| dc.description.abstract | Studies investigating leptins role in canine male reproductive function has not previously been
done. For that particular reason, this evaluation of a previous pilot study was designed to
investigate the presence of leptin and leptin receptors in canine testis, epididymis and
spermatozoa.
Obesity is currently the most frequent nutritional disease existing in companion animals,
however this increasingly issue is not given proper attention.
In obese animals an increased amount of adipose tissue is found. With an excess of
adipocytes, an increased level of leptin will be produced. An interesting question is therefore
raised, and it could possibly be of great value if we were capable of finding out whether leptin
demonstrates an impact towards the male reproductive function. However, this issue should
be investigated by first examining the role of leptin in the function of the male genital tract of
healthy dogs in normal condition.
In this research we obtained samples from six healthy and mature dogs. The samples were
collected through routinely neutering and manual semen collection. In this thesis, we
performed the analysis of results from a previously performed sample collection and
immunohistochemical examination. I compared these results to the data in literature in other
species.
Testis and epididymis were fixed in formalin and finally embedded in paraffin prior to
immunohistochemistry identification. We used an indirect immunoperoxidase method to
perform the immunohistochemistry. Rabbit polyclonal antibodies were used for detection of
leptin and goat polyclonal antibodies for leptin receptors. Murine ovaries with CL and canine
CL were used as positive controls, and a chromogenic agent was applied to make it possible
to evaluate the result. The slides were assessed under 100x magnification.
A full sperm-rich portion of semen was collected by manual stimulation. Both epididymal and
ejaculated spermatozoa were further purified using the swim-up technique prior to
immunocytochemistry identification. The samples were collected, purified and processed and
4
the immunocytochemical expression of the antibodies was obtained through the same indirect
immunoperoxidase method as used in immunohistochemistry.
The Objective of this study is to investigate if it is possible to detect leptin and its receptors in
the male reproductive tract of canines with the use of immunohistochemistry and
immunocytochemistry. | en |
