeneration and neuroprotection.

Cullin-dependent ubiquitin ligases are responsible for the regulation of most cellular processes. Despite their mutated forms being the cause of many human diseases, their physiological roles are not sufficiently described. In the presented results, we focused on the physiological role of ubiquitin ligase SCFFBXO38 (SKP1-CULLIN1-FBXO38), whose mutated forms are responsible for the progression of distal neuropathy. Preparation of mouse model deficient in FBXO38 revealed that homozygous pups were born in a lower than expected ratio. Animals were growth-retarded, both at the level of the whole organism and individual organs, especially the liver and testes. Males with a deletion in the Fbxo38 gene had significantly lower reproductive capacity, which was associated with lower production of mature sperm and pathological changes in the structure of seminiferous tubules. We found that the FBXO38 protein is functionally expressed in Sertoli cells responsible for regulating spermatogenesis and seminiferous tubules integrity. Detailed analysis of spermatogenic populations revealed a defect at the level of spermatocyte differentiation. The dynamics of this differentiation depend on the hematotesticular barrier functional integrity formed by the intercellular junctions of Sertoli cells. We confirmed that the...

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