Summary
The ultrastructure of the uropygial gland of the male quail was compared to that of the sebaceous gland of the male rat after castration and testosterone treatment of both species. In intact animals, the differentiating cells of these glands displayed almost the same pattern as regards their smooth endoplasmic reticulum, an organelle involved in lipogenesis in both cases. Castration reduced the volume of this organelle, while testosterone administration restored cell morphology to a normal or supranormal level. Finally, this study showed that at ultrastructural level, there is a close functional analogy between the uropygial gland of quail and the sebaceous glands of rats as regards their androgen dependency. Consequently, the uropygial gland might be an attractive model for study of action of androgens on sebaceous-like glands.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Abalain JH, Daniel JY, Floch HH (1980) Influence de la testosterone sur les taux d'acides nucléiques et de protéines dans la glande uropygienne de la Caille mâle. CR Acad Sci (Paris) 290:795–798
Abalain JH, Amet Y, Daniel JY, Floch HH (1981) Influence de la testosterone sur les activités polymerases I et II dans les glandes uropygiennes et cloacales de la caille mâle (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Gen Comp Endocrinol 44:189–193
Abalain JH, Amet Y, Daniel JY, Floch HH (1983) Testosterone stimulation of DNA-Dependent DNA polymerase activities in the cloacal and uropygial glands of the male quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Gen Comp Endocrinol 52:164–171
Abalain JH, Amet Y, Daniel JY, Floch HH (1984) Androgen regulation of secretions in the sebaceous-like uropygial gland of the male Japanese quail. J Endocrinol 103:147–153
Amet Y, Abalain JH, Daniel JY, Thieulant ML, and Floch HH (1982) Mise en évidence et caractérisation du récepteur des androgènes dans la glande uropygienne de la caille mâle adulte. CR Acad Sci (Paris) 295:523–528
Amet Y, Abalain JH, Di Stefano S, Tea K, Floch HH, Robel P (1986) Androgen regulation of the androgen receptor of the quail uropygial gland: application of a [3H] mibolerone exchange assay. J Endocrinol 109 (in press)
Bell M (1974) A comparative study of the ultrastructure of the sebaceous glands of man and other primates. J Invest Dermatol 62:132–143
Bhattacharyya SP, Maid BR, Ghosh A (1977) Hormonal regulation of the uropygial gland. Proc. First Internatl. Symp. Avian Endocrinology, Calcutta, January 1977. (BK Follett, ed)
Bradley OC, Grahame T (1960) In: The structure of the fowl Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, p 108
Das M, Ghosh A (1959) Some histological and histochemical observations on the uropygial gland of the pigeon. Anat Anz 107:75–84
Ebling FJ (1957) The action of testosterone on the sebaceous glands and epidermis in castrated and hypophysectomized male rats. J Endocrinol 15:297–306
Hibbs RG (1962) Electron microscopy of human axillary sebaceous glands J Invest Dermatol 38:329–336
Jacob J, Ziswiler V (1982) The uropygial gland. In: Farner DS, King JR, Parkes KC (eds). Avian Biology. Vol 6 Academic press, New-York, pp 199–324
Jacob J, Balthazart J, and Schoffeniels E (1979) Sex differences in the chemical composition of uropygial gland waxes in domestic ducks. Biochem Syst Ecol 7:149–153
Kar AB (1947) The hormonal influence in the normal functioning of the uropygial gland in the fowl. Anat Rec 99:75–89
Kossmann R (1871) Über die Talgdrüsen der Vögel. Z Wiss Zool 21:568–599
Lapierre C (1953) Modifications des glandes sébacées par des hormones sexuelles appliquées localement sur la peau de souris. CR Soc Biol (Paris) 147:1302–1306
Lecaque D, Secchi J (1982) Ultrastructural changes of sebaceous glands in castrated and testosterone-treated male rats.A qualitative and quantitative study. Cell Tissue Res 226:621–628
Lucas AM, Stettenheim PR (1972) U.S.Dep. Agric., Agric. Handbook “Avian Anatomy” Integument. 362:613–626
Maiti BR, Ghosh A (1972) Probable role of androgen in the regulation of the uropygial gland. GenComp Endocrinol 19:527–536
Morohashi M (1968) An electron microscope study of the sebaceous gland, with special reference to the effect of sexual hormones. Jpn J Dermatol, Ser B 78:133–152
Mykytowycz R, Goodrich BS (1974) Skin glands as organs of communication in mammals. J Invest Dermatol 62:124–131
Paris R (1913) Recherches sur la glande uropygienne des oiseaux Arch Zool Exp Gen 53:139–276
Rutschke E (1960) Untersuchungen über Wasserfestigkeit und Struktur des Gefieders von Schwimmvögeln. Zool Jahrb Syst 87:441–506
Sauter LS, Loud AU (1975) Morphometric evaluation of sebaceous gland volume in intact, castrated, and testosterone-treated rats. J Invest Dermatol 64:9–13
Strauss JS, Pochi PE (1963) The human sebaceous gland: its regulation by steroidal hormones and its use as an organ for assaying androgenicity in vivo. Recent Prog Horm Res 19:385–444
Weitzel G (1951) Beziehungen zwischen Struktur und Funktion beim Bürzeldrüsenfett. Fette Seifen Anstrichm 53:667–671
Wenzel B (1971) Olfaction in birds. In: Beidler L (ed) Handbook of Sensory Physiology. Vol 4 Springer, Berlin Heidelberg NewYork, p 432
Würdinger I (1980) Olfactory recognition in geese. Proc Congr Int Ornithol 17th, 1978. (R Nöhring (ed)). Verlag der deutschen Ornithologen-Gesellschaft, Berlin, p 1415
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abalain, J.H., Amet, Y., Floch, H.H. et al. Ultrastructural changes in the uropygial gland of the male Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix, after testosterone treatment. Cell Tissue Res. 246, 373–378 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00215900
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00215900