Seasonal investigation of the macroscopic and microscopic structure of the sinus interdigitalis in Hamdani crossbred sheep (Ovis aries).

BACKGROUND: The odours of different body parts and structures, such as external genitalia, female urine, ventral tail radix, infraorbital sinus and interdigital sinus, have a strong attractiveness for rams. The sinus interdigitalis is considered an important trail gland for sexual behaviour, as its odour is included in the list of strongly attractive structures for male animals during the breeding season, being important in pheromone production. OBJECTIVES: In the present study, the effects of sex and breeding season on the morphological and histological structure of the interdigital gland were investigated in Hamdani crossbred sheep (Ovis aries). METHODS: Sinus interdigitalis glands located on the forelimbs and hind limbs were collected from 10 male and 10 female sheep during both breeding and non-breeding seasons. The gland's position in the forelimbs and hind limbs was determined radiographically. The glands were examined macroscopically, histologically and immunohistochemically in both seasons. RESULTS: In all animals, the topographic location of the gland between the digits was determined to be distal to the phalanx proximalis and at the level of the phalanx media. The mean weight of the gland in male and female animals was 1.07 ± 0.03 and 1.4 ± 0.11 g, respectively. In general, the results of morphometric measurements were higher during the breeding season, and the increase was more pronounced in female animals. In histological examinations, it was determined that both neck and body parts of the tissues consisted of a structure consisting of a connective tissue capsule at the outermost, dermis, epidermis and lumen underneath. Immunohistochemically staining revealed that oestrogen receptors showed positive immunoreactions only in the intracytoplasmic localization of apocrine sweat glands. In terms of morphological, histological and oestrogen receptors, it was thought that the gland may play a role in sexual communication.

Phenotypic evaluation of mast cells in bovine mammary tissue and mastitis in the context of fibrosis.

This research paper addresses the hypothesis that mast cells (MCs) contribute to the formation of mammary fibrosis. MCs are important immune regulatory and immune modulatory cells that play major roles in the inflammatory process. Since there is no detailed knowledge, this research study aimed to comparatively investigate the presence, localization, and immunophenotypes of MCs in healthy and mastitic mammary tissues. A total of 264 mammary samples were evaluated for the examination of mast cells and fibrosis. The mean mast cell number in both acute and chronic mastitis samples were very significantly higher than the control group P < 0.001). A 7.9-fold increase in the number of mast cells was found when the chronic mastitis group was compared with the control (healthy) group. Immunohistochemistry revealed presence of all three immune phenotypes in control and mastitic mammary samples (tryptase + (MCT), chymase + (MCC) and both chymase and tryptase + (MCTC). The mean MCT, MCC, and MCTC numbers in the chronic mastitis group were found to be significantly higher than the control (P < 0.001 for all three phenotypes) but did not differ significantly between control and acute mastitis samples. When the mean numbers of MCT, MCC, and MCTC in the control group and chronic mastitis group were compared, a 10.5, 7.8, and a 4.1-fold increase was observed, respectively. The amount of connective tissue was strongly increased in tissues with chronic mastitis and a 3.01-fold increase was detected compared to the control group. A statistically significant relation was also found between the amount of fibrosis and the increased number of total MCs (P < 0.001).