An 11-year-old female mixed-breed dog admitted due to anorexia and vomiting. Radiography showed 7.6-mm uroliths in the right proximal ureter and an enlarged kidney. Type 1 emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) was diagnosed using computed tomography (CT) in the awake dog. Right ureteronephrectomy was performed, and Escherichia coli was isolated. The stone was consisted of 80% calcium oxalate. At the 6-month follow-up, no complications were observed. This is the first report of EPN caused by calcium oxalate in a dog. In addition, we suggest performing CT in weak animals to diagnose EPN without anesthesia.

The trunk kidney of grass carp mainly consisted of renal tubules with a few interstitial hematopoietic tissues. The component structure of fish nephron markedly varies between different species of fish. The nephron of grass carp consisted of morphologically distinct segments; renal corpuscles, neck segment, proximal, intermediate, distal, and collecting tubules. The glomerulus of renal corpuscles mainly composed of mesangial cells and well-developed podocytes that extended their processes to the endothelium of glomerular capillaries forming the filtration barrier. The podocytes expressed both α-SMA and the transforming growth factor gene, TGF-β. The proximal convoluted tubules (PCTs) expressed α-SMA iNOS2, and TGF-β. The cytoplasmof PCT was rich in mitochondria and rER, in addition to the presence of well-developed basolateral tubular system and apical brush borders. Collecting tubules distributed throughout the kidney and lined by principal and flask cells. The interstitial hemopoietic tissues contained iNOS2-positive polymorphic granulocytes, CD3-positive T lymphocytes, rodlet cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, melanomacrophage centers, and telocytes. This study described for the first time the cellular components of the nephron and its associated hemopoietic tissues that can act as a basis for studying the structural changes that may occur in the kidney of grass carp during water salinitiy, environmental, or experimental conditions.

Teleosts exhibit enormous heterogeneity in brain morphology, especially in the patterns of the organization of cerebellum. The cerebellum of a red-tail shark that we analyzed was well-developed and included three main divisions: the valvula cerebelli, the corpus cerebelli, and the vestibulolateral lobe. Characteristically, the cerebellar cortex contained three well-distinct layers: an outer molecular, intermediate ganglionic, and inner granular layer. The ganglionic layer possessed irregularly arranged Purkinje cells and eurydendroid cells that extended their processes into the molecular layer. Both Purkinje cells and eurydendroid cells showed immunoreactivity for iNOS2. Moreover, astrocytes in the cerebellum showed the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein. The most striking observation in the cerebellum of shark was the lack of deep cerebellar nuclei and a well-identified white matter. On the other hand, the gray substance in the spinal cord displays a characteristic pattern in its organization, in which the dorsal horns lie quite close together, giving the gray substance the shape of an inverted Y and possessing large neurons. Notably, the white matter possessed myelinated nerve fibers. The current study provides the first report on the organization of layers and neurons in the cerebellum and spinal cord of red-tail shark. This research will contribute to the neuroanatomy and evolutionary studies of the brain of Cyprinidae.

The role of retinoid acid receptor-related orphan receptor alpha (RORα) on male reproductive functions during aging is unclear. Here, we analyze the morphological changes in the testis of both young and aged RORα-deficient mice, with and without melatonin supplementation. Young mutants showed vacuolation, degeneration and pyknosis of spermatogenic epithelium and Sertoli cells. Aged mutants showed atrophy of the seminiferous tubules and absence of mitotic spermatogenic cells. Absence of sperms in many tubules, loss of acrosomal cap, vacuolation and hypertrophy of Sertoli cells were detected in aged mice, with a significant reduction in the number of seminiferous tubules and a significant increase in the number of Leydig cells and telocytes. Repair in seminiferous tubules and interstitial tissues with enhancement of spermatogenesis was observed in melatonin-treated aged mice. Young mutants overexpressed VEGF that was weaker in aged animals and observed only in the spermatocytes, while melatonin increased VEGF expression in spermatocytes and spermatids. Caspase 3 increased in both young and aged mutant mice in all seminiferous tubules and interstitium; caspase 3 immunostaining in seminiferous tubules, however, showed a normal pattern of apoptosis with melatonin supplementation. The present study reports that age-dependent testicular changes in RORα mutant mice were recovered by melatonin treatment.

Specific features of the immunohistochemical and ultrastructural organization of the hemopoietic head-kidney (HK) in adult Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844) were investigated using light and transmission electron microscopy. The HK of grass carp possessed all developmental stages of leucocytes and erythrocytes, as well as dendritic cells and epithelial reticular cells. The rodlet cells were expressed α-smooth muscle actin (SMA). In addition, macrophages were the most numerous cells in the HK, which aggregated into structures called melanomacrophage centers (MMCs). On contrary, the chromaffin and interrenal cells (ICs) were mixed and organized into large anastomosing cords, which lined the posterior cardinal veins of the HK, and associated with many blood capillaries. The ICs displayed the characteristic features of steroid-producing cells. Three types of chromaffin cells: adrenaline, noradrenaline, and small granule- containing cells were observed in the HK. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive sustentacular cells were marked among the chromaffin cells. Hemopoietic cells, immune cells, MMCs, rodlet cells, in addition to three types of chromaffin cells and one type of interrenal cells in the HK were correlated with the functional significance of the fish concerned.

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