Smooth muscle actin and vimentin as markers of testis development in the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

Abstract

Testicular development in the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena was examined using animals ( n = 192) stranded or by-caught off the coast of England, Wales and Scotland. Classification of animals according to their stage of sexual development was undertaken using gonadal morphology and the distribution of cytoskeletal proteins. Smooth muscle actin (SMA) and vimentin proved particularly useful in this respect; SMA was prominent in the myoid peritubular cells of the adult testis, and two stages of peritubular cell SMA expression could be recognized ('absent' or 'incomplete'). The initial appearance of SMA in peritubular cells was associated with significant increases in body length and body weight ( P < 0.001), and occurred during the second year of life.Vimentin, which was prominent in prespermatogonia and spermatogonia, sometimes showed a polarized cytoplasmic distribution. This correlated with a developmental stage at which the seminiferous tubule epithelium becomes populated by germ cells (mean age 1.8 years). Several antibodies were tested for their utility as Sertoli cell markers, but none was found to be specific or useful. Nevertheless, immunohistochemical localization of desmin, GATA-4, Ki67 and androgen receptor was possible despite the poor quality of tissue preservation. This study showed that immunohistochemical classification of these individuals provides a robust basis for the recognition of key physiological stages of sexual development in the male harbour porpoise. This may provide an alternative to the estimation of age, body weight and body length in future analyses aimed at detecting possible adverse effects of environmental pollutants on the reproductive potential of wild marine mammals.

Post-hatch Changes in the Immunoexpression of Desmin, Smooth Muscle Actin and Vimentin in the Testicular Capsule and Interstitial Tissue of the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

“…In addition, immunostaining for desmin, SMA and vimentin was already present at this stage. These findings correlate well with observations of interstitial blood vessels in the developing testes of the sheep (Steger and Wrobel, ), harbour porpoise (Holt et al., ) and bovine (Wrobel et al., ; Devkota et al., ). In the current study, Leydig cells were observed in close proximity to the interstitial blood vessels.…”

“…In the present study, the development of strong SMA immunostaining in peritubular myoid cells coincided with the formation of elongated spermatids in the seminiferous tubules. An increase in the intensity of SMA immunostaining in relation to testicular maturation has been reported in the rat (Palombi et al., ), sheep (Steger and Wrobel, ), porpoise (Holt et al., ) and bovine (Devkota et al., ). Due to the increase in the intensity of immunostaining during development, SMA is regarded as a marker for peritubular myoid cell differentiation (Tung and Fritz, ).…”

Comparative expression of laminin and smooth muscle actin in the testis and epididymis of poultry and rabbit

“…Peritubular myoid cells are known to stimulate total protein production by Sertoli cells and to increase the Sertoli cell production of androgen-binding protein and transferrin. They produce a protein named P-mod-S, that has been shown to be an important regulator of Sertoli cell function in vitro (Anthony et al 1991) and they are also considered to be highly influential in modulating the effects of androgens on the seminiferous tubule, and therefore upon spermatogenesis itself (Holt et al 2004). a-SMA is mainly found in cells having contractile functions and is therefore a powerful probe in the study of smooth muscle cell differentiation in normal and pathological conditions (Skalli et al 1986;van Nassauw et al 1993).…”

“…However, the aSMA is regarded as a marker of terminal smooth muscle differentiation (Skalli et al 1986). In addition, aSMA has been recently shown to signal the beginning of blood-testis barrier formation rather than its completion (Holt et al 2004). Several immunohistochemical studies have also detected aSMA in the adult testis of rat (Palombi et al 1992), monkey (Schlatt et al 1993), ram , bull Abd-Elmaksoud 2005) and human (Holstein et al 1996) as well as in the epididymis of rat (Francavilla et al 1983), bull (Alkafafy 2005), and dog (Egger and Witter 2009).…”

Verifying of endocrine disruptor chemical affect to the mouse testes: can raman spectroscopy support histology study?

“…4B. c) that may match to the type IV collagen, but as what we have demonstrated that the laser might be allocated on the tunica propia that content of collagen fibril network and smooth muscle actin [39] , and its thickness is approximately 2.5 µm, meanwhile the depth resolution of laser is 5µm. Consequently, intensity of those Raman bands (peak) may assign to moiety of collagen and F-actin that is somewhat higher in control than treatment group.…”