Serous cutaneous glands of the Pacific tree-frog Hyla regilla (Anura, Hylidae): patterns of secretory release induced by nor-epinephrine.

The serous (poison) cutaneous glands of the Pacific tree-frog Hyla regilla were induced to release their product by 10(-3)M nor-epinephrine stimulation. After discharge structural and ultrastructural features of the cutaneous glands involved in release were observed. Furthermore, the discharged product, consisting of discrete, secretory granules, was collected and processed for transmission electron microscope analysis. As indicated by patterns found in the myoepithelium encircling the syncytial secretory unit, gland discharge is caused by contraction of the peripheral myocytes. Muscle cell compression dramatically affects the syncytium and results in degenerative changes, including expulsion of the secretory unit nuclei. Therefore, the structural collapse in depleted glands has been ascribed to the mechanical activity performed by the myoepithelium during discharge, rather than cytoplasm involution described in conventional, holocrine glands. TEM investigation revealed that the secretory granules collected after discharge maintain their peculiar traits: they consist of recurrent patterns of thin subunits, acquired during serous maturation and provided with remarkable structural stability.

Ultrastructural organization of avian stratum corneum lipids as the basis for facultative cutaneous waterproofing.

The ultrastructure of naked neck epidermis from the ostrich (Struthio camelus) and ventral apterium from watered, and water-deprived, Zebra finches (Taeniopygia [Poephila] guttata castanotis) is presented. The form and distribution of the fully differentiated products of the lipid-enriched multigranular bodies are compared in biopsies post-fixed with osmium tetroxide or ruthenium tetroxide. The fine structure of ostrich epidermis suggests it is a relatively poor barrier to cutaneous water loss (CWL). The fine structure from watered, and 16-hr water-deprived Zebra finches, considered in conjunction with measurements of CWL, confirms previous reports of "facultative waterproofing," and emphasizes the rapidity of tissue response to dehydration. The seemingly counterintuitive facts that one xerophilic avian species, the ostrich, lacks a "good barrier" to CWL, whereas another, the Zebra finch, is capable of forming a good barrier, but does not always express this capability, are discussed. An explanation of these data in comparison to mammals centers on the dual roles of the integument of homeotherms in thermoregulation and conserving body water. It is concluded that birds, whose homeothermic control depends so much on CWL, cannot possess a permanent "good barrier," as such would compromise the heat loss mechanism. Facultative waterproofing (also documented in lizards) protects the organism against sudden reductions in water availability. In birds, and probably in snakes and lizards, facultative waterproofing involves qualitative changes in epidermal cell differentiation. Possible control mechanisms are discussed.

Water loss and nitrogen excretion in sharp-nosed reed frogs (Hyperolius nasutus: anura, Hyperoliidae).

Sharp-nosed African reed frogs, Hyperolius nasutus Gunther, are small (0.4 g) hyperoliids which have minimal rates of evaporative water loss (4.5 mg g-1 h-1; 0.3 mg cm-2 h-1) that are only 1/10 to 1/20 that of a typical frog, Hylaregilla, of comparable size (171 mg g-1 h-1, 4.8 mg cm-2 h-1). The surface-area-specific resistance to water flux of H. nasutus dorsal skin (96-257 sec cm-1) is similar to that of other 'waterproof' frogs (300-400), of cocooned frogs (40-500), and of desert reptiles (200-1400). However, H. nasutus can greatly increase the rate of evaporative water loss during radiative heat stress by mucous gland discharge, and by exposing the ventral skin. Urea is the principal nitrogenous waste product of H. nasutus and uric acid comprises less than 1% of the total nitrogen excretion for both H. nasutus and H. regilla. Other 'waterproof' frogs, in contrast, are uricotelic. Lethal dehydration requires less than two weeks in H. nasutus, despite its low surface-area-specific rate of water loss, because of its small size and concomitantly high surface-to-volume ratio. The rate of urea accumulation during dehydration was 23 mM g-1 day-1, which is sufficiently low that urea accumulation would not be lethal before the frog had succumbed to dehydrational death. Consequently, there appears to be little or no selective advantage for uricotely in small 'waterproof' frogs, such as H. nasutus.