Reproduction

NEVO, ABRAHAM C.

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110019pmid: N/A

Summary.Oxygen consumption rates by human spermatozoa in semen and in sugar free medium, and of seminal plasma, were determined.Human spermatozoa were shown to exhibit marked endogenous as well as exogenous respiration.In the absence of extracellular substrates, that is in suspensions of washed spermatozoa, the motility of human spermatozoa is supported solely by endogenous respiration. Removal of oxygen from the surrounding medium inactivates the spermatozoa and re-aeration restores their motility.Anaerobically, human spermatozoa are able to maintain their motility only at the expense of their exogenous metabolism.

DOYLE, LEE LEE; MARGOLIS, ALAN J.

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110027pmid: N/A

Summary.Adult female mice with an intra-uterine foreign body in one horn were mated to normal males. Females were killed on Days 2 to 11, the reproductive tracts were removed, implantations were counted and the uteri and tubes were flushed to recover unimplanted ova. None of the thirty-two females killed after Day 5 had any evidence of implantations in the operated horn, and only 28% had implantations in the control horn. Forty-five per cent of these females had an average of 3·9 ova in the tubes of the operated side at this time, a finding which could not be explained by any gross anatomical alteration. Fifteen animals killed prior to implantation confirmed the fact that sperm transport and fertilization did occur in both operated and control sides, but that tubal transport of ova was altered on the operated side. All of the ova remained in the tube on Day 4 when ova on the control side were recovered from the uterus.

OGASAWARA, F. X.; LORENZ, F. W.; BOBR, LIDIA WANDA

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110033pmid: N/A

Summary.Semen from low-fecundity cocks, characterized by relatively large numbers of spermatozoa with abnormal morphology, poor motility and sluggish metabolism, fertilized very few eggs when inseminated mid-vaginally, but produced moderate fertility when deposited in the uterus.The percentage of pre-ovipositally dead embryos was also increased in eggs fertilized by spermatozoa from low-fecundity cocks when these were deposited directly in the uterus.Few spermatozoa from low-fecundity cocks entered and/or survived in oviducal glands, especially in those of the uterovaginal junction.

FOLMAN, Y.; DRORI, D.

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110043pmid: N/A

Summary.Unmated male rats were raised in social isolation and grouped, and mated males were raised in cohabitation with hysterotomized females. The unmated males were raised under conditions providing different intensities of female odours.In isolation, the penis muscles, levator ani, penis and the seminal vesicle tissue of the males exhibited a relative atrophy similar in degree to that prevalent in grouped males. Isolated males grew faster and had larger ratios of kidney to body weight and adrenal to body weight than grouped males. A correlation between these two ratios was observed.Continuous exposure to female odours, from weaning to 136 or 240 days of age, did not affect the general atrophy of the accessory reproductive organs either in isolated or in grouped, unmated males.Grouping and exposure to female odours reduced the amount of secretion contained in the seminal vesicles and the size of the bulbourethral glands.It was concluded that social conditions, i.e. isolation and grouping, and continuous exposure to female odours, have only minor effects on the reproductive system of unmated males; conversely, under conditions of cohabitation, heterosexual mating is the factor responsible for preventing the atrophy of the reproductive system in males.

FOOTE, W. C.; HULET, C. V.

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110051pmid: N/A

Summary.The influence of injected progesterone and oestradiol on ovarian and uterine response to injected pms was studied in seventy-nine mature white-faced ewes.The percentage of ewes ovulating (by treatment groups) were: control (no treatment), 100; 8 mg progesterone daily, 20; 16 mg progesterone daily, 0; 1200 i.u. pms on Day 14, 78; 8 mg progesterone daily + pms, 80; 16 mg progesterone daily + pms, 10; 16 mg progesterone + 10 mg oestradiol, 10; 16 mg progesterone + pms + oestradiol, 80. Average follicular fluid weights were statistically higher in the groups receiving 8 and 16 mg progesterone + pms and tended to be lower in groups receiving either 16 mg progesterone alone or 16 mg progesterone + oestradiol. The incidence of cystic and/or luteinized follicles was low.Average uterine weight was significantly higher in the groups receiving pms alone (91 ·3 g) and significantly lower in the groups receiving 8 or 16 mg progesterone alone (53·4 and 44·1 g) than the uninjected controls (74·3 g). The remaining groups were very similar to the uninjected controls but showed greater weight response when compared to appropriate progesterone controls than the group receiving pms alone. The incidence of oestrus was closely associated with the incidence of ovulation except it was less frequent in groups receiving progesterone. The low incidence of ovulation in progesterone modified ewes treated with oestradiol alone, and pms alone, compared to the high incidence when these two hormones were given together indicates a gonadalgonadotrophic hormone interaction, probably at the level of the ovaries.

HUFF, RONALD L.; EIK-NES, KRISTEN B.

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110057pmid: N/A

Summary.Rabbit blastocysts obtained 6 days after coitus were incubated individually or in groups for periods from 24 to 96 hr in a synthetic medium. Radioactive progesterone, pregnenolone, 17α-hydroxypregnenolone, androstenedione and sodium acetate were used as substrates in these incubations. The blastocysts could biosynthesize cholesterol and pregnenolone from acetate, and promote biotransformation of the various steroid substrates. Addition of interstitial cell stimulating hormone and adrenocorticotrophic hormone to the medium increased the rate of differentiation of the blastocysts during in-vitro growth.

COPPOLA, J. A.; LEONARDI, R. G.; RINGLER, I.

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110065pmid: N/A

Summary.The oral administration of 0·5 mg/kg of U11555A or MRL-41 induced superovulation in the pms-treated immature rat. This effect was prevented by the injection of 16 mg/kg of sodium phenobarbital 15 min prior to the expected release of endogenous lh. It was postulated that the superovulatory action of low doses of these anti-oestrogens was mediated through stimulation of lh secretion via antagonism of endogenous oestrogen. Conversely, higher doses of U11555A (6 mg/kg) or MRL-41 (3 mg/kg) suppressed ovulation; similar effects were produced by norethynodrel (40 mg/kg). However, the injection of hcg reversed the inhibitory effects of these agents on ovulation. These results suggested that higher doses of U11555A or MRL-41 and norethynodrel interfered with either the release of lh and/or the subsequent ovarian response.

HARRINGTON, F. EUGENE; LINKENHEIMER, WAYNE H.

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110073pmid: N/A

Summary.One hundred and eighty-six mature nonparous CFN rats and ninety-six mature nonparous Taconic mice were used to determine the effect of compound I.C.I. 33,828 on reproduction when administered by three different routes at dose rates of 8, 16 and 32 mg/kg. Females of both species were treated with the compound for 4 days before adding known fertile males to the female cages. Treatment continued for 11 days. Daily observations were made for spermatozoa in the vaginal smears of rats and for vaginal plugs in mice during this time. On the morning of the 12th day, treatment was stopped and the males were removed from the cages.The results showed that Compound I.C.I. 33,828 at 16 and 32 mg/kg was an effective antifertility agent in rats, regardless of the route of administration. In mice, it was not an effective antifertility agent when injected subcutaneously; however, it was an effective antifertility agent in mice when added to the diet at 32 mg/kg, but only partially effective at the 8 and 16 mg/kg levels.

DUNCAN, GORDON W.; JOHNSTON, RICHARD L.; LYSTER, STANLEY C.

doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0110085pmid: N/A

Summary.U-11634 effectively inhibits pregnancy in rats and mice following either parenteral or oral administration. A single dose administered to rats on Day 4 was as effective as treatment for the first 7 days of pregnancy; however, a single dose on other days of pregnancy was not effective. Pregnancy could not be inhibited in hamsters. At therapeutic doses this compound did not exhibit uterotrophic, anti-oestrogenic, androgenic, gonadotrophic-inhibiting, blastolytic or foetal toxicity activities.Deciduomata formation in rats was inhibited by the compound. This effect was not reversed by progesterone or oestradiol administered simultaneously with U-11634 in ovariectomized, pseudopregnant rats with traumatized uterine horns. Inhibition of nidatory processes may be involved in the observed anti-fertility efficacy. The effects and the unique biological spectrum of this compound relative to other inhibitors of implantation are discussed.