About 30 years ago, Goldblatt (1, 2) and von Euler (3, 4) showed that human and ovine seminal plasma contain an acidic lipid (prostaglandin) with vasodepressor activity and smooth muscle-stimulating activity. The early studies have been summarized by von Euler (5, 6). In 1960 Berg-strom and Sjdvall isolated from sheep vesicular glands a highly potent crystalline material, prosta-glandin E1 (PGE...

The anatomy of the internal organs of the male reproductive apparatus (MRA) of adults and pupae was compared among 51 species of bees, including representatives of six families. Four different types of MRA were found. The type I is present in males of the less derived families (Colletidae, Andrenidae, and Halictidae) and is characterized by three seminiferous tubules per testis, which are almos...

A variety of agents that are known to complex copper can reversibly inhibit the oxygenation of unsaturated fatty acids by particulate preparations from sheep vesicular glands. The time-dependent activation of the oxygenase preparation by phenol, on the other hand, was not affected by the copper chelator, diethyldithiocarbamate. The results suggest that protein-bound copper could play a role in ...

Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) is a member of the neurotrophin family. Neurotrophins exert their effects by binding to corresponding receptors, which are formed by the tyrosine protein kinases TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC, and the low affinity p75NTR receptor. The role of neurotrophins in the biology of male genital organs is far from clear. In particular, little is known about the influence of sex hormones...

The prostaglandins constitute a class of physiologically active compounds with a widespread occurrence in animal tissues (see References 2 and 3). Previous studies have led to the determination of their structures (4-S), and more recent investigations have shown that they can be formed enzymatically from the essential fatty acids (7,8). It was thus shown that in homogenates of vesicular glands ...

The prostaglandins constitute a class of physiologically active compounds with a widespread occurrence in animal tissues (see References 2 and 3). Previous studies have led to the determination of their structures (4-S), and more recent investigations have shown that they can be formed enzymatically from the essential fatty acids (7,8). It was thus shown that in homogenates of vesicular glands ...

A depressor substance which stimulates smooth muscle was discovered by Goldblatt and von Euler in extracts of human seminal plasma and of the vesicular glands of sheep (1,Z). The active principle, called prostaglandin, wm shown to have acidic properties. Investigations on its occurrence and biological effects were carried out by von Euler (2) and more recently by El&son (3). Two biologically ac...

Real-time imaging of regulated exocytosis in secreting organs can provide unprecedented temporal and spatial detail. Here, we highlight recent advances in 3D time-lapse imaging in Drosophila salivary glands at single-granule resolution. Using fluorescently labeled proteins expressed in the fly, it is now possible to image the dynamics of vesicle biogenesis and the cytoskeletal factors involved ...