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Query: UMLS:C0155339 (Brown)
 12,436 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

An immune response to antigens of spermatozoa occurs after vasectomy in rats of some inbred strains, but not in others. Antibodies to rat spermatozoa were detected by indirect immunofluorescence in some of the serums of vasectomized rats of the following strains: 80 percent of Lewis, 47 percent of Brown Norway, 13 percent of Buffalo, 12 percent of Wistar-Furth, and 11 percent of ACI rats. No such antibodies were detected in the serums of vasectomized Fischer, Dark Agouti, and Sprague-Dawley rats.
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PMID:Sperm autoantibodies in vasectomized rats of different inbred strains. 89 68

Semen was used of four breeding bulls of the Bulgarian Red breed and the Alpine Brown one. A total of 26 ejaculates were subjected to 344 laboratory investigations. The semen was diluted in a yolk-lactose-glycerine medium and was frozen by the fast method of Nagase-Niwa. Studied were in dynamics some biologic and biochemical indexes, such as: heat resistance at 46 degrees C, percentage of dead and pathologic spermatozoa, intake of oxygen, and release of CO2. The respiratory coefficient was established by the direct method of Umbreit and coll. The survival rate proved better, lower was the number of dead and pathologic spermatozoa in a test medium containing slightly mineralized water. The consumption of oxygen and the amount of the CO2 released by spermatozoa showed a dependable decrease following equilibration and freezing. Similar, however, unreliable were the data of changes observed with the respiratory coefficient. The semen frozen in the new synthetic medium showed higher biologic value and higher fertilizing capacity (12.2 per cent) as compared with the control.
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PMID:[Study of the effectiveness of some new agents for the deep freezing of bull sperm]. 110 56

The objectives of this study were to compare the fertilization rate of bovine in vitro matured oocytes by in vitro fertilization (IVF) and by microinjection of a single spermatozoon (MI) and to relate these rates with fertility reported for these bulls in artificial breeding. Bull A (Holstein) had a nonreturn rate of 75%. Semen from this bull is routinely used in our standard IVF procedure. Bull B (Ayrshire), used regularly in artificial breeding and related to bull D, had a nonreturn rate of 69.2%. Bull C (Brown Swiss), with a chromosomal translocation and trisomy, achieved a nonreturn rate of 42%. Bull D (Ayrshire) produced nonmotile spermatozoa (SPZ) and had an abnormality described as "tail stump defect." No pregnancies sired by bull D have been reported. Oocytes were either fertilized in vitro by capacitated SPZ or by microinjection of a single immobilized SPZ into the ooplasm. SPZ were treated with 0.1 microM A23187 and used for IVF. For microinjection SPZ were cocultured for 5 h with bovine oviduct epithelial cells (BOEC) and then immobilized by freezing and thawing twice without cryoprotectant. A single batch of killed SPZ (stored at -25 degrees C) was used for all microinjections. All oocytes were cultured in Medium 199 for 22 h at 39 degrees C and subsequently fixed, stained, and examined for evidence of fertilization (i.e., female and male pronucleus formation, SPZ decondensation). Fertilization rates following IVF with semen from bulls A, B, C, and D were 80%, 54%, 1%, and 2%, and following microinjection were 39%, 22%, 21%, and 34%, respectively.
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PMID:A comparison between in vitro fertilization and microinjection of immobilized spermatozoa from bulls producing spermatozoa with defects. 147 79

Blood, seminal plasma and spermatozoa lead concentrations were determined in Holstein (29 animals), Brown Swiss (14 animals) and Charoleux (11 animals) bulls aged 1-8 y. Blood concentrations were (mean +/- SD) 21.47 +/- 5.85, 18.71 +/- 6.60 and 23.27 +/- 6.75 ng Pb/ml respectively/each breed. Seminal plasma concentrations were 17.15 +/- 10.37, 13.62 +/- 10.10 and 14.03 +/- 11.31 ng Pb/ml, respectively. Spermatozoa concentrations averaged 74.93 +/- 48.10, 76.60 +/- 33.95 and 63.39 +/- 25.83 ng Pb/10(9) cells respectively. Age appeared to influence seminal plasma and spermatozoa lead levels, gradually decreasing in concentrations as the animals advanced in age.
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PMID:Effect of age on the seminal plasma and spermatozoa lead concentrations of bulls. 203 41

Decapitation of spermatozoa was recorded in a young boar as a consequence of epididymitis and in a young dog (mastiff) and a young bull (Brown Swiss breed) as a congenital cause of the subfertility and sterility of the affected animal. Decapitation of spermatozoa as a consequence of an inflammation led to the sterility of the breeding male and affected 52 to 68% of the spermatozoa. The motility of the spermatozoa was reduced considerably (10 to 20%) and the flagella were not observed to move without the heads. In cases of congenital decapitation of spermatozoa, sperm motility in the dog and bull was reduced, but the flagella were observed to move without the heads. Decapitation affected 15 to 42% of the spermatozoa and most frequently it was accompanied by a narrowing of head base and by the presence of a protoplasmic drop, located proximally. Further developmental changes, affecting the flagella of the sperms, were observed in the dog. The mentioned morphological changes led to infertility in the dog and to a substantial reduction of fertility in the bull. After natural mating of the bull with a superovulated cow, the ten eggs obtained included four blastocysts, two were degenerated, and four were unfertilized.
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PMID:[Morphological changes and sperm decapitation as a cause of fertility disorders in breeding stock]. 223 78

Previous investigations [Jones, Brown, von Glos & Gaunt (1985) Exp. Cell Res. 156, 31-44] have demonstrated the appearance of a new antigenic determinant (recognized by monoclonal antibody 2D6) on the plasma membrane of rat spermatozoa during post-testicular maturation in the epididymis. Identification of the 2D6 antigen on Western blots from one-dimensional SDS/polyacrylamide gels revealed that it co-migrated with a membrane protein (designated Mr 23,000 antigen) present on testicular and immature germ cells, suggesting that one antigen might be a modified version of the other. In the present work, however, we demonstrate that, although they have similar Mr and are present in soluble and membrane-bound forms, the 2D6 and Mr 23,000 antigens are biochemically and immunologically distinct molecules. The properties of the antigens are described and compared. The Mr 23,000 antigen is present on both testicular and cauda epididymidal spermatozoa, has a pI of 6.1, contains no detectable carbohydrate, is not tissue-specific and is degraded by V8 protease. By contrast, the 2D6 antigen is glycosylated, has a broad pI from 4.5 to 6.1, is tissue- and species-specific and is resistant to digestion with V8 protease. Its role in sperm-egg recognition is discussed.
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PMID:Identification and characterization of the 2D6 and Mr 23,000 antigens on the plasma membrane of rat spermatozoa. 243 64

The initial stages of fertilization in vertebrates and invertebrates are thought to involve complementary recognition molecules on spermatozoa and eggs. In a previous work (C. R. Brown and R. Jones, 1987, Development) we described one such putative molecule (a protein of approximate molecular weight 53 kDa) in detergent extracts of boar spermatozoa that has affinity for glycoproteins from the zona pellucida of pig eggs. This molecule has now been identified as proacrosin, the zymogen form of the acrosomal protease acrosin, on the basis of its electrophoretic behavior, the ability of zona glycoproteins to recognize and bind to proacrosin on Western blots, and the cross-reactivity of specific antisera to the 53-kDa molecule and proacrosin. A role is proposed for this enzyme in binding the sperm head to the zona pellucida during the initial stages of sperm-egg interaction.
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PMID:Identification of a zona-binding protein from boar spermatozoa as proacrosin. 311 89

Semen characteristics were evaluated every 2 wk from 7 through 13 mo of age in 31 beef bulls representing six breed groups (Hereford, Angus, Hereford x Angus crossbreeds, Angus x Hereford crossbreds, Red Poll and Brown Swiss). Breeds differed in age at puberty, defined as the age at which an ejaculate was first obtained that contained a minimum of 50 x 10(6) total spermatozoa with at least 10% progressive motility (Hereford, 326 +/- 9 d; Angus, 295 +/- 4 d; Hereford x Angus, 300 +/- 8 d; Angus x Hereford, 296 +/- 9 d; Red Poll, 283 +/- 9 d and Brown Swiss, 264 +/- 9 d). Significant breed differences also were observed in concentration of spermatozoa, progressive motility, seminal protein concentration, abnormal spermatozoa and acrosomal morphology. Considerable variation was observed for the majority of pubertal traits among the 31 bulls, indicating that differences in stage of pubertal development existed among and within breeds of beef bulls between 7 and 13 mo of age. However, adjustment of data to age at puberty negated breed differences (P greater than .10), indicating that the pubertal patterns of change occurring in each semen characteristic were similar for the breeds evaluated. Concentration of spermatozoa, progressive motility, seminal protein concentration, percentage spermatozoa with normal head and tail morphology and percentage spermatozoa with normal acrosomal morphology increased (P less than .01) from puberty through 16 wk after puberty in all bulls and all breds. During the first 6 wk after puberty, rapid increases (P less than .01) were observed in percentage spermatozoa exhibiting normal head morphology (excluding acrosomes) and progressive motility, and a rapid decrease (P less than .01) was observed in percentage spermatozoa with proximal cytoplasmic droplets, with values at +6 wk approaching those reported for mature bulls. Percentage spermatozoa with normal acrosomal morphology and concentration of spermatozoa improved more slowly and had not reached mature levels by 16 wk after puberty. Because age at puberty varied by 62 d among breeds and 88 d among bulls and important characteristics of semen quality improved slowly after puberty, careful evaluation of the stage of pubertal development in individual bulls is recommended before selecting young bulls for natural breeding or artificial insemination. Additional investigations are needed to define the patterns of pubertal development through sexual maturity in beef bulls and to establish relationships to fertility.
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PMID:Puberty in beef bulls: acrosome morphology and semen quality in bulls of different breeds. 713 67

The mammalian epididymis is the site where spermatozoa are matured and then stored. Though many studies have described epididymal functions and their regulation, little is known about how aging affects this tissue. The Brown Norway rat, which does not show the many age-related pathologies common to other rat strains, was used as a model to study aging of the epididymis. The present study was designed to determine the effect of aging on the mRNA levels for selected markers of epididymal function. Brown Norway rats ranging in age from 6 to 30 months were examined at 6-month intervals; epididymides were sectioned into caput-corpus and cauda regions. Relative mRNA concentrations were assessed using Northern blot analysis and specific cDNAs for the rat 5 alpha-reductase isozymes, types 1 and 2; proenkephalin; the androgen receptor; epididymal proteins B/C and D/E; and sulfated glycoprotein-2 (SGP-2, clusterin). Northern blots were quantitated by densitometric scanning. In the caput-corpus epididymidis, 5 alpha-reductase type 1 and type 2 mRNA levels decreased significantly by 43% and 33%, respectively, between 6 and 12 months and by 64% and 40%, respectively, between 6 and 30 months. No significant change, however, was found in the expression of the 5 alpha-reductase mRNAs in the cauda epididymidis. Interestingly, proenkephalin mRNA was only detected in the caput-corpus epididymidis of 6-month-old rats. In marked contrast to the 5 alpha-reductase isozymes and proenkephalin, no significant age-related changes were observed in the mRNA levels for the androgen receptor, protein B/C, or protein D/E. No age-related changes in mRNA expression for SGP-2 occurred in the caput-corpus epididymidis. However, in the cauda epididymidis, SGP-2 mRNA levels rose by twofold between 6 and 18 months and then decreased sharply by 75% between 18 and 30 months. We conclude that as the epididymis ages, the expression of genes for certain specific markers of epididymal function is affected in a region-specific manner. Further, the decrease in the concentrations of the mRNAs for the 5 alpha-reductase isozymes and proenkephalin in the epididymis between 6 and 12 months is thus far the earliest marker for aging in the male reproductive tract of the Brown Norway rat.
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PMID:Gene expression in the aging brown Norway rat epididymis. 755 40

The amino acid sequence of bovine somatotropin (bST) varies at position 127 where either valine or leucine is found. The frequencies of leucine127 and valine127 bST gene alleles in cows (n = 302) and sires (n = 70) from major dairy breeds (Holstein, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Jersey, and Ayrshire) were determined using DNA extracted from whole blood or spermatozoa. A 428 base pair fragment of the bST gene was amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and variants of the bST gene were detected as polymorphisms by Alu I restriction endonuclease digestion of PCR products. Restriction enzyme DNA fragments for the leucine127 variant were 265, 96, 51, and 16 base pair and for the valine127 variant were 265, 147, and 16 base pair as a polymorphism of bST was present in the 147 base pair DNA fragment. Frequencies of leucine127 and valine127 alleles for cows (n = 302) were 1.0 and 0 for Brown Swiss, .93 and .07 for Holstein, .92 and .08 for Guernsey, .79 and .21 for Ayrshire, and .56 and .44 for Jersey, respectively. In Holstein sires used for artificial insemination (n = 70), the frequency of leucine127 and valine127 alleles was .96 and .04. Estimates of transmitting ability for milk production tended to be greater for Holstein cows that were homozygous for leucine127 bST and Jersey cows that were homozygous for valine127 bST whereas Holstein sires with different bST genotypes were similar. In summary, frequencies of alleles for the bST gene were not similar in different dairy breeds and estimates of milk production were correlated with bST gene variant in cows but not sires.
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PMID:Variants of somatotropin in cattle: gene frequencies in major dairy breeds and associated milk production. 790 13


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