Space flight has been shown to have many adverse effects on various systems throughout the body. Because the opportunity to place research animals on board a Space Shuttle or the International Space Station is infrequent, various techniques have been designed to simulate the effects of microgravity in Earth based laboratories. A commonly used technique is known as antiorthostatic suspension, also often referred to as hind limb suspension. In this technique the hind portion of the animal is raised so that its hind limbs are non-weight bearing. This places the animal in roughly a 30° head down tilt position. This results in cephalic fluid shifts similar to those seen in actual space flight. This technique has also been shown to mimic other physiological parameters that are affected during space flight. This study examined testicular tissue from rats subjected to a 7 day antiorthostatic suspension. This tissue was acquired through a tissue sharing program and some of the experimental animals were injected with Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) which was hoped to ameliorate some of the effects of antiorthostatic suspension. The injection of IL-1ra was not expected to have any effect on testicular tissue, however this tissue was included in the morphological and statistical analysis to conduct a more complete study. All tissues were embedded in paraffin, sectioned, and stained using standard H&E staining. The tissue was then qualitatively ranked according to the "health" of the seminiferous tubules. Our findings indicate that 7 days of antiorthostatic suspension had adverse effects on the tissue that comprises the walls of the seminiferous tubules. It has long been known that antiorthostatic suspension has deleterious effects on testicular tissue, however this research indicates that these effects occur much faster than indicated by previous researchers. This is a significant finding because it indicates that meaningful earth based studies in this area can be carried out in a shorter time span. This could result in more studies per year as well as saving money by avoiding longer than necessary animal suspensions. This is especially important as we enter an era when, without Space Shuttle, flight opportunities will become scarce. These antiorthostatic suspension studies indicate that space flight, even short duration spaceflight, may have harmful effects on the seminiferous tubules and blood-testis barrier of astronauts.

If sexual selection acts in a sex-limited way on a trait that has a shared genetic basis between males and females, the resulting intralocus sexual conflict can have a considerable impact on the opposite sex. A prime example of sexual conflict affecting a shared characteristic would be the reproductive organs in males and females. This study investigates how artificial selection on the female-specific trait egg size influences male reproductive success, particularly male testes morphology, by analysing the density and number of seminiferous tubules within the testes. It was found that selection on female reproductive investment has a concordant effect on male reproductive success, by demonstrating increased density of seminiferous tissue in the testes of males originating from high investment selection lines. Interestingly, a non-significant trend suggested that the density of seminiferous tissue influences testes size in a negative way. This study therefore provides evidence that female-specific selection on reproductive investment influences testes morphology in males, and that testes size depends on more than sperm-producing tissue.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:47:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 256877 bytes, checksum: d548a53fcd07f9ed376af138ca9245bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-07-31 / The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), known as graxaim, lobinho, etc. belongs to the order Carnivora and family Canidae, being found at the most part of Brazil. This animal does not figure in the list of IBAMA s (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, 2007) threatened animals of extinguishing and even relatively abundant, little is known about its social, morphological and physiological biology, in special those related with the basic fundamentals of its reproductive physiology. The study of basic aspects of reproduction, in special the spermatogenic process, is relevant to provide informations for the development of technologies in attended reproduction. The quantitative analysis of spermatogenesis can be used to establish kinetic patterns of division and renewal of spermatogonias. It allows estimate the efficiency of the spermatogenic process, the quantification of germ cells population and its relationship with the Sertoli cells population, in some stages of the spermatogenic process development. The present work defines some testicular volumetric parameters and correlates the morphometry of testis and seminiferous tubule data with corporal weight. It also characterizes and classifies the intertubular space of crab-eating fox. In this way, it had been used six adults crab-eating fox, from the Wild Animals Selection Center (CETAS-UFV). To collect samples was chosen the testis biopsy, which is an appropriate methodology for sample collection for the study of the physiologic and reproductive pathologies in domestic and wild animals, as it provides sufficient material for histological analysis, not presenting any alteration in long term spermatogenic process. In this work, the average body weight of the crab-eating fox was 6.53 kg, of which 0.068% are allocated in testicular mass and 0.042% specifically in seminiferous tubules, which represented 87.5% of testicular parenchyma. The testicular albuginea represented 12.5% of testicular mass. The average diameter of seminiferous tubules was 236 μm, the average epithelium thickness was 629 μm, with 18 meters of seminiferous tubule per gram of testis. In relation to the testicular parenchyma, 3.88% is occupied by Leydig cells, 7.95% by conjunctive tissue, 0.12% by lymphatic vessels and 0.72% by blood vessels. The average volume of Leydig cell was 1149 μm3 and the average nuclear diameter was 8.01 μm. In crab-eating fox the Leydig cells are on average 0.0022% of body weight and its average number per gram of testis (31 million) is within the expected for mammalians, between 20 and 40 million. / O cachorro-do-mato (Cerdocyon thous), conhecido como graxaim, raposacaranguejeira, lobinho, lobete e graxaim-do-mato, pertence à ordem Carnivora e família Canidae, sendo encontrado na maior parte do território brasileiro. Este animal não figura na lista de animais ameaçados de extinção do IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis, 2007) e embora relativamente abundante, pouco é conhecido sobre sua biologia social e morfofisiológica, em especial quanto aos fundamentos básicos da sua fisiologia reprodutiva. O estudo de aspectos básicos da reprodução, em especial o processo espermatogênico, torna-se relevante para fornecer informações para o desenvolvimento de tecnologias de reprodução assistida. A análise quantitativa da espermatogênese pode ser utilizada no estabelecimento de padrões cinéticos, como a divisão e renovação de espermatogônias. Permite ainda estimar o coeficiente de eficiência do processo espermatogênico e quantificar a população das células germinativas e suas relações com a população das células de Sertoli em várias etapas do desenvolvimento ao longo do processo espermatogênico. O presente trabalho se propôs a definir alguns parâmetros volumétricos testiculares e correlacionar os dados de morfometria testicular e do túbulo seminífero à massa corporal, além de caracterizar e classificar o espaço intertubular do cachorro-domato. Foram utilizados seis cachorros-do-mato adultos, provenientes do Centro de Triagem de Animais Silvestres CETAS-UFV. Para a coleta das amostras foi realizada a biópsia testicular, que é uma metodologia eletiva para a coleta de material para o estudo da fisiologia e patologias reprodutivas em animais domésticos e selvagens, uma vez que fornece material suficiente para análise histológica, não apresentando quaisquer alterações sobre o processo espermatogênico em longo prazo. No presente trabalho, o peso corporal médio dos cachorros-do-mato foi de 6,53 Kg, dos quais cerca de 0,068% estão alocados em massa testicular e 0,042% especificamente em túbulos seminíferos, que representaram cerca de 87,5% do parênquima testicular .A albugínea testicular representou cerca de 12,5% da massa testicular. O diâmetro médio dos túbulos seminíferos foi de 236 μm, e a espessura média do epitélio seminífero foi de aproximadamente 62,9 μm, apresentando 18 metros de túbulo seminífero por grama de testículo. Com relação ao parênquima testicular, 3,88% é ocupado por células de Leydig, 7,95% por tecido conjuntivo, 0,12% por vasos linfáticos e 0,72% por vasos sangüíneos. O volume médio da célula de Leydig foi de 1149 μm3 e o seu diâmetro nuclear médio foi de 8,01 μm. Em cachorros-do-mato, as células de Leydig ocupam em média 0,0022% do peso corporal, com o número médio dessas células de 31 milhões por grama de testículo, que está dentro da amplitude descrita para a maioria dos mamíferos, entre 20 e 40 milhões.

Au cours des dernières décennies, un contexte alarmant de déclin des paramètres du sperme etd’accroissement constant des pathologies génitales masculines a été décrit dans de nombreuxpays industrialisés.Notre travail évalue dans un premier temps l’évolution des paramètres spermatiques chez11 330 hommes ayant consulté pour infertilité conjugale au Centre de ProcréationMédicalement Assistée du CHU de Marseille entre 1988 et 2007. Les données ont étérecueillies de manière rétrospective et analysées par régression linéaire multi-variée afin detenir compte de l’effet lié à l’âge. Nous montrons une diminution significative des principauxparamètres du sperme: concentration en spermatozoïdes (-1.4% par an), numération totale enspermatozoïdes (-1.5% par an), mobilité progressive rapide (-5.6% par an) et morphologienormale (-1.9% par an). Les possibles biais de selection ont été discutés. L’effet del’environnement sur notre fonction de reproduction est l’une des hypothèses principalesévoquées pour expliquer ce phénomène.Nous montrons ensuite comment un modèle de culture de tubes séminifères de rat en chambrebicamérale, couplé à des techniques d’étude de la méiose en immunocytochimie peut êtreutilisé comme nouvel outil de reprotoxicologie. Nous décrivons tout d’abord avec l’anticorpsanti-SCP3 la prophase de première division méiotique chez le rat in-vivo et nous validons lemodèle de culture par comparaison entre les résultats des cellules obtenues in vivo et ceux descellules obtenues ex-vivo. Nous montrons ensuite grâce à ce système l’impact du ChromeHexavalent et du Cadmium sur la méiose du rat. Ces 2 métaux lourds, largement présent dansnotre environnement, peuvent être responsables d’atteintes importantes des cellulesméiotiques, y compris à de faibles doses pouvant correspondre à celles retrouvées chez desindividus exposés dans leur vie quotidienne et/ou professionnelle. / In recent decades, an alarming decline of sperm parameters and a constant increase in malegenital diseases has been described in many industrialized countries.In a first time, our study evaluates the evolution of sperm parameters in 11 330 menconsulting for infertility of their couple in the Reproduction Biology Laboratory of anUniversity Hospital in Marseilles between 1988 and 2007. Data were collected retrospectivelyand analyzed by multivariate linear regression to take into account the effect related to age.We show a significant decrease of the main sperm parameters: sperm concentration (-1.4%per year), total sperm count (-1.5% per year), rapid progressive motility (-5.6% per year) andnormal morphology (-1.9 % per year). Possible selection bias were discussed. The effect ofenvironment on our reproductive function is one of the main hypothesis to explain thisphenomenon.Secondly, we show how a rat seminiferous tubule culture in a bicameral chamber system,coupled with study of meiosis by immunocytochemistry can be used as a new tool ofreprotoxicology. We first describe with an anti-SCP3 antibody the first prophase of ratmeiosis and we validate the model of culture by comparing the results obtained on cellsobtained after in vivo spermatogenesis and those of cells obtained ex-vivo. Then, we showusing this system, the impact of hexavalent chromium and cadmium on rat meiosis. These twoheavy metals, widely present in our environment, may cause substantial impairment ofmeiotic cells, including low doses which can fit with those found in individuals exposed intheir personnal life and / or occupational training.

Previous investigators demonstrated that epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT) lipectomy suppressed spermatogenesis and caused atrophy of the seminiferous tubules. EWAT lipectomy, however, may disrupt testicular innervation, which reportedly compromises testicular function. To resolve this confound and better clarify the role of EWAT in spermatogenesis, three experimental groups of hamsters were created in which: i.) the superior and inferior spermatic nerves were transected (SSNx) at the testicular level, ii.) EWAT was extirpated (EWATx), and iii.) testicular nerves and EWAT were left intact (SHAM controls). It was hypothesized that transection of the superior and inferior spermatic nerves would disrupt normal spermatogenesis. The findings indicate a significant reduction in spermatogenic activity and marked seminal tubule atrophy within the EWATx testis, as compared to the SSNx and controls testes, which did not differ significantly from each other. From these data, it is concluded that EWAT, and not testicular innervation, is central to normal spermatogenesis.

Previous investigators demonstrated that epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT) lipectomy suppressed spermatogenesis and caused atrophy of the seminiferous tubules. EWAT lipectomy, however, may disrupt testicular innervation, which reportedly compromises testicular function. To resolve this confound and better clarify the role of EWAT in spermatogenesis, three experimental groups of hamsters were created in which: i.) the superior and inferior spermatic nerves were transected (SSNx) at the testicular level, ii.) EWAT was extirpated (EWATx), and iii.) testicular nerves and EWAT were left intact (SHAM controls). It was hypothesized that transection of the superior and inferior spermatic nerves would disrupt normal spermatogenesis. The findings indicate a significant reduction in spermatogenic activity and marked seminal tubule atrophy within the EWATx testis, as compared to the SSNx and controls testes, which did not differ significantly from each other. From these data, it is concluded that EWAT, and not testicular innervation, is central to normal spermatogenesis.