It has been established that excess germ cells in normal and in pathological conditions are removed from testicular tissue by the mechanism of apoptosis. Studies on germ cell apoptosis in avian species are grossly lacking, and there are only a few reports on induced germ cell degenerations in the testis tissue of birds. This study was designed to investigate the process of apoptosis of germ cells in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Germ cell degenerations were investigated in birds of all age groups, namely pre-pubertal, pubertal, adult, and aged. Apoptosis of germ cells in the quails, as shown by hematoxylin & eosin (H&E), TdT dUTP Nick End Labeling (TUNEL) assay and electron microscopy, was similar to that observed in previous studies of germ cells and somatic cells of mammalian species. The observed morphological features of these apoptotic cells ranged from irregular plasma and nuclear membranes in the early stage of apoptosis to rupture of the nuclear membrane, condensation of nuclear material, as well as fragments of apoptotic bodies, in later stages of apoptosis. In the TUNEL-positive cell counts, there was a significant difference between the mean cell counts for the four age groups (P < 0.05). Post hoc analysis revealed a highly significant difference in the aged group relative to the pubertal and adult age groups, while the cell counts of the pre-pubertal group were significantly higher than those of the pubertal group. However, there was no significant difference between cell counts of the pre-pubertal and the adult, and between the pre-pubertal and the aged groups.

已经确定通过细胞凋亡机制从睾丸组织中去除在正常和病理条件下过量的生殖细胞。对鸟类生殖细胞凋亡的研究严重缺乏，鸟类睾丸组织中诱导生殖细胞变性的报道很少。本研究旨在研究日本鹌鹑（Coturnix coturnix japonica ）生殖细胞凋亡的过程。）。在所有年龄组（即青春期前、青春期、成年和老年）的鸟类中研究了生殖细胞变性。鹌鹑中的生殖细胞凋亡，如苏木精和伊红 (H&E)、TdT dUTP 缺口末端标记 (TUNEL) 测定和电子显微镜所示，与之前对哺乳动物生殖细胞和体细胞的研究中观察到的相似。观察到的这些凋亡细胞的形态特征包括从凋亡早期的不规则质膜和核膜到凋亡后期的核膜破裂、核物质凝结以及凋亡小体碎片。在 TUNEL 阳性细胞计数中，四个年龄组的平均细胞计数之间存在显着差异（P < 0.05）。事后分析显示，老年组相对于青春期和成年年龄组的差异非常显着，而青春期前组的细胞计数显着高于青春期组。然而，青春期前组和成人之间以及青春期前组和老年组之间的细胞计数没有显着差异。