| Title: | Testicular regulation of seasonal change in apocrine glands in the back skin of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) |
| Author(s): | Tomiyasu J; Kondoh D; Yanagawa Y; Sato Y; Sakamoto H; Matsumoto N; Sasaki K; Haneda S; Matsui M; |
| Address: | "Laboratory of Theriogenology, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan. The United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu, Gifu 501-1193, Japan. Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan. Laboratory of Theriogenology, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan. Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Hokkaido 069-0836, Japan. Noboribetsu Bear Park, Noboribetsu, Hokkaido 059-0551, Japan. Kamori Kanko Co., Ltd., Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0004, Japan. Sahoro Resort Bear Mountain, Shintoku, Hokkaido 081-0039, Japan" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1347-7439 (Electronic) 0916-7250 (Print) 0916-7250 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Brown bears communicate with other individuals using marking behavior. Bipedal back rubbing has been identified as a common marking posture. Oily substances are secreted via enlarged sebaceous glands in the back skin of male bears during the breeding season. However, whether apocrine gland secretions are associated with seasonal changes remains unknown. The present study aimed to identify histological and histochemical changes in the secretory status and the glycocomposition of the apocrine glands in the back skin of male bears in response to changes in seasons and/or reproductive status. The apocrine glands of intact males during the breeding season were significantly larger and more active than those of castrated males during the breeding season and those of intact males during the non-breeding season. Lectin histochemical analyses revealed a more intense reaction to Vicia villosa agglutinin (VVA) in the cytoplasm, mainly Golgi zones of apocrine cells during the breeding season among castrated, compared with intact males. Positive staining for VVA was quite intense and weak in intact males during the non-breeding and breeding seasons, respectively. Ultrastructural analysis revealed VVA positivity in the Golgi zone, especially around secretory granules in apocrine cells. Changes in lectin binding might reflect a change in the secretory system in the apocrine cells. The present histological and histochemical findings of changes in the secretory status and glycocomposition of the apocrine glands according to the season and reproductive status suggest that these glands are important for chemical communication" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Apocrine Glands/innervation/*metabolism Behavior, Animal Communication Japan Male *Seasons Skin *Ursidae Volatile Organic Compounds/*analysis Ursus arctos glycocomposition olfactory communication skin gland tree-rubbing;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineTomiyasu, Jumpei Kondoh, Daisuke Yanagawa, Yojiro Sato, Yoshikazu Sakamoto, Hideyuki Matsumoto, Naoya Sasaki, Kazuyoshi Haneda, Shingo Matsui, Motozumi eng Japan 2018/05/02 J Vet Med Sci. 2018 Jun 29; 80(6):1034-1040. doi: 10.1292/jvms.17-0689. Epub 2018 May 1" |
