Correlations among antral follicular echotexture, apoptosis and expression of key steroidogenic enzymes in sheep

Abstract

Nineteen cycling ewes underwent transrectal ultrasonography of ovaries followed by ovariectomies during the growth phase of the first follicular wave of the interovulatory interval or the proestrus/estrus phase of the cycle. Quantitative ultrasonographic characteristics of the antrum and follicular wall in a total of forty-three ovine antral follicles were examined for correlations with the protein expression of three steroidogenic enzymes (cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase, CYP17; cytochrome P450 aromatase, CYP19; and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, 3β-HSD) determined by densitometric analysis of immunohistochemical slides, follicular dimensions, granulosa layer thickness and the percentage of apoptotic granulosa cells. Significant correlations were found between echotextural attributes of ovine antral follicles and the percentage of apoptotic granulosa cells, CYP17 expression (theca), CYP19 expression (granulosa) and 3β-HSD expression (theca cells). Computer-aided analyses of ultrasonographic images can be beneficial to the development of assisted reproductive technologies and diagnosis of hormonal imbalances without the need for ovarian biopsies or hormone assays.

Elastographic and echotextural characteristics of foetal lungs and liver during the final 5 days of intrauterine development in dogs

“…All these changes in pulmonary histophysiology may be associated with the gradual decrease in NPV values that was observed between 120 and 24 h before whelping in the present study; the terminal stages of growth and secretory activity of connective tissue ducts appear to be inversely related to pixel intensity of the tissue (Giffin et al, 2009(Giffin et al, , 2014. Similarly, an increase in NPVs just prior to parturition may be associated with the saccular phase of foetal lung development (Lourenço and Machado, 2013), reflecting the biochemical and functional adaptations that occur during lung maturation (Benson et al, 1983;Nicholas et al, 1986;Adler et al, 1990), specifically, the reduction in total protein content (Ahmadi et al, 2013) and augmentation of enzymatic activity (VanDuzer et al, 2014). Results of the present study, however, are inconsistent with those reported by Banzato et al (2017), where there was an abrupt increase in pulmonary echogenicity during the canalicular phase and a plateau during the saccular phase of foetal lung development in various large dog breeds.…”

Relationships of morphological and phototextural attributes of presumptive ovine zygotes and early embryos to their developmental competence in vitro: a preliminary assessment using time-lapse imaging

“…In the search for alternative, non-invasive methods of embryo assessment, our study employed the phototexture analysis of ovine embryos. The term phototexture refers to the visual quality of the surface of an object, revealed through variances in contrast and tone (Vanduzer et al, 2014). In the past, phototexture could only be examined visually, but presently pixel intensity and uniformity of digital images can be assessed using computerized image analysis.…”