Effective tools for male contraception are important in the control of reproduction in animal populations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of active immunization against gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) on male reproductive function assessing testicular morphological changes and serum-gonadotropin levels in pre-pubertal rabbits, guinea pigs and ram lambs. An anti-GnRH vaccine was developed by linking a GnRH-homologous molecule to a tetanus clostridial toxoid (Al(OH)3 coadjuvant). After vaccination protocols testicular morphometry, histopathological alterations and endocrine responses (FSH, LH, testosterone and cortisol serum levels) were evaluated. Testicular volume was significantly reduced in vaccinated animals with respect to the control group in rabbits, guinea pigs and ram lambs (P<0.05 to P<0.001). The anti-GnRH vaccine generated a reduction in testicular volume of 15-, 27- and 11-fold, respectively. Tubule diameters decreased in the vaccinated group with respect to the control ~2.0-, 1.2- and 3.5-fold, respectively (P<0.001). Tubule, intertubular and lumen volumes significantly decreased in vaccinated rabbits (P<0.05), guinea pigs and ram lambs (P<0.01). Vaccinated animals of the three species showed significant reductions in spermatogonial numbers (10- to 40-fold; P<0.01). Sperm was absent in all seminiferous tubules of all rabbits, and most individuals of guinea pigs (80%) and ram lambs (60%). No significant differences were observed between vaccinated and control groups regarding FSH and LH during the experiments in the three experimental species/models used. Testosterone, however, was only significantly lower (~22-fold, P<0.01) in vaccinated rabbits. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that pre-pubertal active immunization against GnRH leads to endocrine disruption and marked differences on testicular morphometry, development and activity among lagomorphs, hystricomorphs and ovine species with species-specific sensitivity regarding the anti-GnRH immune response.

Vitamin C (VitC) deficiency is surprisingly common in humans even in developed parts of the world. The micronutrient has several established functions in the brain; however, the consequences of its deficiency are not well characterised. To elucidate the effects of VitC deficiency on the brain, increased knowledge about the distribution of VitC to the brain and within different brain regions after varying dietary concentrations is needed. In the present study, guinea pigs (like humans lacking the ability to synthesise VitC) were randomly divided into six groups (n 10) that received different concentrations of VitC ranging from 100 to 1500 mg/kg feed for 8 weeks, after which VitC concentrations in biological fluids and tissues were measured using HPLC. The distribution of VitC was found to be dynamic and dependent on dietary availability. Brain saturation was region specific, occurred at low dietary doses, and the dose–concentration relationship could be approximated with a three-parameter Hill equation. The correlation between plasma and brain concentrations of VitC was moderate compared with other organs, and during non-scorbutic VitC deficiency, the brain was able to maintain concentrations from about one-quarter to half of sufficient levels depending on the region, whereas concentrations in other tissues decreased to one-sixth or less. The adrenal glands have similar characteristics to the brain. The observed distribution kinetics with a low dietary dose needed for saturation and exceptional retention ability suggest that the brain and adrenal glands are high priority tissues with regard to the distribution of VitC.

Since an allergen-induced early asthmatic reaction is likely to be accompanied by oxidative stress and since levels of the endogenous antioxidant glutathione can be enhanced by a whey-based diet (undenatured whey protein concentrate, UWPC), it was investigated whether UWPC could alleviate allergen-induced lung contractions. Guinea pigs were fed water or UWPC twice a day starting at day − 3 up to day 20. The animals were sensitised to ovalbumin or received saline on day 0. Serum samples were taken at several days after sensitisation to measure allergen-specific IgG. On day 20, lungs were isolated and perfused with buffer containing the allergen ovalbumin. Airway contractions were assessed, and mediators and indicators for oxidative stress were measured in the lung effluent. Moreover, glutathione levels were determined in the liver. The indicator of oxidative stress and airway contractile mediator, 8-iso-PGF2α, was increased upon ovalbumin challenge in ovalbumin-sensitised groups. Furthermore, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) were increased as well. Sensitisation with ovalbumin increased IgG levels from day 12 up to day 20, which were not influenced by the UWPC diet. In contrast, the UWPC diet significantly enhanced glutathione levels in the liver. Moreover, the UWPC diet significantly reduced the ovalbumin-induced anaphylactic response by 45 % and decreased PGE2 levels by 55 % in the effluent fluid. We show for the first time that during anaphylaxis, there is acute oxidative stress in the respiratory tract. The UWPC diet did not influence the sensitisation response to the allergen but did increase endogenous glutathione levels. The UWPC diet profoundly reduces allergen-induced airway constrictions, which opens new avenues for dietary management of allergic diseases.

Global poverty and food insecurity continue to remain critical issues, especially in rural areas. Developing and fostering agricultural systems that not only require low to moderate amounts of economic capital and few external inputs but also maintain and enhance the resource base of production are key features of sustainable agricultural development. Sustainable agricultural development, including diversifying smallholder production to include livestock, is a pragmatic approach to address both rural poverty and food insecurity. Livestock play important roles in the lives of humans as converters, recyclers and banks of nutrients. Smallholders raise a diversity of livestock species and often raise multiple species simultaneously. High fecundity, diet flexibility and adaptability to a wide range of housing and management approaches are critical traits of livestock species well suited for producing meat for home consumption and marketing in the context of rural smallholders. Swine (Sus scrofa) and chicken (Gallus domesticus) meet many of these criteria and are well known livestock species. This paper examines the potential for a less common species of livestock, guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) to enhance food security and increase household income of rural smallholders. Although cultural acceptance of guinea pig as a source of nutrition and income is less ubiquitous than that of swine, chicken and other species, the biological, ecological and economic advantages of guinea pig deserve further examination by those working to alleviate global poverty and food insecurity.

In this experimental study, we attempted to perform selective deafferentation of the posterior semicircular canal ampulla of guinea pigs using carbon dioxide laser beam. The results of this study document the efficacy of this procedure in achieving deafferentation of the posterior semicircular canal safely with regards to the other semicircular canals, the otolithic organ and the organ of hearing. Moreover, the procedure is performed with relative ease compared with other procedures previously described for selective deafferentation of the posterior semicircular canal. The clinical application of such a procedure for the treatment of intractable benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in humans is suggested.

Intratympanic steroids offer direct access to the inner ear with high concentration and without systemic effects. In this study, the efficacy of intratympanic methylprednisolone acetate (IT-MPA) was evaluated in a guinea-pig model of drill-induced inner ear trauma.

Twenty-five guinea pigs were divided into a control group to document the baseline distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and the normal scanning electron microscopic (SEM) morphology of the inner ear. The animals in the study group were subdivided into a steroid-only group (S), a trauma-only group(T), a trauma-plus-time group (TT), and a trauma-plus-steroid (TS) group.

IT-MPA was found to have no damaging effect on the inner ear. Twelve days after trauma, there was spontaneous although incomplete recovery of the DPOAEs amplitudes and SEM morphology with scar tissue replacing lost outer hair cells. Statistically higher DPOAEs amplitudes (p < 0.05) were recorded in the TS group that had nearly normal SEM morphology compared to the TT group. The authors conclude that IT-MPA significantly improves drill-induced sensorineural hearing loss and inner ear morphological changes in guinea pigs.

In this study, the anti-inflammatory effect of erythromycin was investigated in a model of histamine-induced otitis media with effusion (OME). OME was induced in guinea pigs by the transtympanic injection of histamine solution into the middle-ear cavity. Guinea pigs were randomly assigned to one of three groups: control, erythromycin treatment, or methylprednisolone treatment. After histamine injection, the animals were treated with intraperitoneal medication for five days consecutively. Afterwards, the animals were sacrificed and the temporal bones were removed. The samples were examined stereologically.

In the erythromycin-treated group, it was observed that neutrophil infiltration was significantly inhibited when compared to the control group. This result shows that erythromycin may produce a significant anti-inflammatory effect in this model of OME.

Background and objective Volatile anaesthetic effects on altering tone after blocking nitric oxide synthase, cyclo-oxygenase-prostaglandin synthase and KATP channel pathways are controversial. We examined in isolated guinea pig hearts whether anaesthetics alter bradykinin and 5-hydroxytryptamine-induced effects on coronary flow and percentage oxygen extraction after blocking these pathways.

Methods Before and during exposure to sevo-flurane, halothane or isoflurane, hearts were infused with 10−13–10−8 M bradykinin, or 10−8–10−6 M 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin), with either L-NAME, indomethacin, or glibenclamide. Bradykinin or 5-hydroxytryptamine alone increased flow and decreased percentage oxygen extraction in a concentration-dependent manner; these effects were largely blocked by L-NAME (nitro-L-arginine methylester), which also decreased basal flow and increased basal percentage oxygen extraction.

Results The anaesthetics restored bradykinin and 5-hydroxytryptamine-induced increases in flow or decreases in percentage oxygen extraction after inhibition by L-NAME. Indomethacin or glibenclamide alone had little effect on basal flow and percentage oxygen extraction. The anaesthetics restored bradykinin and 5-hydroxytryptamine-induced increases in flow or decreases in percentage oxygen extraction after inhibition by L-NAME. Indomethacin or glibenclamide alone had little effect on basal flow and percentage oxygen extraction. Drug-induced increases in flow and decreases in percentage oxygen extraction in the absence or presence of glibenclamide or indomethacin were not altered at either of the two concentrations of anaesthetics.

Conclusions Endothelium-dependent vasodilatation is not affected by blocking prostaglandin release or KATP channels in the intact heart even in the presence of an anaesthetic. However, the diminished responses to vasodilators after nitric oxide synthase inhibition is largely restored or enhanced by anaesthetics.

To evaluate some of the mechanisms involved in the plasma cholesterol lowering of sitostanol (SI), male Hartley guinea pigs were fed diets containing cholesterol (0.25 g/100 g) and four doses of SI: either 0 (control), 0.75, 1.5 or 2.25 g/100 g. In addition a negative control (-C) group with dietary cholesterol (0.04 g/100 g) was included. Corn oil was used as the source of fat and the contribution of fat energy was 35 %. Plasma total cholesterol was 43, 49 and 53 % (P<0.0001) lower after SI intake compared to the control. Plasma LDL concentrations were 47, 53 and 61 % lower with increasing doses of SI. In addition, intake of SI resulted in 26–42 % lower hepatic total cholesterol. Hepatic esterified cholesterol and triacylglycerols were 32–60 % and 55–61 % lower after SI intake. SI intake resulted in favourable plasma and hepatic cholesterol concentrations similar to those in guinea pigs fed low levels of dietary cholesterol (-C). The LDL obtained from the control group had a higher number of molecules of free and esterified cholesterol than the SI groups. SI intake resulted in 69–71 % higher cholesterol excretion compared to the control. SI treatment enhanced the total faecal neutral sterol excretion by 54–58 % compared to control and by 70–76 % compared to the (-C) group. These results suggest that SI might have its hypocholesterolaemic effect by reducing cholesterol absorption, which results in lower concentration of cholesterol in liver. This reduction in hepatic cholesterol might possibly alter hepatic cholesterol metabolism and affect lipoprotein concentration and composition.

The planum semilunatum is located on the lateral side of the crista ampullaris of thesemicircular canal. With regard to the functions of the planum semilunatum, some researchers assume the existence of secretory activity based on the microstructural features observed in isotopic experiments. In the present study, in order to confirm the existence of an immunological mechanism in the ampulla of the semicircular canal, the distribution of immunoglobulins in the semi-circular canal of guinea pigs was investigated immunohistochemically. Positivity of IgG wasobserved in the constituent cells of the planum semilunatum or beneath the basement membrane ofthe cells.It is concluded that ample IgG, which is an important constituent of the body fluids, is collected within this region. The planum semilunatum containing such ample amounts of IgG might be involved in the immunological mechanism operating in the ampullar of the semicircular canal.