In mammals, the müllerian duct (MD) is an embryonic tubular structure that gives rise to the female reproductive tract (FRT). The MD originates from the coelomic epithelium (CoE) and takes on a rostral to caudal shape to establish the primary structure of the FRT under the regulation of morphogenetic signals. During these developmental processes, the MD and its derivatives require proper regula...

Glycosaminoglycans (GAG) promote acrosome reactions (AR) in bovine and rabbit spermatozoa in vitro. Female bovine reproductive tract secretions contained GAG and the concentrations and composition of those GAG varied with different regions and stages of the estrous cycle. This study was designed to evaluate the types of GAG found in reproductive tract secretions of ewes at different stages of t...

Background: The presence of immune system within the female reproductive tract is increasingly being recognized as an important element for maintaining host protection and promoting reproductive functions. The Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs) family plays an important role in innate immune responses against microbial pathogens within the genital tract. These receptors recognize distinct pathogen-asso...

A QTL analysis of female reproductive data from a 3-generation experimental cross between Meishan and Large White pig breeds is presented. Six F(1) boars and 23 F(1) sows, progeny of 6 Large White boars and 6 Meishan sows, produced 502 F(2) gilts whose reproductive tract was collected after slaughter at 30 d of gestation. Five traits [i.e., the total weight of the reproductive tract, of the emp...

Bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi are some important clinical pathogens that may cause the microbial infections of male reproductive tracts, and also interfere with the reproductive function in male [2]. 15% of the cases of male infertility are due to reproductive tract inflammations and infections [3]. Several organs of the male reproductive system, such as male accessory sex glands, test...

In 1998, a newly identified bacterium Taylorella asinigenitalis was isolated from the external genitalia and reproductive tracts of nurse mares, a stallion and donkey jacks in Kentucky. An extensive regulatory effort was implemented to contain the outbreak including the tracing and testing of 232 horses and donkeys on 58 premises. T. asinigenitalis was isolated from the reproductive tract of 10...

MARIANA F. WOLFNER Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 USA E-mail: [email protected] DOI: 10.1002/mrd.22338 Mating regulates the available combinations of neuromodulators in Drosophila reproductivetract regions. This results in a combinatorial “code” of neuromodulators that changes with place and time, and is proposed to coordinate function...

Clusterin is a 75-80 kDa heterodimenc glycoprotein that was first identified as a component of the fluid from the ram rete testes (Fritz et al, 1983). Over the past 15 years, the protein has been purified, or its cognate mRNA cloned, from a number of different species and diverse tissues, including several tissues of the reproductive tract (see Table 1). The role, or, more probably, roles, of t...

At coitus, human sperm are deposited into the anterior vagina, where, to avoid vaginal acid and immune responses, they quickly contact cervical mucus and enter the cervix. Cervical mucus filters out sperm with poor morphology and motility and as such only a minority of ejaculated sperm actually enter the cervix. In the uterus, muscular contractions may enhance passage of sperm through the uteri...