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1 June 2018 Source and localization of ovulation-inducing factor/nerve growth factor in male reproductive tissues among mammalian species
Orleigh A. Bogle, Rodrigo A. Carrasco, Marcelo H. Ratto, Jaswant Singh, Gregg P. Adams
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The objectives of the study were to compare the presence and localization of ovulation-inducing factor (OIF)/nerve growth factor (NGF) inmale reproductive organs and determine the abundance in ejaculates of species representative of both spontaneous and induced ovulators. We hypothesized that the protein is a widely conserved component of semen among mammals, but is most abundant in camelids. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on tissues from the male reproductive system of llamas, rats, cattle, bison, elk, and white-tailed deer (n = 2 males/species), and the abundance of OIF/NGF in the seminal plasma of camelids (llamas and alpacas), cattle, horses, and pigs (n = 69, 53, 24, and 16 ejaculates, respectively) were quantified by radioimmunoassay. Based on immunoreactivity in both the glandular epithelium and glandular lumen, the prostate gland was the main source of seminal OIF/NGF in llamas, the vesicular gland and ampullae in bovids (cattle and bison), and the ampullae and prostate in cervids (elk and white-tailed deer). Camelid and bovine seminal plasma induced dendritic growth in the PC12 differentiation bioassay, but no effect was observed with equine or porcine seminal plasma. The concentration of OIF/NGF was 10 times higher in camelid than bovine seminal plasma (1.2 ± 0.21 vs. 0.10 ± 0.03; P < 0.05); OIF/NGF was not detected in equine or porcine ejaculates by radioimmunoassay. Based on tissue localization, abundance, and bioactivity, we conclude that OIF/NGF is a common protein within the male accessory glands among species, and its abundance in camelids, bovids, and cervids suggests an important role in the mechanisms of ovulation in both induced and spontaneous ovulators.

Summary Sentence

Ovulation-inducing factor/nerve growth factor is conserved in the reproductive tissue of mammalian species.

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for the Study of Reproduction. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com
Orleigh A. Bogle, Rodrigo A. Carrasco, Marcelo H. Ratto, Jaswant Singh, and Gregg P. Adams "Source and localization of ovulation-inducing factor/nerve growth factor in male reproductive tissues among mammalian species," Biology of Reproduction 99(6), 1194-1204, (1 June 2018). https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/ioy149
Received: 15 December 2017; Accepted: 29 June 2018; Published: 1 June 2018
KEYWORDS
Accessory glands
ampulla
bulbourethral glands
epididymis
immunohistochemistry
Nerve growth factor
NGF
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