Reproduction in Domestic Animals - Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias

16 t h International Congress on Animal Reproduction
Poster Abstracts 129
Gonadectomy not only affects hormonal homeostasis but also alters
the turnover of different components of the extracellular matrix in
urogenital tissues. Collagen is an important component of the bladder
and urethral walls and thus crucial for the mechanical properties of
normal lower urinary tract (LUT) functions. Collagen synthesis
appears to be modified by the hormonal environment, specifically
oestrogen and gonadotrophin levels, and receptors for these hormones
are expressed in the LUT. Interestingly, the expression of these
receptors varies between intact and gonadectomised dogs. The
objective of the present study was to determine whether there is any
difference in proportions of collagen and muscle tissues in the LUT of
intact and gonadectomised male and female dogs.
Materials and Methods All the animals used in this study were
clinically healthy and included 10 intact dogs (5 males, 5 females) and
10 gonadectomised dogs (4 males and 6 females). Four regions of
LUT including body and neck of the bladder as well as proximal and
distal urethra were collected. The proportion of collagen and muscle
were determined by staining the tissue sections with Masson’s
trichrome, which highlights collagen as blue and muscle as red.
Colour image analysis was performed on digitized computer data
using the Leica Q Win Version 3 Quips Programming Software. The
proportion of blue and red staining within each image was calculated
to determine relative proportions of collagen and muscle in each
sample. Data were statistically analyzed using Mixed Model
ANOVA.
Results The proportion of collagen and muscle tissue differed with
the reproductive status (intact and gonadectomised) and gender.
Gonadectomised dogs had a higher (P