Early Changes Induced by Short-Term Low-Dose Cadmium Exposure in Rat Ventral and Dorsolateral Prostates

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Paternal treatment with cisplatin impairs reproduction of adult male offspring in rats

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Lobe Variation Effects of Experimental Diabetes and Insulin Replacement on Rat Prostate

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Maternal exposure to aqueous extract of Jacaranda decurrens: Effects on reproductive system in male rats

Context: Jacaranda decurrens subsp. symmetrifoliolata Farias & Proenca (Bignoniaceae) is a species widely used for their medicinal properties. At least to our known, no study has been conducted concerning its toxicological profile after gestational and lactational exposure.Objective: The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of J. decurrens on development of the reproductive system in male rats.Materials and methods: Pregnant rats were treated daily (gavage) with 250 or 500 mg/kg/day of aqueous extract of J. decurrens or vehicle, from day 12 of pregnancy to day 21 of lactation.Results and Discussion: Both doses of J. decurrens significantly anticipated (p < 0.05) the age of testicular descent to the scrotum, a parameter indicative of puberty initiation. Furthermore, at puberty, there was a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in testicular and epididymis weights in the offspring exposed to the higher dose of extract, without effect on sperm production and the histology of reproductive organs. on the other hand, at adulthood, the reproductive parameters analyzed did not differ among groups.Conclusions: J. decurrens, in this experimental model, interfered with the initial development of the reproductive system, but without lasting effects on sperm production in adulthood.

Chronic caffeine intake increases androgenic stimuli, epithelial cell proliferation and hyperplasia in rat ventral prostate

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of Gestational and Lactational Fenvalerate Exposure on Immune and Reproductive Systems of Male Rats

The aim of this study was to determine the consequent reproductive developmental and immunotoxic effects due to exposure to fenvalerate during pregnancy and lactation in male offspring of maternal-treated rats. Pregnant rats were treated daily by oral gavage with 40 or 80 mg/kg of fenvalerate or corn oil (vehicle, control), from d 12 of pregnancy to d 21 of lactation. Immune and reproductive developmental effects were assessed in male offspring at postnatal days (PND) 40 (peripuberty), 60 (postpuberty), and 90 (sexual maturity). Treatment with the higher dose (80 mg/kg) resulted in convulsive behavior, hyperexcitability, and mortality in 45% of the dams. Fenvalerate was detected in the fetus due to placental transfer, as well as in pups due to breast-milk ingestion, persisting in male offspring until PND 40 even though pesticide treatment was terminated on PND 20. However, fenvalerate did not produce marked alterations in age of testicular descent to the scrotum and prepucial separation, parameters indicative of puberty initiation. In contrast, at puberty, there was a reduction in testicular weight and sperm production in male offspring of maternal-treated rats. At adulthood, the sperm counts and fertility did not differ between control and treated groups. Testosterone levels were not changed at any time during reproductive development. Similarly, no apparent exposure-related effects were detected in the histological structures of the lymphohematopoietic system. Data indicate that fenvalerate, in this experimental model, interfered with initial development of the male reproductive system, but that these effects on sperm production or fertility did not persist into adulthood. There was no apparent evidence that fenvalerate altered testosterone levels or produced a disruption in male endocrine functions.

Assessment of Female Reproductive Endpoints in Sprague-Dawley Rats Developmentally Exposed to Diuron: Potential Ovary Toxicity

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Harmful effects of carbamazepine on the postnatal development of the rat ventral prostate

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Postlarval stages and growth patterns of the spider crab Pyromaia tuberculata (Brachyura, Majidae) from laboratory-reared material

The spider crab Pyromaia tuberculata was introduced into southeastern Brazil; ovigerous material was collected and reared in the laboratory. Morphologic changes and growth patterns of post-larval development are reported. Results show that within-stage size variation is lowest in mature stages, especially in the case of females in which there is an apparent size threshold for the last juvenile stages to undergo the puberty molt. A prepuberty molt taking place at the fourth crab stage is indicated by analyzing the allometric growth of the abdomen in females. In contrast, the same procedure using the allometric growth of chelae failed in detecting both the prepuberty and puberty molts in males. Conversely to females, which develop a complex brood chamber at the puberty molt, the enlargement of chelae was not consistent in all postpuberty males. The short instar sequence of this species, in no case exceeding nine stages, is marked by conspicuous morphologic alterations achieved at each molt. Almost all stages can be identified by examining diagnostic features of rostrum, abdomen, sternum, and pleopods.

The megalopa and juvenile development of Pachygrapsus transversus (Gibbes, 1850) (Decapoda, Brahyura) compared with other grapsid crabs

Megalopae were reared in the laboratory to the 7(th) crab stage. The megalopa and 1(st) crab stage are described and juvenile development was studied with emphasis on pleopodal differentiation. The megalopal phase, is easily identified, and shares with those of other Grapsinae and Plagusiinae big size, the presence of many natatory setae, and a series of conspicuous teeth on the inner margin of the dactyli from the 2(nd) to 4(th) walking leg. These features are regarded as adaptive for settlement in a wave-swept environment, such as the rocky marine intertidal where most of those species live. Fast development of juvenile pleopods is another characteristic of these subfamilies. In Pachygrapsus transversus, the sexes can be distinguished from the 2(nd) crab stage. Gonopod differentiation in males and the basic segmentation of all four pleopod pairs in females are already concluded at the 5(th) instar. A review of the available information indicated that settlement of large megalopae and fast juvenile development, preceding a precocious sexual maturity, are trends in Grapsinae and Plagusiinae. on the other hand, the Sesarminae pass through a more extensive juvenile instar sequence and presumably a delayed maturity.

Allometry of the secondary sexual characters of the shore crab Pachygrapsus transversus (Gibbes, 1850) (Brachyura, Grapsidae)

The allometric growth of secondary sexual characters in Pachygrapsus transversus is investigated from the 2(nd) crab stage onward. Clear sexual dimorphism is restricted to abdominal morphology, but ANCOVA analyses showed that chelae become larger in males and the carapace becomes wider in females. Size at the puberty moult in both sexes was estimated using Somerton's computer techniques. Mature II analyses applied to bi-log gonopod length vs, carapace length relationships indicated a puberty moult at 5.0 mm in males.In females, Mature I analyses detected the overlapping growth phase lines in bi-log carapace length vs. abdomen width scatterplots. Fitting the logistic equation provided an estimate of 50% maturity at 5.5 mm. The regression lines separate young and resting individuals from the potentially reproductive females, but they do not separate young from adult crabs. Year-round monthly samples showed that the proportion of small adult-like females is higher during the breeding season. After breeding, females may moult to a young-like morphotype, as observed in controlled laboratory conditions. Moulting to a resting condition splits smaller mature females into different growth phase lines. Therefore, estimates of female size at sexual maturity by means of abdomen allometric growth analyses are inadequate in this species.

Reproduction of the speckled swimming crab Arenaeus cribrarius (Brachyura : portunidae) on the Brazilian coast near 23 degrees 30 ' S

The reproductive biology of Arenaeus cribrarius from Ubatuba, São Paulo State, Brazil, was studied. Swimming crabs were sampled monthly for two years with otter trawls in two bays. A total of 941 males and 1,012 females were examined. Mating took place mainly in autumn involving postmolt females and intermolt males. At that time, gonad regression was verified in adult males, due to spermatophore transfer, and the molting of adult females. Ovigerous females or females with mature gonads were present year-round but more frequently captured during spring and summer. We found that 19, of all adult females were premolt, which indicated the occurrence of another mature instar and thus the absence of a well-defined terminal molt after puberty. Intermolt males were captured throughout the whole study period.

Relative growth and sexual maturity of the stone crab Menippe nodifrons Stimpson, 1859 (Brachyura, Xanthoidea) in southeastern Brazil

O objetivo do presente estudo foi determinar o crescimento relativo e a maturidade sexual morfológica de Menippe nodifrons. As coletas foram realizadas na Praia Grande e Tenório, Ubatuba, São Paulo. Os caranguejos foram separados quanto ao sexo e mensurados na região da largura (LC) e comprimento da carapaça, comprimento e altura dos própodos quelares direito e esquerdo, largura do abdome (LA) nas fêmeas e comprimento do gonopódio (CG) nos machos. Obteve-se 399 indivíduos, sendo 195 machos e 204 fêmeas. Os machos atingiram a maturidade sexual com 29,7mm LC e as fêmeas com 31,6mm LC. Para as fêmeas a melhor relação que indicou a muda da puberdade foi LA vs. LC, sendo que o crescimento foi alométrico negativo na fase jovem e alométrico positivo após a muda da puberdade. Para os machos foi CG vs. LC evidenciando crescimento alométrico positivo na fase jovem e isométrico na fase adulta.

Morphological modifications induced by an artificial diet on the hypopharyngeal glands of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, apidae) during their degenerative process

The morphological aspects of the hypopharyngeal glands were analyzed in worker bees of Apis mellifera of 15 and 30 days of age. The individuals were kept in a room with controlled temperature at 32degreesC where they received water and either a protein or a high energy food. Nurse and foraging workers were used as a control for the experiment. The morphological results showed that the different diets modified the cell death characteristics and intensified its occurrence. Both diets caused precocious glandular degeneration. However, this anticipation of cell death was more pronounced in the glandular tissue of the workers who received the high energy diet when compared to the glands of the bees fed with the protein meal.The degenerative signs observed were an intense cytoplasmic vacuolization, with a loss of cytoplasm and of the cell boundaries, dilation or condensation of the cells and nuclei, and nuclear fragmentation. At the end of the degenerative process, we observed the extrusion of nuclei and, finally, the dissolution of the glands. The hypopharyngeal glands' remains were found in the haemolymph.

Effect of paprika on the ovarian development of Africanized honeybee workers (Apis mellifera L.) in queenless colonies

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)