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Longitudinal studies on annual changes in plasma testosterone, body weight and spermatogenesis in adult Japanese mankeys (Macaca fuscata fuscata) under laboratory conditions

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Abstract

The present study was undertaken to clarify the annual changes in testicular function of Japanese monkeys under laboratory conditions. Five adult males were kept in an air-conditioned room with artificial 12/12 hr lighting. Measurements of body weight and blood sampling were conducted monthly for 13 months. The concentrations of plasma testosterone were determined by radio-immunoassay. The testicular size was measured and testicular tissues taken by biopsy were examined histologically at the four seasons. The body weight and plasma testosterone levels showed coincidental annual changes with a peak in September and a nadir in March or May. The percentage of seminiferous tubules including pachytene spermatocytes and the number of pachytene spermatocytes in tubular cross-sections were significantly increased in both the autumn and winter and decreased in the spring. Electron microscopically, the seasonal change was reflected in an increased size of fat granules in Sertoli cells in the breeding season.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 484, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan

    Kiyoaki Matsubayashi

  2. Department of Anatomy, Tokai University School of Medicine, Bohseidai, Isehara, 259-11, Kanagawa, Japan

    Tomoo Enomoto

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  1. Kiyoaki Matsubayashi
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  2. Tomoo Enomoto
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Matsubayashi, K., Enomoto, T. Longitudinal studies on annual changes in plasma testosterone, body weight and spermatogenesis in adult Japanese mankeys (Macaca fuscata fuscata) under laboratory conditions. Primates 24, 521–529 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381685

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381685

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