Biomaterial Database

Spermatogenesis in retinol-deficient rats maintained on retinoic acid. 1992

M E van Beek, and M L Meistrich

Department of Experimental Radiotherapy, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030.

Rats maintained on a diet deficient in retinol and retinoic acid were given a diet containing retinoic acid for 21-29 days after the start of weight loss. The testes of four of these rats were studied. Spermatogonia of all types were observed, though in lower numbers than in controls, and their mitotic activity was normal. Normal preleptotene spermatocytes were encountered, but no normal spermatocytes in further stages of development were seen. Pale cells that appeared to be in prophase were observed. It was concluded that, in retinol-deficient rats maintained on retinoic acid, the spermatogonial population is qualitatively normal, but quantitatively subnormal, while spermatocyte development is qualitatively and quantitatively abnormal. No evidence of spermatogonial arrest or any other form of synchronization was found in testes of these rats, but when the remaining rats were injected with retinol, the seminiferous epithelium did show stage synchronization at 36 and 128 days after the injection.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D011919	Rats, Inbred Strains	Genetically identical individuals developed from brother and sister matings which have been carried out for twenty or more generations or by parent x offspring matings carried out with certain restrictions. This also includes animals with a long history of closed colony breeding.	August Rats,Inbred Rat Strains,Inbred Strain of Rat,Inbred Strain of Rats,Inbred Strains of Rats,Rat, Inbred Strain,August Rat,Inbred Rat Strain,Inbred Strain Rat,Inbred Strain Rats,Inbred Strains Rat,Inbred Strains Rats,Rat Inbred Strain,Rat Inbred Strains,Rat Strain, Inbred,Rat Strains, Inbred,Rat, August,Rat, Inbred Strains,Rats Inbred Strain,Rats Inbred Strains,Rats, August,Rats, Inbred Strain,Strain Rat, Inbred,Strain Rats, Inbred,Strain, Inbred Rat,Strains, Inbred Rat
D004032	Diet	Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal.	Diets
D006128	Growth	Gradual increase in the number, the size, and the complexity of cells of an individual. Growth generally results in increase in ORGAN WEIGHT; BODY WEIGHT; and BODY HEIGHT.
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013076	Sperm Count	A count of SPERM in the ejaculum, expressed as number per milliliter.	Sperm Number,Count, Sperm,Counts, Sperm,Number, Sperm,Numbers, Sperm,Sperm Counts,Sperm Numbers
D013090	Spermatocytes	Male germ cells derived from SPERMATOGONIA. The euploid primary spermatocytes undergo MEIOSIS and give rise to the haploid secondary spermatocytes which in turn give rise to SPERMATIDS.	Spermiocytes,Spermatocyte,Spermiocyte
D013091	Spermatogenesis	The process of germ cell development in the male from the primordial germ cells, through SPERMATOGONIA; SPERMATOCYTES; SPERMATIDS; to the mature haploid SPERMATOZOA.	Spermatocytogenesis,Spermiogenesis
D013093	Spermatogonia	Euploid male germ cells of an early stage of SPERMATOGENESIS, derived from prespermatogonia. With the onset of puberty, spermatogonia at the basement membrane of the seminiferous tubule proliferate by mitotic then meiotic divisions and give rise to the haploid SPERMATOCYTES.	Spermatophores,Spermatogonias,Spermatophore
D013737	Testis	The male gonad containing two functional parts: the SEMINIFEROUS TUBULES for the production and transport of male germ cells (SPERMATOGENESIS) and the interstitial compartment containing LEYDIG CELLS that produce ANDROGENS.	Testicles,Testes,Testicle