Reproductive injury in male BALB/c mice infected with Neospora caninum.

BACKGROUND: Neospora caninum is one of the main causes of abortion in pregnant animals. However, N. caninum-induced reproductive injury in male mice is still unclear. METHODS: Male BALB/c mice were infected with a bovine isolate of N. caninum, and the organ coefficients of the testis and epididymis were measured. Lesions in the testis and epididymis were observed by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Expression of the spermatogenic cell apoptosis-related proteins p53 and caspase-3 was detected by western blot. The expression of spermatogenesis-related genes in the testis was detected by reverse transcription-PCR. Sperm morphology and motility were observed. The levels of nitric oxide (NO) and antisperm antibody (AsAb) in the testicular homogenates and hormones in the serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The reproductive capacity of the male mice was detected using a reproduction test. RESULTS: The organ coefficients of the testis and epididymis of the experimental group were significantly downregulated. Light microscopy examination revealed that the spermatogenic cells of the testis were arranged in a disordered manner, and the number was reduced. The number of sperm in the epididymal lumen was significantly reduced, and the cytoplasm exhibited vacuolation and degeneration. Ultrastructural studies revealed that the cells of the testis and epididymis tissues showed varying degrees of disease. The level of p53 and caspase-3 expression in the testis was significantly upregulated. The expression of the testicular spermatogenesis-related genes Herc4, Ipo11 and Mrto4 were strongly downregulated. Observation of sperm by microscopic examination revealed significantly reduced sperm density and sperm motility, and the number of sperm deformities was significantly increased. The level of NO and AsAb was significantly increased. The levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone were significantly upregulated, whereas the levels of testosterone, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone were significantly downregulated. After challenge, the infected male mice and healthy female mice were caged together: the subsequent fetal death rate was increased, and the conception rate, litter size, number of live births and the birth weight were significantly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Infection of male BALB/c mice with the bovine isolate of N. caninum induced varying degrees of injury to the testis, epididymis and sperm of the mice, destroyed spermatogenesis and affected the reproductive capacity.

[Characterization of processing batch for preparation of radix scutellariae based on dependent component analysis and infrared spectrometry].

Dependent component analysis (DCA) was applied to directly estimate source spectral profiles from IR spectra of synthetic mixtures and characterize processing batch for preparation of radix scutellariae. The results show that DCA can estimate information of dependent components (DCs) from the measured infrared spectral (IR) signal obtained during the processing batch for preparation of radix scutellariae, and the estimated information of DCs is corresponding to the IR features of the active components of scutelliare; by inspection of the change trends of the estimated DCs, the endpoint of the processing batch was determined as 55 min. The proposed approach provides a novel way for process analysis and endpoint determination of procedure for preparation of scutellariae.

Arterial chemotherapy and conformal radiation abolish malignant biliary obstruction.

Malignant biliary obstruction has been a challenge to clinical practitioners, especially when it is serious and complete. Chemotherapy or radiation alone is often unsuccessful. In this study, the authors report a 59-year-old patient with complete common bile duct obstruction caused by cholangiocarcinoma who was treated with arterial chemotherapy followed by 3-dimensional conformal radiation, which resulted in a good clinical outcome.