Structure of the ovaries of the Nimba otter shrew, Micropotamogale lamottei, and the Madagascar hedgehog tenrec, Echinops telfairi

The otter shrews are members of the subfamily Potamogalinae within the family Tenrecidae. No description of the ovaries of any member of this subfamily has been published previously. The lesser hedgehog tenrec, Echinops telfairi, is a member of the subfamily Tenrecinae of the same family and, although its ovaries have not been described, other members of this subfamily have been shown to have ovaries with non-antral follicles. Examination of these two species illustrated that non-antral follicles were characteristic of the ovaries of both species, as was clefting and lobulation of the ovaries. Juvenile otter shrews range from those with only small follicles in the cortex to those with 300- to 400-mu m follicles similar to those seen in non-pregnant and pregnant adults. As in other species, most of the growth of the oocyte occurred when follicles had one to two layers of granulosa cells. When larger follicles became atretic in the Nimba otter shrew, hypertrophy of the theca interna produced nodules of glandular interstitial tissue. In the tenrec, the hypertrophying theca interna cells in most large follicles appeared to undergo degeneration. Both species had some follicular fluid in the intercellular spaces between the more peripheral granulosa cells. It is suggested that this fluid could aid in separation of the cumulus from the remaining granulosa at ovulation. The protruding follicles in lobules and absence of a tunica albuginea might also facilitate ovulation of non-antral follicles. Ovaries with a thin-absent tunica albuginea and follicles with small-absent antra are widespread within both the Eulipotyphla and in the Afrosoricida, suggesting that such features may represent a primitive condition in ovarian development. Lobulated and deeply crypted ovaries are found in both groups but are not as common in the Eulipotyphla making inclusion of this feature as primitive more speculative. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Absorção de anticorpos do colostro em bezerros: II. Estudo no intestino delgado distal Colostral antibodies absorption in calves: II. Distal small intestine

Com o objetivo de estudar a morfologia e determinar a localização da enzima fosfatase ácida na região distal do intestino delgado de bezerros, do nascimento ao fechamento intestinal, foram coletadas amostras de 15 animais machos em três idades: ao nascer sem que houvesse a ingestão de colostro; três horas após a ingestão da primeira refeição de colostro e aos três dias de idade. Observou-se, ao nascimento, a presença de um grande vacúolo, que dominava todo o citoplasma das células epiteliais do jejuno distal e íleo. Após a ingestão de colostro, verificou-se o acúmulo de material absorvido nesses vacúolos. Foi detectada a reação de fosfatase ácida nas células absortivas de bezerros recém-nascidos, antes e após a ingestão de colostro. Aos três dias de idade, uma nova população de células geralmente não vacuoladas, com sistema endocítico apical reduzido, foi observada recobrindo as vilosidades intestinais. Portanto, em bezerros a maturação do epitélio absortivo do intestino delgado distal pode iniciar-se com o aumento da atividade enzimática nos vacúolos absortivos, culminando com a rápida substituição das células fetais por células diferenciadas não pinocíticas, o que determinaria o término da transferência de anticorpos maternos.<br>The localization of acid phosphatase at distal small intestine and its morphology were studied f0rom birth to intestinal closure from fifteen male dairy calves aged: unsuckled neonatal, three hours after colostrum ingestion and three days old. At birth, the presence of a large vacuole was found and it expanded all over the epithelial cells cytoplasm at distal jejunum and ileum. For colostrum fed calves, ingested material could be observed in the vacuole. The phosphatase acid reaction was detected in the absorptive cells of suckled and unsuckled newborn calves. Calves aged three days old, a new population of non-vacuolated cells and reduced apical endocytic system were found surrounding the villi. Thus, it's suggested that the absorptive epithelium maturation of distal small intestine can be initiated by increasing the enzymatic activity in the absorptive vacuoles, ending by the substitution of fetal cells, by non-differentiated pinocytic cells and resulting in the cessation of maternal antibody transfer