ANNOUNCEMENT - Scientific Seminar on 15.06.2016

ANNOUNCEMENT

On the 15-th of June 2016 in the meeting hall of IBIR, a scientific seminar will take place according to the following program:

Biological characteristics of spermatozoa in dogs with benign prostatic hyperplasia – preliminary results

D. Gradinarska1, M. Genov2, D. Daskalova1, M. Ivanova1
1Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction - Bulgarian Academy of Science, 2Central Veterinary Clinic – Sofia

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common disorder in intact male dogs over 5 years of age. The condition is a result of androgen stimulation or altered androgen: estrogen ratio. In some dogs, hyperplasia can manifest as early as 2 years of age with a tendency for development of cystic alterations around 4-5 years of age. The incidence of the condition increases with age, affecting approximately 90% of the dogs in their old age.
The aim of this study is to analyze the differences in prostate size and structure, and in sperm quality of healthy dogs and dogs with BPH.
The experiments were conducted with eight asymptomatic dogs of different breeds. After ultrasound and radiographic studies, the animals were divided into two groups: healthy dogs and dogs with evidence of BPH.
The resulting ultrasonographic and radiographic images showed specific differences in the size and structure of the prostate. Computer-Assisted Sperm Analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences in sperm motility and kinetic parameters in favor of the healthy dogs. Novelty is the intriguing tendency to a smaller head area of the motile spermatozoa in dogs with BPH, compared to healthy dogs.

“HLA-DR expression in regulatory and conventional T cells”
Rumiana Susurkova, Department Immunobiology of reproduction, IBIR-BAS

Regulatory T cells represent a small population T lymphocytes associated with the maintenance of immunological tolerance. In the persent study the expression of the activation marker HLA-DR was investigate in women with successful pregnancy (controls) and women with reproductive failure (patients). The results obtained showed a significantly lower percentage of HLA-DR + natural regulatory T cells in patients that in controls, which was not the case for conventional T cells.

Everyone is welcome!