Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element; it exhibits a plethora of physiological properties and biochemical functions. It plays a pivotal role in regulating the cell cycle, apoptosis, and DNA organization, as well as in protein, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism. Among other important processes, Zn plays an essential role in reproductive health. The ZIP and ZnT proteins are responsible for the mobilization of Zn within the cell. Zn is an inert antioxidant through its interaction with a variety of proteins and enzymes to regulate the redox system, including metallothioneins (MTs), metalloenzymes, and gene regulatory proteins. The role of Zn in the reproductive system is of great importance; processes, such as spermatogenesis and sperm maturation that occur in the testicle and epididymis, respectively, depend on this element for their development and function. Zn modulates the synthesis of androgens, such as testosterone, for these reproductive processes, so Zn deficiency is related to alterations in sperm parameters that lead to male infertility.

Cryptorchidism (CO) or undescended testicle is an abnormality of male gonadal development that can generate long-term repercussions in men, such as infertility and germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS). The origin of these alterations in humans is not completely clear, due to the absence of an animal model with similar testicular development as in humans with CO. This work intends to describe the testicular histological development of dogs with congenital CO, and determine whether the species could adequately serve as a study model for this pathology in humans. The study was carried out with 36 dogs, equally distributed in two groups: healthy control (CTRL) and CO groups. The contralateral testis to the undescended one in CO group of the animals was considered and analyzed. Each group was subdivided in three stages of development: (1) peripubertal stage (6–8 months), (2) young adult (9–48 months) and (3) senile (49–130 months). Histological development, the presence of cells with gonocyte morphology, cell proliferation, testicular lipoperoxidation and hormonal concentrations of testosterone, estradiol, FSH and LH were evaluated and described. In the cryptorchid testes, the first histological alterations appeared from the first stage of development and were maintained until the senile stage. A pronounced testicular lipoperoxidation occurred only in the second stage of development. The histological alterations due to CO were markedly evident in the young adult stage. Testosterone concentrations witnessed a decrease starting from in the second stage and kept on until the last stage. The contralateral testes of the CO animals showed alterations that positioned them between the control and CO testes. Testicular development of dogs with CO is similar to that of humans. The results of the study suggest that this species could serve as a suitable model for the study of CO in humans.

Objective: Rats treated with progesterone (P4) after ischemia show an adequate functional performance despite a significant loss of hippocampal pyramidal neurons, suggesting that P4 could favour a permissive microenvironment for cerebral plasticity mechanisms. The possibility of P4 treatment promoting the survival of newly generated hippocampal neurons, in relation to the performance of ischemic rats in a spatial learning task, was assessed in this study. Methods: Adult male rats were subjected to a severe global cerebral ischemia episode (30 min) and treated with P4 or its vehicle at 15 min, 2, 6, 24, 48 and 72 h of reperfusion. From day 4 to 8 post-ischemia 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was administered to label proliferating cells. Twenty-one days post-ischemia, the rats were exposed to the Morris water maze to assess behavioral parameters of spatial learning and memory. Subsequently, the brain was perfusion-fixed and immunofluorescence procedures were performed to quantify the number of new mature neurons (BrdU⁺/NeuN⁺) in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. Results: Rats subjected to severe global cerebral ischemia and treated with P4 had a significantly better performance in spatial learning-memory tests, than those treated with vehicle, and a significantly higher number of new mature neurons (BrdU⁺/NeuN⁺) in the DG. Conclusion: These findings show that post-ischemia P4 treatment, following an episode of severe global cerebral ischemia, promotes the survival of newly generated hippocampal neurons in the DG, which may be one of the mechanisms of cerebral plasticity induced by the hormone, that underlie a successful functional performance in learning and memory tests.