Variation of Acid Phosphatase Activity in the Fallopian Tube of Rabbits: A Semiquantitative Histochemical Assessment

Introduction: The fallopian tube is a tubular muscular organ connecting the uterus to the ovary. It is important for the passage of gametes, zygotes, and early embryos. Fallopian tube undergoes histochemical variations with ovarian cycles.

Aim: To study the phasial and segmental variation of Acid Phosphatase (ACP) activity in the fallopian tube of rabbits.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 50 female rabbits at Sarojini Naidu (SN) Medical College, Agra from June 1976 to June 1979. The fallopian tubes of both sides were taken out by dissection and cut into anatomical segments, from medial to lateral ends viz., intramural, isthmus, ampulla and infundibulum. The phases of the oestrus cycle i.e., pro-oestrus, oestrus, meta-oestrus, and di-oestrus were decided by cytological observation of a papaniculous stained vaginal smear. ACP activity was observed in various phases of sexual cycle and in different segments of the fallopian tube by the modified lead nitrate staining method i.e Takeuchi and Tanoue. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied for the analysis of the data.

Results: The ACP activity was higher in pro-oestrus (2.25±0.24), oestrus (2.00±0.24) and low in meta-oestrus (1.33±0.24) and di-oestrus phases (1.08±0.24) of sexual cycle. The activity was seen higher in infundibulum (2.50±0.22), ampullary (1.83±0.22) and low in intramural (1.08±0.22) and isthmus segments (1.25±0.22) of the fallopian tube. The maximum difference (1.42) was noticed between the infundibulum and intramural segments (p<0.001). A maximum difference (1.16) was noticed between proestrous and di-oestrus the (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Oestrogenic phase of the sexual cycle has higher enzymatic activity whereas in the luteal phase it was low. The infundibulum and ampulla show higher activity which suggests these segments are more functionally active as compared to intramural and isthmus segments.