Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học quốc tế về bệnh thú y đề tài: Immunohistochemical study of osteopontin in boar testis | J. Vet. Set. 2007 8 2 107-110 JOURNAL OF Veterinary Science Immunohistochemical study of osteopontin in boar testis Seungjoon Kim Taekyun Shin Department of Veterinary Medicine and Applied Radiological Science Research Institute Cheju National University Jeju 690-756 Korea The expression of osteopontin OPN in boar testis was studied. Western blot analysis detected 66- and 32-kDa OPN immunopositive bands in the testes of adult boars. In postnatal piglets the 66-kDa OPN band was detected in the testes but not the 32-kDa band. In the newborn testis OPN immunostaining was seen in gonocytes and in some supporting cells in the seminiferous tubules as well as in interstitial Leydig cells. In the adult boar testis OPN immunoreactivity was detected in seminiferous tubules with varying intensities. Intense OPN immunostaining was seen in the residual bodies and acrosomes in the spermatids while occasionally OPN immunostaining was seen in spermatogonia and various stage of spermatocytes but in few Sertoli cells in the seminiferous tubules. In addition Leydig cells in adult boars were weakly immunostained with OPN. These findings suggest that OPN is detected in the majority of germ cells and is involved in spermatogenesis in boar testis. Key words boar osteopontin testis Introduction Osteopontin OPN is a highly acidic glycoprotein that was initially isolated from the mineralized matrix of bovine diaphyseal bone 2 8 . Subsequently it has been detected in several tissues including the kidney 16 brain 10 cancers 13 and body fluids including breast milk 7 and male seminal fluids 1 . Although the function of OPN depends on the type of cell in which it is expressed its major roles are thought to be in cell adhesion 13 and cell activation proliferation leading to the production of intracellular signals 14 In the male reproductive system OPN has been detected in a variety of male tissues including testis and epididymis as well as sperm 4 9 11 15 and it has been known to serve as one of
