Methods for analysing oxidised DNA lesions [formamidopyrimidine glycosylase (Fpg)-sensitive sites] in coelomocytes and spermatogenic cells from the earthworm Eisenia fetida using the Fpg-modified comet assay were established. The DNA integrity (SSBs = strand breaks plus alkali labile sites and Fpg-sensitive sites) in cells from E. fetida continuously exposed to (60)Co gamma-radiation (dose rate...

In mammals, DNA methylation is restricted to cytosines of CpG dinucleotides, which are frequently found in short genomic regions including gene promoters. Methylation within CpG-rich regions around promoters tends to repress gene expression; thus, the CpG islands of housekeeping genes are normally unmethylated. We previously described a testis-specific single-exon gene containing a CpG-rich seq...

In the bullfrog Rana catesbeiana, testicular weight is constant throughout the year, but the volume densities of germinative and interstitial compartments undergo inverse changes from winter (non-breeding) to summer (breeding). The occurrence of apoptosis in the seminiferous lobules of bullfrogs was investigated in these two periods using sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E), the ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the correlation between PGAM1 and spermatogenic dysfunction and to evaluate the effect of expression of PGAM1 on the function of germ cells. METHODS Expression of PGAM1 was detected in 40 cases of infertile males with definite pathological diagnosis and 12 cases of mouse models with spermatogenic dysfunction by immunohistochemistry. Then, cell proliferation, apoptosis...

The clinical potential for fertilization was examined by using the human sperm-hamster oocyte assay system after microinjection of round (RS), elongating (ES) or elongated (EtedS) spermatids retrieved from obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermic patients. Freshly isolated, in-vitro cultured and cryopreserved spermatids were utilized. For each category of microinjected spermatids, we demonst...

Sertoli cell only syndrome was first described by Del Castillo et al. (1947). According to the original description it has been used when no spermatogenic cells have been seen in a testicular biopsy specimen. It is therefore unfortunate that the name of this syndrome has been misused in Human Reproduction in connection with cases where Sertoli cell only has been a diagnostic failure by a pathol...