Effect of prostatic fluid on the quality of fresh and frozen-thawed canine epididymal spermatozoa

Canine epididymal spermatozoa have a low freeze-tolerance ability compared with ejaculated spermatozoa, which could arise from the absence of prostatic fluid (PF). Therefore, the purpose of this work was to elucidate the influence of PF on the quality of canine epididymal sperm before and after freezing. Caudae epididymides were retrieved from eight dogs after routine castration. Spermatozoa were released by slicing the tissue and were extended in either Tris solution or PF before freezing. Frozen sperm samples were thawed at 70 °C for 8 seconds in a waterbath. Sperm concentration, motility using computer-assisted sperm analysis, morphology, plasma membrane, acrosome and chromatin integrity were assessed in the fresh sperm samples (after 20 minutes incubation) and at 0 and 4 hours after thawing. Progressive motility, distance straight line, distance average path, average path velocity, curvilinear velocity, straight line velocity, straightness, linearity, wobble, and beat cross frequency were significantly increased after extraction into PF. There was a higher proportion of spermatozoa with DNA damage in the PF treatment group at 4 hours after thawing than in the Tris treatment group (15.8% vs. 6.7%, P < 0.05). These results suggest that the addition of PF to canine spermatozoa activates sperm motility in fresh spermatozoa but has a negative effect on chromatin integrity after freezing–thawing.     

Isolation and Identification of Canine Parvovirus Serotype 2a and Its VP2 Protein Expression in Transgenic Tobacco

A strain of canine parvovirus (CPV) was isolated from feces of an ill puppy in an animal hospital in Wuhan, China. It was designated as CPV/WH02/06. This isolate was identified as serotype CPV-2a by the hemagglutination test, CPV Ag detection strip, electron microscopy, and PCR. The vp2 gene was cloned and sequenced and assigned GenBank accession number EU377537. A 1242 bp segment of the 5' region of the vp2 gene was cloned and inserted into the binary vector pBI121 and used for Agrobacterium-mediated tobacco transformation. Transgenic tobacco plants were selected on MS medium supplemented with 100 μg/mL kanamycin and 100 μg/mL timentin. Integration of the vp2 gene into the tobacco genome was confirmed by PCR using T1 progeny plants, and the expression of the VP2 protein was confirmed by Western blotting.     

Expression of Connexin 43 in normal canine testes and canine testicular tumors

In human testis, gap junctions containing connexin(Cx)43 are located within the seminiferous epithelium between Sertoli cells and between Sertoli and germ cells. Cx43 is known to play a role in the differentiation and proliferation of these cell types. It can further be associated with human seminoma development. The dog has been proposed as a model for studies of the male reproductive system, because of the frequent occurrence of testicular neoplasms. Thus, we investigated Cx43-mRNA and -protein expression in testes of normal prepubertal dogs, adult dogs, and in canine testicular tumors. Sertoli cells in prepubertal cords express Cx43 mRNA, but do synthesize only less Cx43 protein. Within the seminiferous tubules, Cx43 mRNA was detected in Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, and spermatocytes. Cx43 protein was mainly present in the basal compartment. In canine testicular tumors Cx43 mRNA was detectable in both seminoma and neoplastic Sertoli cells, whereas Cx43 protein was only found in neoplastic Sertoli cells. Our data indicate that Cx43 is regulated differentially in testicular tumors and that alterations of Cx43 expression may be involved in the pathogenesis of canine testicular malignancies. This study represents the first morphological work on the spatiotemporal expression pattern of Cx43 in normal and neoplastic canine testis.     

Cranial suture closure pattern in water deer and implications of suture evolution in cervids

Interspecific diversity exists in cranial suture closure patterns among mammalian species. Suture closure patterns partly reflect phylogenesis, but it has also been claimed that it is influenced by biomechanical factors. Here we provide the first report on the cranial suture closure pattern in water deer. Among cervids, the water deer is an exceptional species, as it is the only one without antlers. Instead, the male water deer possess prominent canines, which are utilized during male-male combats. This unique morphological setting allowed us to examine whether the presence of prominent canines affects cranial suture closure. We found that the only sexual difference in cranial suture closure pattern is the closure of the interfrontal suture in males, which is found in some other cervid species as well. Except for the interfrontal suture closure, timing and sequence of cranial suture closure were comparable between both sexes, suggesting that the presence of prominent canines in males has no influence on cranial suture closure pattern. Our results indicate that interfrontal suture closure in males is a phylogenetic pattern, i.e. an apomorphy for Capreolini, Hydropotini and Alceini.     

Quality assurance of canine vaginal cytology: A preliminary study

Regulatory controls of quality assurance in veterinary laboratories are less common than in human reproduction laboratories and the intra- and inter-technician variation in the assessment of canine vaginal cytology has not been reported. This study was designed to determine whether variation in classification of vaginal epithelial cells and interpretation of vaginal cytology smears existed within and between technicians in a canine reproductive laboratory.Sixteen vaginal cytology smears representing different known stages of the oestrous cycle were examined twice by one experienced technician and three inexperienced technicians in a blinded random order study design. Seven assessments were made; counting and classifying one hundred vaginal epithelial cells into four morphological classifications and assessment of three cellular categories. Technicians also interpreted their results and reported the stage of the cycle they thought each slide represented. In addition, selected samples were sent to four external commercial laboratories for interpretation.For the experienced technician, intra-technician variation was low for the morphological classifications and cellular assessments (r = 0.69-0.95). There was more intra-technician variation between results from Examination One and Examination Two for the inexperienced technicians (r = 0.53-0.92 where correlations were found). When inexperienced technicians' results were compared to results from the experienced technician, the inter-technician variation was low; results were correlated for 17 of the 21 observations (four morphological classifications and three cellular assessments across the three technicians) (r = 0.38-0.87). When technician interpretations of stage of the oestrous cycle were compared to the known stage of the cycle for each smear, the experienced technician correctly interpreted 19 of the 32 smears, whilst the three inexperienced technicians correctly interpreted 14, 16, and 18 of the 32 smears. The interpretation of vaginal smears by external laboratories was varied and sometimes inconclusive; 50% of laboratories incorrectly identified metoestrus smears as proestrus and 25% of the laboratories incorrectly identified an oestrus smear as proestrus.The results of this study are highly important for clinicians undertaking canine reproductive assessments since they demonstrate the potential for variability of results. While the greatest precision was found when vaginal smears were examined by an experienced technician (who, on a daily basis, examines many smears), more variability in both the reporting of different cell types and interpretation of the smears was observed by inexperienced technicians and when samples were sent to external commercial laboratories. These findings suggest that suitable quality control programmes should be implemented for laboratories that are undertaking routine assessments of canine reproductive function.     

犬腺病毒基因组缺失VA RNA编码区的发现

将两株１型犬腺病毒（Ｃａｎｉｎｅ ａｄｅｎｏｖｉｒｕｓ ｔｙｐｅ １,ＣＡｄｌ）ＤＮＡ片段（２９￣４０ｍ．ｕ．）和两株２型犬腺病毒（ＣＡｄ２）ＤＮＡ片段（２８￣４４ｍ．ｕ．）,分别克隆到质粒ｐＢｌｕｅｓｃｒｉｐｔ ＳＫ中。经核苷酸序列测定和计算机分析表明,在上述克隆片段内,两株ＣＡｄｌ（ＣＬＬ和Ｇｌａｘｏ）的序列相同,两株ＣＡｄ２（Ｔｏｒｏｎｔｏ和Ｃｈｉｎａ）的序列也相同;ＣＡｄ１与ＣＡｄ２具有９     

犬瘟热病毒核衣壳蛋白基因片段的克隆和表达

目的　构建pMal N重组表达载体 ,转化E .coliDH5α ,诱导表达犬瘟热病毒 (CDV)重组核衣壳 (N)蛋白。方法　采用RT PCR技术 ,从CDVRNA中扩增编码N蛋白的基因片段 ,通过连接反应 ,构建重组克隆载体和重组表达载体 ,转化感受态。E .coliDH5α细胞。通过IPTG诱导表达CDV重组N蛋白。结果　扩增出约 1 7kbCDV全长的主要结构蛋白N蛋白基因 ,通过PCR获得 5 36bpN蛋白基因片段。将N蛋白基因片段克隆入原核表达载体pMal C2 ,表达产物麦芽糖结合蛋白 (MAP)与N蛋白的融合蛋白的相对分子质量约 6 0× 10 3,与预期大小一致。结论　构建的pMal N重组载体所表达的CDVN蛋白为进一步研究CDV的特异、敏感的抗体检测方法打下基础