The black mink (Mustela vison). A natural model of immunologic male infertility
نویسندگان
چکیده
Breeding for fine black fur has generated a colony of mink wherein 20-30% of the males are infertile. Two clinical groups are distinguishable: one being infertile from the start (primary infertility), and the other infertile after one or more years of fertility (secondary fertility). Although the etiology of primary infertility is unknown, the available data indicate that secondary infertility is associated with an autoimmune disease of the testis. Thus, male mink with secondary infertility have (a) higher prevalence and levels of anti-sperm antibody when compared with animals with primary infertility, and the antibody prevalence varies with fur color; (b) severe monocytic orchitis (47%) and/or aspermatogenesis (75%) with negative cultures for bacterial, fungal, mumps, or Coxsackie B viral organisms; (c) massive and extensive granular deposits of mink IgG and/or C3 (71%), typical of immune complexes, along the basal lamina of seminiferous tubules; (d) testes that when eluted with buffer or low pH yielded IgG that was 10-fold enriched in anti-sperm antibody activity as compared with serum IgG; and (e) no immunopathologic evidence of Aleutian mink disease. Although the sperm antigen-antibody complexes in the testis may be important as a pathogenetic mechanism of the testicular disease, there is no correlation between fluorescent anti-sperm antibody detection in the serum and the infertile state. The infertile black mink is a new model of infertility associated with naturally occurring autoimmune disease of the testis.
منابع مشابه
Evaluation of the Bionic trap to quickly kill mink (Mustela vison) in simulated natural environments.
The Bionic trap, with a bait placed at the back of a 6 cm aperture plastic cone, successfully killed nine of nine wild mink (Mustela vison) in simulated natural conditions. The average times to loss of consciousness and heartbeat were estimated at less than 60 (+/- 26) sec and 340 (+/- 55) sec, respectively, after firing the trap. This study confirmed that the Bionic trap can be expected to ren...
متن کاملPopulation ecology of free-ranging American mink Mustela vison in Denmark
This PhD thesis presents the results of various studies of free-ranging American mink Mustela vison in Denmark. Stable carbon isotope analyses of teeth and claws from 213 free-ranging mink from two areas in Denmark showed that nearly 80% were escaped farm mink. A genetic analysis of a sub-sample of the same animals by means of microsatellites corroborated this result. The isotope analyses permi...
متن کاملFeed consumption and food passage time in mink (Mustela vison) and European ferrets (Mustela putorius furo).
The amount of feed consumed per day and the rate of food passage was measured in mink and European ferrets. Daily feed consumption averaged 40 and 42 g dry matter per kg body weight for male mink and ferrets and 53 and 49 g dry matter per kg body weight for female mink and ferrets, respectively. Using ferric oxide as a feed marker, no differences were observed in food passage time between mink ...
متن کاملMustela or Vison? Evidence for the taxonomic status of the American mink and a distinct biogeographic radiation of American weasels.
The American mink's relationship to the weasels in Mustela has been uncertain. Karyological, morphological, and phylogenetic comparisons to Eurasian Mustela support placing the mink outside the genus as Neovison vison. However, genetic comparisons that incorporate other endemic American Mustela suggest the interpretation of N. vison's position to Mustela has been handicapped by biased geographi...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- The Journal of Experimental Medicine
دوره 154 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 1981