Seasonal expressions of oxytocin and oxytocin receptor in epididymis of the male muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)
Seasonal expressions of oxytocin and oxytocin receptor in epididymis of the male muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)
复制标题
雄性麝鼠（Ondatra zibethicus）附睾中催产素和催产素受体的季节性表达
DOI：
10.1016/j.theriogenology.2018.10.009
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发表时间：
2019-01-15
期刊：
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Weng, Q.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Liu, Q.;Xie, W.;Weng, Q.
催产素（OT）存在于男性生殖道中，具有刺激生殖道收缩、促进精子运输等多种生理功能。在这项研究中，我们调查了季节性表达的催产素和催产素受体（OTR）在繁殖和非繁殖季节的麝鼠附睾。从形态学上看，繁殖季节的附睾重量和长度显著高于非繁殖季节。在繁殖季节，附睾管腔直径和上皮厚度显著增大，管腔内有大量精子。但在非繁殖季节，管腔直径明显变窄，上皮高度变薄，管腔内无精子。免疫组化结果显示，OT和OTR主要表达于附睾上皮细胞和平滑肌细胞的胞浆中，且在繁殖季节OT和OTR的免疫组化染色明显强于非繁殖季节。与免疫组化结果相一致，在整个附睾中的OT和OTR的mRNA水平在繁殖季节高于非繁殖季节。此外，与非繁殖季节相比，繁殖季节的附睾和血清中的OT浓度均显著升高。结果提示，附睾是OT的直接靶器官，OT可能通过内分泌或自分泌/旁分泌方式对附睾功能发挥调节作用。(C)2018爱思唯尔公司All rights reserved.
Oxytocin (OT) is presented in the male reproductive tract and has various physiological functions, such as stimulating contraction of the reproductive tract and aiding sperm transport. In this study we investigated seasonal expressions of OT and oxytocin receptor (OTR) in the epididymis of the muskrat during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. Morphologically, the weight and length of epididymis in the breeding season were significantly higher than those in the non-breeding season. In the breeding season, the lumen diameter and epithelial thickness of epididymis increased significantly, and there were a large number of sperms in the lumen. However, in the non-breeding season, the diameter of the lumen became significantly narrower, the epithelial height became thinner, and there was no sperm in the lumen. Immunohistochemical results showed that OT and OTR were presented in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells and smooth muscle cells within the epididymis, and the immunostainings of OT and OTR in the breeding season were significantly stronger compared with the non-breeding. In consistent with the immunohistochemical results, the mRNA levels of OT and OTR were higher in the whole epididymis during the breeding season than those in the non-breeding season. In addition, the concentrations of OT in the epididymis and sera were both significantly higher in the breeding season when compared to the non-breeding season. These results suggested that the epididymis of the muskrat was the direct target organ of OT, and OT might play a regulatory role in the epididymal function via endocrine or autocrine/paracrine manners. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.