Changes of China agricultural climate resources under the background of climate change: IX. Spatiotemporal change characteristics of China agricultural climate resources

Based on the 1961-2007 ground surface meteorological data from 558 meteorological stations in China, this paper analyzed the differences of agricultural climate resources in China different regions, and compared the change characteristics of the agricultural climate resources in 1961-1980 (period I) and 1981-2007 (period II), taking the year 1981 as the time node. As compared with period I, the mean annual temperature in China in period II increased by 0.6 degrees C, and the > or = 0 degrees C active accumulated temperature in the growth periods of chimonophilous crops and the > or = 10 degrees C active accumulated temperature in the growth periods of thermophilic crops increased averagely by 123.3 degrees C x d and 125.9 degrees C x d, respectively. In 1961-2007, the mean annual temperature increased most in Northeast China, and the > or = 10 degrees C active accumulated temperature in the growth periods of thermophilic crops increased most in South China. The whole year sunshine hours and the sunshine hours in the growth periods of chimonophilous crops and of thermophilic crops in period II decreased by 125.7 h, 32.2 h, and 53.6 h, respectively, compared with those in period I. In 1961-2007, the annual sunshine hours decreased most in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, while the sunshine hours in the growth periods of chimonophilous crops and of thermophilic crops decreased most in North China and South China, respectively. In the whole year and in the growth periods of chimonophilous and thermophilic crops, both the precipitation and the reference crop evapotranspiration in this country all showed a decreasing trend, with the largest decrement in the precipitation in the whole year and in the growth periods of chimonophilous and thermophilic crops in North China, the largest decrement in the reference crop evapotranspiration in the whole year and in the growth periods of thermophilic crops in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, and the largest decrement in the reference crop evapotranspiration in the growth periods of chimonophilous crops in Northwest China. In 1961-2007, the climate in China in the whole year and in the growth periods of thermophilic crops showed an overall tendency of warm and dry, and the climate in the growth periods of thermophilic crops became warm and dry in Southwest China, North China, and Northeast China, but warm and wet in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, Northwest China, and South China, whereas the climate in the growth periods of chimonophilous crops became warm and dry in North China, but became warm and wet in Northwest China.     

Neuroactive steroids in the brain and age and sex specificity of behavior and anxiety: An experimental study

Changes in the brain’s neuroactive steroid levels, behavior in the open field, and the anxious-phobic status of male and female rats in the course of development have been studied. An increase in the motor and exploratory activity and emotionality in rats of both sexes in the pubertal period and a decrease in their values in mature and old animals have been detected. Anxiety has no sexual dimorphism in adult animals; it is significantly higher in males than in females in the prepubertal and pubertal periods of development and is higher in old females than in males of the same age. An increase in the level of corticosterone in some brain structures in maturing and old rats has been found; the testosterone concentration increases in one-month-old and adult animals but decreases in old individuals, while the estradiol concentration in all studied brain structures of male and female rats was low in all periods of postnatal life. Correlation analysis has shown modulation by steroid hormones of the changes in behavioral responses during development.     

气候变化背景下中国农业气候资源变化Ⅸ.中国农业气候资源时空变化特征

利用中国558个气象台站1961-2007年地面气象观测资料,分析了不同区域农业气候资源变化的差异,并分析和比较了1961-1980年(时段Ⅰ)和1981-2007年(时段Ⅱ)的农业气候资源变化特征.结果表明： 与时段Ⅰ相比,时段Ⅱ中国年均气温增加了0.6 ℃,喜凉作物生长期内≥0 ℃积温和喜温作物生长期内≥10 ℃积温分别平均增加123.3和125.9℃·d;1961-2007年,年均气温增幅最大的区域是东北地区,喜温作物生长期内≥10 ℃积温增幅最大的是华南地区.对全国而言,与时段Ⅰ相比,时段Ⅱ在全年、喜凉和喜温作物生长期内日照时数分别减少了125.7、32.2和53.6 h;1961-2007年,长江中下游地区年日照时数的减幅最多,喜凉和喜温作物生长期内日照时数减少量最大的地区分别是华北和华南地区;在全年、喜凉和喜温作物生长期内,中国的降水量和参考作物蒸散量总体均表现为减少趋势,其中,华北地区在全年、喜凉和喜温作物生长期内降水量的减幅均最大,长江中下游地区参考作物蒸散量在全年和喜温作物生长期内的减幅最大,西北地区参考作物蒸散量在喜凉作物生长期内的减幅最大.研究期间,中国气候在全年和喜温作物生长期内总体表现为暖干趋势,其中,喜温作物生长期内西南、华北和东北地区为暖干趋势,长江中下游、西北和华南地区为暖湿趋势,喜凉作物生长期内华北地区为暖干趋势,西北地区为暖湿趋势.     

Histological comparison between wheat embryos developing in vitro from isolated zygotes and those developing in vivo

There is currently great interest shown in understanding the process of embryogenesis and, due to the relative inaccessibility of these structures in planta, extended studies are carried out in various in vitro systems. The culture of isolated zygotes in particular provides an excellent platform to study the process of in planta embryogenesis. However, very few comparisons have been made between zygotic embryos grown entirely in cultures and those grown in vivo. The present study analyses the differences and similarities between the in vitro and in vivo development of wheat zygotic embryos at the level of morphology and histology. The study was possible thanks to an efficient culture system and an appropriate method of preparing isolated wheat zygotes for microscopy. The in vitro embryos were fixed, embedded and sectioned in the two-celled, globular, club-shaped and fully differentiated stages. Embryos developing in vitro closely followed the morphology of their in planta counterparts and their cell types and tissues were also similar, demonstrating the applicability of the present culture system for studying the process of zygotic embryogenesis. However, some important differences were also detected in the case of in vitro development: the disturbance of or lack of initial polarity led to changes in the division symmetry of the zygotes and subsequently to the formation of uniform cells in the globular structures. Presumably, differences between the in vitro and in planta environments resulted in a lower level of differentiation and maturation in in vitro embryos and in abundant starch and protein accumulation in the scutellum.     

Developmental Changes in the NGF Content in the Brain of Young,Growing, Low-Birth-Weight Rats

The NGF content in each region of the brain of four-week-old rats was ranked in the decreasing order of cerebral cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, midbrain/diencephalon, and pons/medulla ob-longata, and the NGF concentration, in the decreasing order of hippocampus, cerebral cortex, cerebellum, midbrain/diencephalon, and pons/medulla oblongata in both AFD and SFD groups. The NGF content and concentration in the cerebral cortex were about the same value at each age between those in the AFD and SFD groups. Those in the hippocampus were a little higher in the SFD group than in the AFD group at the ages of three and four weeks, unlike those in the other regions, where the values for the cerebellum, midbrain/diencephalon and pons/medulla oblongata tended to be somewhat higher in the AFD group than in the SFD group. The NGF concentrations in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex increased with growth: the concentration in the hippocampus at four weeks of age was about 4-fold of that at one week in the AFD group and about 5.7-fold of that at one week in the SFD group; and likewise the concentration in the cerebral cortex at four weeks of age was about 5.3-fold in the AFD group and about 7-fold in the SFD group. The NGF concentrations in the cerebellum decreased, and those in midbrain/diencephalon and pons/medulla oblongata hardly changed with growth in either AFD or SFD group. From these results NGF may have stronger implications for the neuronal growth in the hippocampus compared with those in the lower brain regions of the SFD rats.     

Effects of ammonium sulphate application on the rhizosphere,fine-root and needle chemistry in aPicea abies (L.) Karst. stand

Rhizosphere, fine-root and needle chemistry were investigated in a 28 year old Norway spruce stand in SW Sweden. The uptake and allocation pattern of plant nutrients and aluminium in control plots (C) and plots repeatedly treated with ammonium sulphate (NS) were compared. Treatments started in 1988. Current year needles, one-year-old needles and cylindrical core samples of the LFH-layer and the mineral soil layers were sampled in 1988, 1989 and 1990. Compared to the control plots, pH decreased significantly in the rhizosphere soil in the NS plots in 1989 and 1990 while the SO₄-S concentration increased significantly. Aluminium concentration in the rhizosphere soil was generally higher in the NS plots in all soil layers, except at 0–10 cm depths, both in 1989 and 1990. Calcium, Mg and K concentrations also increased after treatment with ammonium sulphate. Ammonium ions may have replaced these elements in the soil organic matter. The NS treatment significantly reduced Mg concentrations in fine roots in all layers in 1990. A similar trend was found in the needles. Ca concentrations in fine roots were significantly lower in the NS plots in the LFH layer in 1990 and the same pattern was found in the current needles. The N and S concentrations of both fine roots and needles were significantly higher in the NS plots. It was suggested that NS treatment resulted in displacement of Mg, Ca and K from exchange sites in the LFH layer leading to leaching of these cations to the mineral soil. Further application of ammonium sulphate may damage the fine roots and consequently adversely affect the water and nutrient uptake of root systems.     

The fatty acid composition of the tissues of streptozotocin-diabetic rats

The authors studied acute changes in the fatty acid composition of the tissues of streptozotocin-diabetic rats. They found that streptozotocin diabetes led to changes in the total lipids fatty acid spectrum in serum and in tissues (liver, adipose tissue, renal cortex diaphragm). After only 7 days' diabetes there was an increase in the percentual proportion of saturated fatty acids and a decrease in the amount of polyene fatty acids in the serum and in all the above tissue of diabetic animals. Palmitic acid (16:0) participated in the increase in the proportion of saturated fatty acids in all the given tissues, while stearic acid (18:0) played a role in the increase in the renal cortex and the serum. Among the monoene acids, there was a drop in the proportion of palmitoleic acid (16:1) in the adipose tissue and serum and in the amount of oleic acid (18:1) in the renal cortex, liver and muscle. Linoleic acid (18:2) played a role in the decrease in the proportion of polyene acids in all the given tissues and the serum, while arachidonic acid (20:4) was involved in the drop in the renal cortex, liver and muscle. The results show that diabetes leads to changes in the fatty acid composition of the renal cortex and muscle, as well as of the liver and adipose tissue. At present it is not yet clear whether there is an absolute decrease in the proportion of essential fatty acids, or whether diabetes is characterized by an increase in the amount of lipids in both serum and tissues.     

Natural incidence of interruptions in the internal elastic lamina of caudal and renal arteries of the rat

Interruptions in the internal elastic lamina (IEL) have been quantified by light microscopy in the caudal arteries of different strains of rats and in caudal and renal arteries of (i) male and female virgin rats up until 2 years of age, (ii) repeatedly bred rats and (ii) hypertensive rats. Results showed that gaps in the IEL exist in caudal arteries of adult males in all strains studied, but to a lesser extent in the hairless mutant. In the virgin Wistar rat these interruptions in the IEL form with age in both caudal and renal arteries, and are more numerous (i) in the male than in the female in both arteries, and (ii) in the caudal than in the renal artery in both sexes. Repeated breeding in the Wistar rat abolishes the sex difference in incidence of IEL gaps in both renal and caudal arteries. The Sprague-Dawley breeder rat is more susceptible than the Wistar breeder to their formation in the renal artery. Hypertension in the male consistently increases the formation of IEL gaps in the renal but not in the caudal artery. The importance of local factors, e.g. hemodynamics, in the formation of these defects in the IEL, and their possible relationship with the development of arteriosclerosis is discussed.     

Expression of IGF-I and -II mRNA in the brain and craniofacial region of the rat fetus

Insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and -II) are present in the brain during development, with high levels of both being also found in the periphery particularly in the embryo. IGFs in the brain are believed to stimulate the proliferation of neuronal and glial precursors and their phenotypic differentiation. Using in situ hybridization, we have investigated the distribution of cells producing IGF-I and -II in the rat fetus during the second half of prenatal development with special emphasis on the peripheral and central nervous system. High levels of IGF-I mRNA were found in the olfactory bulb and in discrete neurons of the cranial sensory ganglia, notably in the trigeminal ganglion, as early as 13 days of gestation, in the pineal primordium of 18 day old fetuses, and in discrete groups of cells in the cochlear epithelium located laterally outside the forming spiral organ, in day 13 to 21 fetuses. High levels of IGF-II mRNA in the brain, besides the choroid plexus and the leptomeninges, were detected in hypothalamus, in the floor of the 3rd ventricle at all stages studied, in the pineal primordium at 18 days and in the pars intermedia of the pituitary or in the Rathke's pouch epithelium from which it is derived, with progressive fading towards the end of the gestation. In the peripheral nervous system the IGF-II mRNA was only found in association with the vascular endothelia of the ganglia. IGF-II mRNA in the nervous system was found in highly vascularized areas, meninges, blood vessels and choroid plexuses. It is thus associated with structures involved in the production of extracellular fluids and/or substrate transport and supply in the nervous tissues. A more specific role in the differentiation or fetal endocrine function should be considered for IGF-II in cells producing melatonin and melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) in the pineal and pituitary glands, respectively. The presence of IGF-I mRNA in the nervous system could be associated with fiber outgrowth and synaptogenesis in the cases of olfactory bulb and developing iris. The role of IGF-I in restricted populations of cells of the cochlear epithelium and in the pineal gland is unclear and requires further investigations including a search for IGF-I receptors in possible target cells. In the sensory ganglia, the presence of high levels of IGF-I mRNA eventually corresponds to the production, by post-translational processing, of the amino-terminal tripeptide of IGF-I, which might represent a neurotransmitter for these sensory neurons.     

Levels of linoleic acid and saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in selected lipid fractions of the serum and platelets in patients with coronary arterial disease

The levels of serum fatty acids in the serum and in the serum fractions of cholesterol esters (ECH) and triglycerides (TG) and the levels of these acids in these fractions of platelets were compared in healthy controls and in patients with clinically manifested coronary arterial disease. Decreased level of linoleic acid was found in the serum and in the ECH fraction of the serum in the patients, with a rise in the level of palmitic acid in the ECH fraction of the serum of these patients. The level of linoleic acid in the ECH and TG platelet fractions in these patients was not different from that in the healthy controls, while in the platelet TG fraction of the patients the level of palmitoleic acid was raised, and the level of oleic acid was increased in the platelet ECH fraction.     

Ovulation and the movement of the conceptus in the first 35 days of pregnancy in thoroughbred mares.

Data from 937 Thoroughbred mares, when analysed as a single population, showed no significant difference between the activity of the right and left ovaries and the frequency of location of 35-day pregnancies in the right and left uterine horns. Nor were any differences shown when the data were analysed in years or sire groups. However, significantly more ovulations occurred in the right ovary in September and December and in the left ovary in October and November. Whereas the left and right ovulations were equal in lactating and dry mares, there was a highly significant increase in the number of pregnancies in the right uterine horn in dry mares and in the left uterine horn in lactating mares.     

Protein phosphorylation in Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroids and cultures.

Protein phosphorylation was demonstrated in Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroids in vivo and in cultures in vivo and in vitro. Comparison of in vivo-labeled phosphoproteins of bacteroids and of cultured cells showed differences in both the pattern and intensity of labeling. In cultured cells, comparison of the labeling patterns and intensities of in vivo- and in vitro-labeled phosphoproteins showed a number of similarities; however, several phosphoproteins were found only after one of the two labeling conditions. The labeling intensity was time dependent in both in vivo and in vitro assays and was dependent on the presence of magnesium in in vitro assays. Differences in the rates of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation were noted for a number of proteins. The level of incorporation of 32P into protein was only 2% or less of the total phosphate accumulated during the in vivo labeling period. Several isolation and sample preparation procedures resulted in differences in labeling patterns. Phosphatase inhibitors and several potential metabolic effectors had negligible effects on the phosphorylation pattern. There were no significant changes in the phosphorylation patterns of cells cultured on mannitol, acetate, and succinate, although the intensity of the labeling did vary with the carbon source.     

Sex and estrous cycle-dependent differences in glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity in the adult rat hippocampus

Sex differences in the morphology and function of the hippocampus have been reported in several species, but it is unknown whether a sexual dimorphism exists in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in the rat hippocampus. We analyzed GFAP immunoreactivity in the hippocampus of intact adult male rats as well as in females during diestrus and proestrus phases of the estrous cycle. We found that in CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus, GFAP immunoreactivity was higher in proestrus females as compared with males and diestrus females. In CA1, a similar GFAP immunoreactivity was found in males and in diestrus females, but in dentate gyrus, males presented the lowest GFAP content. Interestingly, differences in astrocyte morphology were also found. Rounded cells with numerous and short processes were mainly observed in the hippocampus during proestrus whereas cells with stellate shape with few and long processes were present in the hippocampus of males and diestrus females. The marked sex and estrous cycle-dependent differences in GFAP immunoreactivity density and in astrocyte number and morphology found in the rat hippocampus, suggest the involvement of sex steroid hormones in the sexually dimorphic functions of the hippocampus, and in the change in its activity during the estrous cycle.     

Chemoattractant-elicited increases in Dictyostelium myosin phosphorylation are due to changes in myosin localization and increases in kinase activity

We previously reported (Berlot, C. H., Spudich, J. A., and Devreotes, P. N. (1985) Cell 43, 307-314) that cAMP stimulation of chemotactically competent Dictyostelium amoebae causes transient increases in phosphorylation of the myosin heavy chain and 18,000-dalton light chain in vivo and in vitro. In this report we investigate the mechanisms involved in these changes in phosphorylation. In the case of heavy chain phosphorylation, the amount of substrate available for phosphorylation appears to be the major factor regulating the in vitro phosphorylation rate. Almost all heavy chain kinase activity is insoluble in Triton X-100, and the increase in the heavy chain phosphorylation rate in vitro parallels an increase in Triton insolubility of myosin. Changes in heavy chain phosphatase activity are not involved in the changes in the in vitro phosphorylation rate. In the case of light chain phosphorylation, increases in the vitro phosphorylation rate occur under conditions where the amount of substrate available for phosphorylation is constant and phosphatase activity is undetectable, implicating light chain kinase activation as the means of regulation. The specificity of the myosin kinases operating in vivo and in vitro was explored using phosphoamino acid and chymotryptic phosphopeptide analysis. The light chain is phosphorylated on serine both in vivo and in vitro, and phosphopeptide maps of the light chain phosphorylated in vivo and in vitro are indistinguishable. In the case of the heavy chain, both serine and threonine are phosphorylated in vivo and in vitro, although the cAMP-stimulated increases in phosphorylation occur primarily on threonine. Phosphopeptide maps of the heavy chain show that the peptides phosphorylated in vitro represent a major subset of those phosphorylated in vivo. The kinetics of the transient increases in myosin phosphorylation rates observed in vitro can be predicted quantitatively from the in vivo myosin phosphorylation data assuming that there is a constant phosphatase activity.     

Sex differences in the cross-sectional areas of psoas major and thigh muscles in high school track and field athletes and nonathletes

The present study aimed to examine the sex differences in the cross-sectional areas of the psoas major, quadriceps femoris, hamstrings, and adductors in high school track and field athletes and nonathletes. The cross-sectional areas of the psoas major at L4-L5 and three thigh muscles at the mid-thigh were determined in the right side of the body using magnetic resonance imaging in 61 sprinters (29 boys and 32 girls), 50 jumpers (28 boys and 22 girls), 33 throwers (18 boys and 15 girls), and 40 nonathletes (20 boys and 20 girls), aged from 16 to 18 yrs. On the whole, the cross-sectional area for every muscle group was greater in the athletes than in the nonathletes and in the boys than in the girls. The average value of the cross-sectional area for the girls as a percentage of that for the boys in every subject group was lower in the psoas major (57.6-64.7%) than in the thigh muscles (67.8-82.9%). Among the thigh muscles, the muscle group which showed significant sex differences in the ratio of cross-sectional area to the two-third power of lean body mass was limited to the quadriceps femoris in the sprinters and nonathletes and hamstrings in the throwers. However, the ratio for the psoas major was significantly higher in the boys than in the girls in all subject groups. The current results indicate that, although regular participation in sports training during adolescence promotes hypertrophy in the psoas major and thigh muscles in not only boys but also girls, a greater sex difference exists in the muscularity of the psoas major than of the thigh muscles, in athletes and nonathletes.     

Impact of weather variability on spatial and seasonal dynamics of dissolved and suspended nutrients in water column of meromictic Lake Shira

Depths of thermocline and the redox zone, concentrations of dissolved and suspended carbon, and nitrogen and phosphorus in seston were measured in the pelagial of the saline meromictic Lake Shira (southern Siberia) in different years (2007–2011); the relationship of the values for those parameters with air-temperature variations was assessed. Positive correlations between both air temperatures in the previous year and the depth of the redox zone in winter and air temperature in April and the thermocline depth in summer were revealed. In the mixolimnion, the ratio of total nitrogen to total phosphorus almost always exceeded the Redfield ratio (16: 1); seston deficiency both in nitrogen and phosphorus was monitored in different seasons and at various depths. The amount of seston in the mixolimnion in summer almost doubled the amount of seston in winter and was directly related with the depth of the thermocline. In the monimolimnion, seston was rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. The amount of seston in the monimolimnion varied in different years and depended both on the air temperature in the previous year and the size of the zone.     

Electrical activity of the rat brain following antenatal hypoxia

EEG and EPs in the visual and parietal neocortical areas and the hippocampus were studied in freely behaving rats at the age of two-three months after antenatal hypoxia. Increase of spectral power in delta and theta bands and its decrease in alpha and beta bands in the background EEG and in responses to a protracted light stimulation were observed in experimental animals in comparison to control ones. The most pronounced changes were observed in the parietal cortex and hippocampus. The character of changes in latencies and the share of individual EP components recorded point to an accelerated excitation reverberation in neuronal networks in response to afferent stimuli and to a prolongation of after-discharges in the parietal cortex and hippocampus testifying to peculiarity of information processing in these brain structures. On the basis of other authors' data, certain parallelism is supposed to exist between the electrophysiological parameters in experimental animals and some groups of children with mental retardation.     

c-fos和c-myc在北方山溪鲵精子发生中的表达

用免疫组织化学方法检测原癌基因cf-os和c-myc蛋白在北方山溪鲵(Batrachuperus tibetanus)精子发生中的表达定位。结果显示,在精原细胞缓慢增殖期,8、9月,FOS阳性反应物出现在精原细胞的胞质及核膜外,10、11月,FOS在少量精原细胞的胞核中表达。在精原细胞快速增殖期,即翌年4月,FOS定位在精原细胞的胞质中;5月,FOS在大量的胞核中强阳性表达;6月,FOS定位于部分精母细胞核质和核膜下;7月,FOS在一些精子细胞的核质和核膜下表达。MYC在8、9月的部分精原细胞胞质中表达较弱,在101、1月阳性反应出现在个别精原细胞的核质中。翌年4月,MYC在精原细胞核周围的胞质中表达;5月在大量的精原细胞核膜下有强表达;6月,MYC在一些精母细胞核膜下表达;7月,MYC在部分精子细胞的核膜下弱表达。结果表明,北方山溪鲵的原癌基因cf-os和c-myc表达大强度在生精细胞发育中呈阶段性,表达的强度和细胞数量与细胞增殖的速度相一致。FOS和MYC在精原细胞内从胞质向胞核的转移与细胞快速增殖的时期相吻合。说明cf-os和c-myc对精原细胞有丝分裂有促进作用,并参与精母细胞成熟分裂的调控。     

Morphological features of lipid droplet transition during porcine oocyte fertilisation and early embryonic development to blastocyst in vivo and in vitro

Lipid content in mammalian oocytes or embryos differs among species, with bovine and porcine oocytes and embryos showing large cytoplasmic droplets. These droplets are considered to play important roles in energy metabolism during oocyte maturation, fertilisation and early embryonic development, and also in the freezing ability of oocytes or embryos; however, their detailed distribution or function is not well understood. In the present study, changes in the distribution and morphology of porcine lipid droplets during in vivo and in vitro fertilisation, in contrast to parthenogenetic oocyte activation, as well as during their development to blastocyst stage, were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The analysis of semi-thin and ultra-thin sections by TEM showed conspicuous, large, electron-dense lipid droplets, sometimes associated with mitochondrial aggregates in the oocytes, irrespective of whether the oocytes had been matured in vivo or in vitro. Immediately after sperm penetration, the electron density of the lipid droplets was lost in both the in vivo and in vitro oocytes, the reduction being most evident in the oocytes developed in vitro. Density was restored in the pronculear oocytes, fully in the in vivo specimens but only partially in the in vitro ones. The number and size of the droplets seemed, however, to have decreased. At 2- to 4-cell and blastocyst stages, the features of the lipid droplets were almost the same as those of pronuclear oocytes, showing a homogeneous or saturated density in the in vivo embryos but a marbled or partially saturated appearance in the in vitro embryos. In vitro matured oocytes undergoing parthenogenesis had lipid droplets that resembled those of fertilised oocytes until the pronuclear stage. Overall, results indicate variations in both the morphology and amount of cytoplasmic lipid droplets during porcine oocyte maturation, fertilisation and early embryo development as well as differences between in vivo and in vitro development, suggesting both different energy status during preimplantation development in pigs and substantial differences between in vitro and in vivo development.     

IL-11 and IL-11Rα immunolocalisation at primate implantation sites supports a role for IL-11 in placentation and fetal development

Embryo implantation, endometrial stromal cell decidualization and formation of a functional placenta are critical processes in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Interleukin (IL)-11 signalling is essential for adequate decidualization in the mouse uterus and IL-11 promotes decidualization in the human. IL-11 action is mediated via binding to the specific IL-11 receptor α (IL-11Rα). The present study examined immunoreactive IL-11 and IL-11Rα in cycling rhesus monkey endometrium, at implantation sites in cynomolgus and rhesus monkeys and in human first trimester decidua and defined distinct spatial and temporal patterns. In cycling rhesus monkey endometrium, IL-11 and IL-11Rα increased in both basalis and functionalis regions during the secretory compared with the proliferative phase, with changing cellular locations in luminal and glandular epithelium and stroma. The patterns were similar overall to those previously described in human endometrium. Differences were seen in immunostaining during implantation in cynomologus and rhesus monkey. In the cynomolgus, very little staining for IL-11 or IL-11Rα was seen in syncytio- and cyto-trophoblast cells in the villi between days 12 and 150 of pregnancy although there was moderate staining in cytotrophoblast in the shell between days 12 and 17 and in subpopulations of cytotrophoblast cells invading the arteries at day 17. By contrast in the rhesus monkey between days 24 and 35 of pregnancy and in human first trimester placenta, cyto- and syncytio-trophoblast in the villi but not cytotrophoblast in the shell were positively stained. The most intense staining for both IL-11 and IL-11Rα was present within the decidua in the maternal component of implantation sites in all three primates but moderate staining was also present in maternal vascular smooth muscle and glands perivascular cells and epithelial plaques. These results are consistent with a role for IL-11 both during decidualization and placentation in primates.