Uteroglobin in the rabbit

Summary Rabbit uterine uteroglobin (UGL) was studied by electrophoretic and immunological methods following normal copulation, after ovariectomy and progesterone treatment, 17-oestradiol and combined progesterone treatment, 17-oestradiol treatment alone and after HCG-induced pseudopregnancy. Electrophoretic studies show the amount of ULG in uterine secretions, the immunological investigations indicate the intracellular localization of ULG and the distribution of ULG-positive cells in the endometrium.No obvious differences were found between the uteri 7 days after injection with chorion-gonadotropin and those 7 days following normal copulation. No differences could be demonstrated between the uteri of animals 35 days following ovariectomy and subsequent progesterone treatment on Days 31–33 and those of normal 7 d. post coitum (p.c.) animals. Uteri from animals treated with progesterone on Days 2–5 p.c. contained more ULG-positive cells than controls. 17-oestradiol treatment with and without subsequent progesterone treatment resulted, in both gravid and ovariectomized animals, in the formation of a tall columnar endometrial epithelium. Treatment with 17-oestradiol on Days 1 and 2 p.c. led to a decrease in the number of UGL-positive cells at 7 days p.c. Even after ovariectomy with 17-oestradiol substitution, UGL-positive cells were still present in the endometrium. However a secretion of any magnitude could not be detected. The importance of differentiation between synthesis and secretion (= release) as distinct phases of the glandular response is especially emphasised by the latter findings.Supported by Grant No. Ki 154/5-6, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft     

Steroid dynamics in the rabbit

Male rabbits were infused at a constant rate with 3H-androstenedione/14C-estrone (n = 5) or 3H-testosterone/14C-estradiol-17 beta (n = 3) for 3 1/2 hr and blood samples were obtained over the last hour and analyzed for radioactivity as androstenedione (A), testosterone (T), estrone (E1), estradiol-17 beta (E2 beta) and estradiol-17 alpha (E2 alpha). The mean value for the metabolic clearance rate of androstenedione (MCRA) was 85 +/- 10 l/day/kg, which was significantly greater than the mean MCRE1 59 +/- 10 l/day/kg. MCRT, 42 +/- 8 l/day/kg, and MCRE2 beta, 45 +/- 9 l/day/kg were not different. The conversion ratio of androstenedione to testosterone (CRA,T) was greater than CRT,A but for the estrogens, CRE2 beta, E1 was greater than CRE1,E2 beta. CRE2 beta, E2 alpha was greater than CRE1,E2 alpha. The overall aromatization of androstenedione to estrone, the fraction of 3H-androstenedione infused into the blood and measured as 3H-estrone in blood [( rho]A,E1BB) was 0.0005 +/- 0.0001 and for [rho]T,E2 beta BB was 0.0012 +/- 0.0006. In the rabbit both sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and albumin binding may effect the MCRs, and peripheral aromatization of androgens occurs to a far lesser degree than in humans and primates.     

Polarity in the rabbit embryo

The main aim of the gastrulation process is commonly regarded to be the generation of the definitive germ layers known as mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm. Here we discuss how the topography of gene expression, cellular migration and proliferative activity in the preliminary germ layers (hypoblast and epiblast) of the rabbit embryo reveal the sequence of events that establishes the three major body axes. We present a testable model in which a combination of cellular movement in the hypoblast with a morphogen gradient created by the (extraembryonic) trophoblast creates morphological polarity in the embryo and, hence, the co-ordinates for germ layer formation.     

WHBE 兔、日本大耳白兔和新西兰兔遗传多样性的 RAPD 分析

目的：应用随机引物扩增多态性DNA技术（ random amplified polymorphic DNA , RAPD）对大耳白黑眼兔（ white hair black eyes rabbit , WHBE rabbit ）、日本大耳白兔（ Japanese white rabbit , JW rabbit ）和新西兰兔（New Zealand white rabbit, NZW rabbit）3个实验兔品系进行遗传分析。方法选用90只实验兔的皮肤组织样品提取基因组DNA,用60个随机引物对实验兔基因组DNA进行PCR扩增,根据电泳结果筛选出多态性较高的引物进行RAPD-PCR分析,再利用Popgene 3．2统计软件对3个品系的扩增条带进行遗传分析,获得实验数据。结果分析结果表明：（1）60个随机引物中筛选出25个多态性较高的引物,3个品系实验兔共检测到493个扩增片段,长度在100～1800 bp之间,筛选的25个引物中,其中16个引物既可扩增出3个品系共同的DNA条带,也可扩增出WHBE兔特有的特征条带;（2） WHBE兔位点数为234个,其中多态位点数166个,多态位点比为70．94％,JW兔位点数为228个,其中多态位点数122个,多态位点比为53．51％,NZW兔位点数为231个,其中多态位点数94个,多态位点比为40．69％;（3）三个群体的Shannon多样性指数分别为0．3385,0．2222和0．1905;（4） JW兔和NZW兔的遗传相似系数最高,为0．8443,其次为WHBE兔和JW兔的遗传相似系数,为0．8204,WHBE兔和NZW兔的遗传相似系数最低,为0．7862。结论结果表明WHBE兔与JW兔和NZW兔之间有遗传的相似性,也存在着遗传差异,应用RAPD技术可以很好地检测实验兔不同品系之间以及同一品系不同个体之间的亲缘关系。     

Indocyanine green pharmacokinetics in the rabbit

In a Latin square design, nine New Zealand white male rabbits (2.8-4.8 kg) each received intravenous indocyanine green (ICG) in doses of 2.5, 12.5, and 25 mg/kg. A period of 4 weeks separated consecutive experiments. A specific high-pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay and the traditional spectrophotometric (SPEC) method were used to monitor plasma ICG. The analyses demonstrated the ambiguous nature of the SPEC assay, and the HPLC procedure pointed to the presence of an unidentified ICG metabolite. Dose-dependent ICG disposition was evident from the ANOVA of the mean (+/- SD) clearances, namely, 17.09 (7.35), 4.50 (0.82), and 2.27 (0.57) mL X min-1 X kg-1 for the aforementioned doses, respectively. Analysis of variance of the clearances also demonstrated a significant ordering effect suggesting cumulative ICG toxicity. The mean ICG profiles for the three doses accorded with a novel three-compartment model containing two ICG distributional spaces in addition to a compartment (liver) responsible for ICG elimination from the circulation. A saturable uptake process into the eliminating compartment (Vmax = 0.93 mg X kg-1 X min-1; Km = 31.9 mg/L) accounted for the dose-dependent features. Additional studies in four unanesthetized rabbits with chronically catheterized bile ducts revealed no disparity between the SPEC and HPLC analyses of biliary ICG. The mean (+/- SD) ICG recovery in bile following an intravenous dose of about 12.5 mg/kg was 59.8 (16.3)%.