Normal rat adrenocortical cells grow in vitro in two states of differentiation, depending on culture conditions. Under one set of conditions, they proliferate and are fibroblast shaped, with some myoid cell characteristics and with limited steroidogenic activity. Under alternate conditions they do not replicate and are epithelial-like and similar to adrenocortical secretory cells structurally a...

The milk ejection reflex is mediated by the release of pituitary oxytocin and its interaction with specific receptors within the mammary gland. Although up-regulation of the oxytocin receptor during lactation has been shown for the rat mammary gland by ligand binding assay, investigation of the receptor expression in human breast at the molecular level has not yet been carried out in detail. He...

Research on spermatogonia is hampered by complex architecture of the seminiferous tubule, poor viability of testicular tissue ex vivo and lack of physiologically relevant long-term culture systems. Therefore there is a need for an in vitro model that would enable long term survival and propagation of spermatogonia. We aimed at the most simplified approach to enable all different cell types with...

Hamartomas of the breast, also known as fibroadenolipomas, lipofibroadenomas or adenolipomas, are benign lesions. Hamartomas account for between 0.04 and 1.15% of all benign breast tumors in females. Myoid hamartoma of the breast (MHB) is extremely rare. The present study describes a case of MHB in a 44-year-old female. Screening mammography revealed a lobulated partial indistinct isodense mass...

The renewal of glycerol in the visual cells and pigment epithelium of the frog retina was studied by autoradiographic analysis of animals injected with [2-(3)H]glycerol. Assay of chloroform:methanol extracts showed that the labeled precursor was used mainly in lipid synthesis, although there was also some utilization in the formation of protein. Radioactive glycerol was initially concentrated i...

The distribution of the androgen receptor (AR) in archival human testes was determined immunocytochemically using an affinity-purified peptide-specific rabbit antibody, PG21, and employing a modified biotin-streptavidin-immunoperoxidase method that incorporated a biotin amplification step. In combination with microwave epitope retrieval, the biotin amplification step increased the sensitivity o...

The testis is a complex organ consisting of a variety of cells such as germinal cells, Leydig cells, Myoid cells and Sertoli cells. It is the Sertoli cells which are essential in deLarmnrng sperm number and sperm development. The number of Sertoli cells is governed during neonatal development by the adon of homones such as follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and oesbogen [ 11. One hypothesis is ...

We have characterized the polarity orientation of microtubules in teleost retinal photoreceptors. The highly polarized rods and cones contain large numbers of paraxially aligned microtubules and exhibit dramatic cell shape changes. The myoid portion of the inner segments of both rods and cones undergoes contraction and elongation in response to light or circadian signals. Previous studies in ou...