Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P56851 (epididymal)
 11,273 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In the present work, histochemical and biochemical studies were conducted to analyze changes in the pattern of autonomic innervation during sexual maturation, using the rat epididymis as a model. Glyoxylic acid histochemistry and immunohistochemical studies against dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DbetaH) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) indicated a reduction in the amount of catecholaminergic and AChE-positive neurons, fibers, and puncta detected in the cauda epididymis of adult rats (120 days old), when compared to immature (40 days) and young adult (60 days) animals. No obvious age-related variations were detected in the few catecholaminergic and AChE-positive fibers and puncta present in the caput region. AChE-positive fibers were found sorting out among epithelial cells and ending free upon the epithelial surface or into the tubular lumen of the cauda region of adult rats. Furthermore, a positive staining for AChE in epithelial cells was also detected in the caput and cauda epididymis in all ages studied. Biochemical analysis confirmed a significant decrease in noradrenaline concentration as well as AChE activity in the cauda epididymis with sexual maturation. Immunohistochemical studies against microtubule-associated protein 1B (MAP 1B), a neuronal cytoskeletal marker, further substantiated the quantitative changes observed in catecholaminergic and AChE-positive neuronal elements in the cauda epididymis. Thus, our results documented segment-specific variations in noradrenaline concentration and AChE activity during epididymal sexual maturation and suggest that such variations result, at least in part, from the refinement of the autonomic innervation pattern with age.
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PMID:Segment-specific decrease of both catecholamine concentration and acetylcholinesterase activity are accompanied by nerve refinement in the rat cauda epididymis during sexual maturation. 1200 39

Changes in photoperiod length are transduced into neuroendocrine signals by melatonin (MEL) secreted by the pineal gland triggering seasonally adaptive responses in many animal species. Siberian hamsters, transferred from a long-day 'summer-like' photoperiod (LD) to a short-day 'winter-like' photoperiod (SD), exhibit a naturally-occurring reversal in obesity. Photoperiod-induced changes in adiposity are mediated by the duration of MEL secretion and can be mimicked by exogenously administered MEL into animals housed in LD. Evidence suggests that MEL increases the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) drive to white adipose tissue (WAT). Here, we investigated whether MEL-driven seasonally adaptive losses in body fat are associated with WAT lipolysis and browning. Hamsters were subcutaneously administered vehicle (LD+VEH) or 0.4mg/kg MEL (LD+MEL) daily for 10weeks while animals housed in SD served as a positive control. MEL and SD exposure significantly decreased the retroperitoneal (RWAT), inguinal (IWAT), epididymal (EWAT) WAT, food intake and caused testicular regression compared with the LD+VEH group. MEL/SD induced lipolysis in the IWAT and EWAT, browning of the RWAT, IWAT, and EWAT, and increased UCP1 expression in the IBAT. Additionally, MEL/SD significantly increased the number of shared MEL receptor 1a and dopamine beta-hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in discrete brain sites, notably the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus, arcuate nucleus, locus coeruleus and dorsal motor nucleus of vagus. Collectively, these findings support our hypothesis that SD-exposed Siberian hamsters undergo adaptive decreases in body adiposity due to SNS-stimulated lipid mobilization and generalized WAT browning.
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PMID:Short photoperiod reverses obesity in Siberian hamsters via sympathetically induced lipolysis and Browning in adipose tissue. 2869 54