Nakai M, Van Cleeff J K, Bahr J M
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1207 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Tissue Cell. 2004 Dec;36(6):439-46. doi: 10.1016/j.tice.2004.08.003.
Classification of seminiferous tubules is the basis for understanding normal and abnormal spermatogenesis. The aim of the present study was to determine spermatogenic stages and the duration of the cycle in the domestic ferret using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) as a tracer. Eleven adult male ferrets that were maintained in a breeding condition were used. Testicular sections were stained with the periodic acid-Schiff reaction for light microscopy. To determine the cycle duration, six ferrets were injected intraperitoneally with BrdU, and testes were collected 3h later and 10 days and 3h later. BrdU was detected by immunohistochemistry. Seminiferous tubules were classified into eight stages, and frequencies of stages I-VIII were 10.6, 2.2, 7.9, 13.1, 22.3, 21.9, 14.0 and 8.0%, respectively. The most advanced BrdU-labeled cells at 3h post-injection were leptotene spermatocytes in stage VI and those at 10 days and 3h were pachytene spermatocytes in stage V. From differences in stage frequency and BrdU staining frequency between two time points, the duration of one cycle was estimated to be 13.0 days. The present observations indicate that stages and the cycle duration of the ferret spermatogenesis are similar to those reported in other carnivores.
生精小管的分类是理解正常和异常精子发生的基础。本研究的目的是使用溴脱氧尿苷（BrdU）作为示踪剂，确定家养雪貂的生精阶段和周期持续时间。使用了11只处于繁殖状态的成年雄性雪貂。睾丸切片用高碘酸-希夫反应染色以进行光学显微镜检查。为了确定周期持续时间，对6只雪貂进行腹腔注射BrdU，3小时后、10天零3小时后收集睾丸。通过免疫组织化学检测BrdU。生精小管分为八个阶段，I-VIII期的频率分别为10.6%、2.2%、7.9%、13.1%、22.3%、21.9%、14.0%和8.0%。注射后3小时最先进的BrdU标记细胞是VI期的细线期精母细胞，10天零3小时的是V期的粗线期精母细胞。根据两个时间点之间阶段频率和BrdU染色频率的差异，估计一个周期的持续时间为13.0天。目前的观察结果表明，雪貂精子发生的阶段和周期持续时间与其他食肉动物报道的相似。
