Cutaneous glands of male and female impalas ( Aepyceros melampus ): seasonal activity changes and secretory mechanisms

Welsch, Ulrich; Dyk, G. van; Moss, D. G.; Feuerhake, Friedrich

doi:10.1007/s004410051068

Cited by 14 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Data concerning the cytokeratin expression in eccrine glands of the foot pads of pigs, wolves, dogs, cats and rats are not available. The immunoreactivity of CK7, CK14 and CK19 in the apocrine cutaneous glands of impalas [Welsch et al, 1998a] differs considerably from that in the Procavia glands. An interesting finding of the glands of Procavia was the occurrence of cells in the secretory compartment with a strong homogenous staining of the whole cytoplasm, an observation which has been described under pathologic conditions [Ichikawa et al, 1997].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Cutaneous Eccrine Glands of the Foot Pads of the Rock Hyrax (<i>Procavia capensis</i>, Hyracoidea, Mammalia)

Stumpf

Welsch

2002

Cells Tissues Organs

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In order to find correlations between skin gland morphology and specific ethological features, the cutaneous glands of the foot pads of Procavia capensis were studied by histological and various histochemical methods and by electron microscopy. In the foot pads, abundant specific eccrine skin glands occur, which consist of coiled tubular secretory portions and coiled ducts. The wall of the secretory part is composed of cuboidal glandular cells and myoepithelial cells. Among the glandular cells two types occur: clear and dark cells. Clear cells have numerous mitochondria and form a basal labyrinth, indicating fluid transport. Dark cells, which stain strongly with periodic acid-Schiff, contain a highly developed perinuclear Golgi apparatus, large amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum and many secretory granules indicating production of glycoproteins. Cytokeratin (CK) 19 was found in secretory compartments and ducts, CK14 only in duct cells. Single cells of the secretory coils and ducts may be stained with antibodies against antimicrobial peptides. Some glandular cells contain proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive nuclei especially in the ducts indicating an increased cell proliferation. Terminal transferase (TdT)-mediated d-UTP nick-end labeling-positive nuclei can be detected predominantly in the secretory coils and rarely in the transitional portions between ducts and end pieces. We suppose that proliferating cells migrate from the ducts to the secretory coils. The secretory product of the eccrine cutaneous glands seems to improve the traction between the foot pads of these animals and the steep and smooth rock formations among which they live.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Cutaneous Eccrine Glands of the Foot Pads of the Rock Hyrax (<i>Procavia capensis</i>, Hyracoidea, Mammalia)

Stumpf

Welsch

2002

Cells Tissues Organs

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“…In males, peak secretory activity of the glands is related to testicular activity and is highest shortly before breeding takes place in mid-to late September (Moy 1970;O'Gara and Moy 1972). Increased activity of scent glands in the breeding season also has been reported in caribou (Rangifer taradus) (Quay 1956) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) (Welsch et al 1998). Our observations of the changes in skin apocrine and sebaceous gland activity and structure in pronghorn parallel those of the scent glands, and support the conclusion that skin glands serve the same purpose as scent glands and are not involved in thermoregulatory sweating.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Thermoregulatory anatomy of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)

Mitchell

Lust

2008

Eur J Wildl Res

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We have found that pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) use external heat exchange with the environment and internal heat exchange between the carotid artery rete and cavernous venous sinus blood to regulate body temperature. Now we have investigated the relationship between the histological structure of the skin, cephalic veins, and carotid rete-cavernous sinus system and the physiological mechanisms pronghorn use, and whether their thermoregulatory anatomy has adaptive advantages. We harvested tissue samples of skin, three veins (i.e., angularis oculi vein, dorsal nasal vein, and facial vein), and the carotid rete-cavernous sinus system from four pronghorn, two culled in summer and two in winter, and examined each histologically. The three veins had the typical structure of veins with large lumina and thin walls. The carotid rete consisted of small (0.1-0.5 mm) arterioles with a density of~10/mm 2 , intertwined with veins (~2/ mm 2 ), enclosed within the cavernous sinus; a structure ideal for heat exchange. We concluded that the main function of the dorsal nasal and facial veins is to return cold blood to the body to effect whole body cooling. The cavernous sinus is supplied with warm blood by the palatine veins in winter and cold blood by the deep facial veins in summer, an arrangement different to that in other ungulates, such as sheep, in which the angularis oculi vein supplies the cavernous sinus. Pronghorn skin is richly supplied with blood vessels that facilitate convective heat loss in summer. In winter, the number of coarse and fine hairs per square millimeter increases more than in European deer to form a thick pelage that minimizes heat loss. In summer, the pelage is shed because hair follicles involute. Unlike in other ungulates, pronghorn skin has little adipose tissue. The number of apocrine glands increases in winter rather than in summer. We concluded that the glands have a reproductive/social function rather than a thermoregulatory one. In summary, our study shows that the thermoregulatory anatomy is consistent with our physiological data and has adaptive advantages that help explain the survival of pronghorn in an arid habitat characterized by extreme temperature variation and sparse vegetation.

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“…5B). In some instances, bundles of smooth muscle cells (musculi arrectores pilorum) are responsible for hair erection as well as secretory discharge from sebaceous glands (WELSCH et al 1998;OzAKI et al 2004). Therefore the anatomical relationship between hair follicles, sebaceous glands and arrector muscles of hairs assumes a full functional implication, summed up in the concept of a "follicular unit", involving the three anatomical component parts (POBLET et al 2004).…”

Section: Multicellular Glands Of Serous and Mucous Types -mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive evolution of secretory cell lines in vertebrate skin

et al. 2006

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The embryonic horny layer of vertebrates contains distinctive cell lines that account for the remarkable, diverse secretory performances of their cutaneous apparatuses. Aquatic classes (jawless, cartilaginous and bony fishes) possess single gland cells, scattered among ordinary epidermal cells, that manufacture proteinaceous or mucous substances. This dichotomy is retained in adult amphibians, although the secretory cells in anamnionic tetrapods begin to be arranged in complex glands located in the loose dermis. In the Amniota, intensive keratinisation involving the epidermis results in the loss of the ancestral secretory lines, accompanied by the onset of a novel, lipidproducing gland type, which in mammals is flanked by the exclusive sweat gland apparatus. In this concise up-to-date review, we attempt to phylogenetically narrow the large variety of secretory structures in vertebrate skin into a few basic schemes, in the light of the close relationships between environmental challenges and ecological, ethological as well as physiological roles of the cutaneous apparatus.

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Cutaneous glands of male and female impalas ( Aepyceros melampus ): seasonal activity changes and secretory mechanisms

Cited by 14 publications

References 17 publications

Cutaneous Eccrine Glands of the Foot Pads of the Rock Hyrax (<i>Procavia capensis</i>, Hyracoidea, Mammalia)

Cutaneous Eccrine Glands of the Foot Pads of the Rock Hyrax (<i>Procavia capensis</i>, Hyracoidea, Mammalia)

Thermoregulatory anatomy of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)

Adaptive evolution of secretory cell lines in vertebrate skin

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