The efferent innervation of the genital chamber by an identified serotonergic neuron in the female cricket Acheta domestica

Summary The serotonergic innervation of the genital chamber of the female cricket, Acheta domestica, has been investigated applying anti-serotonin (5-HT) immunocyto-chemistry at both light- and electron-microscopic levels as well as using conventional electron microscopy. Whole mount and pre-embedding chopper techniques of immuno-cytochemistry reveal a dense 5-HT-immunoreactive network of varicose fibers in the musculature of the genital chamber. All of these immunoreactive fibers originate from the efferent serotonergic neuron projecting through the nerve 8v to the genital chamber (Hustert and Topel 1986; Elekes et al. 1987). At the electron-microscopic level, 5-HT-immunoreactive nerve terminals, which contain small (50–60 nm) and large ( 100 nm) agranular vesicles as well as granular vesicles (100nm), contact the muscle fibers or the sarcoplasmic processes without establishing specialized neuromuscular connections. In addition to the 5-HT-immunoreactive axons, two types of immunonegative axons can also be found in the musculature. By use of conventional electron microscopy, three ultrastructurally distinct types of axon processes can be observed, one of which resembles 5-HT-immunoreactive axons. While the majority of the varicosities do not synapse on the muscle fibers, terminals containing small (50–60 nm) agranular vesicles occasionally form specialized neuromuscular contacts. It is suggested that the 5-HTergic innervation plays a non-synaptic modulatory role in the regulation circular musculature in the genital chamber of the cricket, while the musculature as a whole may be influenced by both synaptic and modulatory mechanisms.Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung     

Embryonic cholinesterase activity during morphogenesis of the mouse genital tract

Summary In the genital tract of male and female mouse embryos cholinesterase activity is described that is independent from innervation. The enzyme activity is localized in the mesenchyme at the junction of Wolffian and Müllerian ducts with the urogenital sinus. During male development prostate buds and vesicular glands grow out into the cholinesterase-active mesenchyme. During female development the active mesenchyme participates in the downgrowth of the vaginal anlage. Ultrastructurally the cholinesterase activity is localized in the perinuclear cisterna and in smooth endoplasmic reticulum of the mesenchymal cells. The enzyme activity disappears with definitive differentiation of the tissue. The embryonic cholinesterase is a component of a primitive muscarinic system. Its relation to the morphogenetic action of testosterone and its possible general functions are discussed.     

Fine structural and enzyme histochemical observations on the dorsal tail tubercle of Mertensiella caucasica (Urodela,Amphibia)

Summary Dorsal tubercle and skin of Mertensiella caucasica have been investigated with the electron microscope and enzyme histochemical methods. The epidermis of the tubercle consists of 8–9 cell layers, that of normal dorsal skin of 5–6. The tubercle is filled with large mucous glands which are surrounded by an almost complete layer of smooth muscle cells (myoepithelial cells). Their glandular cells undergo cyclical changes and are characterized by specific secretory granules, which differ from those of the relatively small mucous glands of the normal dorsal skin.In the connective tissue of the tubercle a relatively rich supply of nerve fibres has been found, which in part contain synaptic and dense core vesicles or accumulations of mitochondria. In the normal dorsal skin nerve fibres occur less frequently.The following enzymes have been demonstrated in the mucous glands of the tubercle: SDH, acid phosphatase, unspecific esterases, E 600 resistant esterase.The tubercle seems to stimulate the female cloaca chemically and mechanically.     

Evaluation of the obstetric significance of some pelvic characters in an 18th century British sample of known parity status.

The excavations at Christ Church, Spitalfields (1984-86) produced a sample of 968 human skeletons which were interred between 1729 and 1859. Of these, 387 were recovered in association with coffin plates stating name, age at death, and date of death. There are 138 adult females in the named sample and the obstetric histories of 94 have been reconstructed from historical documentation. Such variables as birth spacing, number of children, and age at first and last births are known for the majority of this sample. Any individual about whose history there is any doubt has been excluded from the analysis. A middle-class group, they were largely of high nutritional status and, by the standards of the day, lived in sanitary and comfortable conditions. Both males and females have a mean age at death of 56 years. The presence or absence, the typology, the severity, the width and the length of the preauricular sulcus, the presence or absence and the number of pits on the dorsal aspect of the pubic body, sulci along the anterior sacrum adjacent to the auricular facet, and the extension of the pubic tubercle were evaluated in relation to the obstetric histories of these females. Statistical analysis has demonstrated a relationship between the presence of pubic tubercle extension and parity status and between the degree of extension and the number of children borne (P < .02). Statistically there is no significant relationship (P > .05) between either the preauricular sulcus or pubic pitting and parity status. Sacral scarring is significantly associated (P < .05) with parity status, but as it was evident in only eight females it has little practical application. Sample sizes are small, and it must be considered that statistical evaluation of larger samples might detect associations between variables not demonstrated here. There is no significant relationship between any of the cortical variants under consideration and age at death.     

Lesion of caudate-putamen interneurons with kainic acid alters dopamine and serotonin metabolism in the olfactory tubercle of the rat

1. The existence of functional interrelationships between dorsal and ventral regions of the rat striatum was investigated. Kainic acid (KA) was employed to induce neuronal lesions in the more dorsal striatum, the caudate-putamen (CP). Only one CP (one side) received KA. KA-induced neurotoxicity at the site of injection (CP) was evidenced by reductions in choline-acetyltransferase activity and in GABA levels, and by increases in the ratios metabolite/monoamine for dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT).2. In addition to the well-known local effects, direct stereotaxic injection of KA into the CP produced distant effects in the ipsilateral olfactory tubercle (OT). A dose-dependent increase in the levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and decreases in DA and 5-HT concentrations were observed in the OT ipsilateral to the CP injected with KA. With 1, 2, 3, and 4 g of KA, the ratio DOPAC+HVA/DA in the OT was 30, 79, 140, and 173% higher, respectively, than control levels. With 2, 3, and 4 g of KA, the levels of 5-HIAA were approximately 30, 60, and 120% higher than control values, and the changes in 5-HIAA were associated with significant reductions in 5-HT concentrations.3. Our results suggest that the dorsal part of the striatum exerts important regulatory functions over the most ventral striatal region, the OT. Destruction of CP interneurons by KA leads to disinhibition of DA and 5-HT activities to the OT. The functional interactions between dorsal and ventral striatal regions may play a role in the integration of fundamental life-preserving, motivational, and goal-directed olfactory motor behaviors of rodents.     

Detection of HPV Types and Neutralizing Antibodies in Women with Genital Warts in Tianjin City,China

The serum samples and corresponding cervical swabs were collected from 50 women with genital warts from Tianjin city,China.The neutralizing antibodies against HPV-16,-18,-58,-45,-6 and-11 in serum samples were tested by using pseudovirus-based neutralization assays and HPV DNAs in cervical swabs were also tested by using a typing kit that can detect 21 types of HPV.The results revealed that 36%(18/50)of sera were positive for type-specific neutralizing antibodies with a titer range of 160-2560,of which 22%(...