Seasonal variations in the morphometric analysis of the ovary and uterus and in progesterone and 17β-oestradiol production in the brown hare (<i>Lepus europaeus</i>)

Abstract

Seasonal variations in the morphometry of the ovary and uterus, and in progesterone and 17(3-oestradiol production in 37 brown hares (Lepus europaeus), 10 in spring, 7 in summer, 14 in autumn, and 6 in winter, are reported.Evaluation of the relative volume of primary and growing follicles, and stroma in the hare ovary revealed a stable level of primary follicles during the year. The highest relative volume of growing follicles was found in the autumn, with a similar value in winter. As the relative volume of growing follicles increased, the amount of stroma decreased. The lowest relative volume of stroma was found in the autumn (90.1 %) and the highest in the spring (97.3%). No significant differences were found in the relative volumes of follicles and stroma in the ovary. The diameter of primary follicles ranged from 30.8 to 35.9 u,m during the year, with no significant seasonal difference. The diameter of growing follicles ranged from 139 to 222 |im.The highest relative volume of endometrium in the uterus occurred in the autumn and summer.This difference was significant in comparison with spring (P<0.05). The height of the endometrium was highest in the summer and lowest in the winter. Detailed analysis of the endometrium showed that the highest relative volume of the surface epithelium was in the spring (6.5%), the highest relative volume of glandular epithelium in the winter (22.4%), and the highest relative volume of stroma in the autumn (85.8%). The highest surface epithelium was found in the spring. The average diameter of uterine glands was highest in the spring (63.5%), but the differences between seasons were not significant. VARIATIONS IN THE OVARY AND UTERUS IN HAREAnalysis of progesterone and 17P~oestradol in hare blood showed that the highest levels of progesterone occurred in the spring (22.91 ng/ml). Significant differences were found in the progesterone concentration between spring and autumn (P<0.001). For 17p-oestradiol, the highest concentrations occurred in the winter and the lowest in the summer.The results of this study clearly demonstrate that the highest follicular growth in the brown hare occurs in the autumn, which corresponds with the highest relative volume of uterine glandular epithelium in winter as well as with the highest diameter of uterine glands in the spring. We suggest that in our conditions, the reproductive activity in the female brown hare starts in the autumn.

Ultrastructural Morphometry of Mammary Gland in Transgenic and Non‐transgenic Rabbits

“…After collection, the samples were fixed in 10% formol, dehydrated in a graded series of ethanol (70%, 80%, 90% and 100%), saturated with benzene and embedded in paraffin. Paraffin blocks were sectioned on the microtome into 7–12 μ m thick sections, which were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (Massanyi et al., 2000). Based on micromorphologic criteria (Weibel et al., 1966), the mammary gland structures in each sample were quantitatively evaluated.…”

The effect of repeated cadmium oral exposure on the level of sex hormones, estrous cyclicity, and endometrium morphometry in female rats

“…The review of in vitro and in vivo studies shows that Cd can both increase and inhibit the secretion of the major classes of steroid hormones: E 2 and P and the effects are dependent not only on the dose and route of administration but also on the stages of estrous cycle (Massányi et al 2000 ; Han et al 2006 ; Zhang and Jia 2007 ; Zhang et al 2008 ). Cd also induces significant changes in the structure of ovary (maturation of follicles, follicular atresia, degradation of corpus luteum, the damage of oocytes), as well as the uterus (a significant increase of the uterine epithelium height, interstitial edema, capillary modification) (Paksy et al 1992 ; Massányi and Uhrín 1996 , 1997 ; Massányi et al 1997 , 2005 ; Höfer et al 2009 ; Ali et al 2010 ; Wang et al 2015 ).…”