Histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): a preliminary study
Musk is a biologically valuable secretion from the musk gland of male musk deer, with significant economic and medicinal importance. Due to severe decline and depletion of wild musk deer population, captive breeding of musk deer has become the primary approach for sustainable musk production. So fa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PAGEPress Publications
2025-07-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Histochemistry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/4216 |
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| author | Qianyi Wang Chunyu Han Dong Zhang Yuning Liu Yunyun Gao Haolin Zhang Defu Hu |
| author_facet | Qianyi Wang Chunyu Han Dong Zhang Yuning Liu Yunyun Gao Haolin Zhang Defu Hu |
| author_sort | Qianyi Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Musk is a biologically valuable secretion from the musk gland of male musk deer, with significant economic and medicinal importance. Due to severe decline and depletion of wild musk deer population, captive breeding of musk deer has become the primary approach for sustainable musk production. So far, the histological structure and secretion mechanism of the musk gland remain incompletely understood. In this study, we employed histological and immunohistochemical (IHC) techniques, along with three-dimensional (3D) tissue reconstruction, to systematically analyze the cellular composition and secretory functions of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii). Our results revealed that the musk gland was primarily composed of acinar structures containing two distinct glandular cell (GC) types based on the histological observation. IHC results showed type I glandular cells (GCIs) predominantly expressed GALNT7 while type II glandular cells (GCIIs) mainly expressed BMP6. The 3D reconstruction demonstrated structural heterogeneity along the gland's longitudinal axis, with the proportion of the acinar area varying between 40% and 65%. This is the first time that a detailed 3D view of musk gland in forest musk deer has been shown, which provides essential histological insights into musk gland function in this species. These preliminary observations may provide useful groundwork for future investigations into the regulatory mechanisms of musk secretion.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2b5cbb94e79c4500a3fbb0558245beaf |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1121-760X 2038-8306 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Histochemistry |
| spelling | doaj-art-2b5cbb94e79c4500a3fbb0558245beaf2025-08-20T03:17:58ZengPAGEPress PublicationsEuropean Journal of Histochemistry1121-760X2038-83062025-07-0169310.4081/ejh.2025.4216Histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): a preliminary studyQianyi Wang0Chunyu Han1Dong Zhang2Yuning Liu3Yunyun Gao4Haolin Zhang5Defu Hu6Laboratory of Animal Physiology, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, BeijingBeijing Yanshe Biotechnology Development Company, BeijingSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, BeijingLaboratory of Animal Physiology, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, BeijingSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, BeijingLaboratory of Animal Physiology, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, BeijingSchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing Musk is a biologically valuable secretion from the musk gland of male musk deer, with significant economic and medicinal importance. Due to severe decline and depletion of wild musk deer population, captive breeding of musk deer has become the primary approach for sustainable musk production. So far, the histological structure and secretion mechanism of the musk gland remain incompletely understood. In this study, we employed histological and immunohistochemical (IHC) techniques, along with three-dimensional (3D) tissue reconstruction, to systematically analyze the cellular composition and secretory functions of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii). Our results revealed that the musk gland was primarily composed of acinar structures containing two distinct glandular cell (GC) types based on the histological observation. IHC results showed type I glandular cells (GCIs) predominantly expressed GALNT7 while type II glandular cells (GCIIs) mainly expressed BMP6. The 3D reconstruction demonstrated structural heterogeneity along the gland's longitudinal axis, with the proportion of the acinar area varying between 40% and 65%. This is the first time that a detailed 3D view of musk gland in forest musk deer has been shown, which provides essential histological insights into musk gland function in this species. These preliminary observations may provide useful groundwork for future investigations into the regulatory mechanisms of musk secretion. https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/4216Forest musk deermusk glandimmunohistochemistrytissue structurethree-dimensional reconstruction |
| spellingShingle | Qianyi Wang Chunyu Han Dong Zhang Yuning Liu Yunyun Gao Haolin Zhang Defu Hu Histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): a preliminary study European Journal of Histochemistry Forest musk deer musk gland immunohistochemistry tissue structure three-dimensional reconstruction |
| title | Histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): a preliminary study |
| title_full | Histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): a preliminary study |
| title_fullStr | Histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): a preliminary study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): a preliminary study |
| title_short | Histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii): a preliminary study |
| title_sort | histological and histochemical characterization of the musk gland in forest musk deer moschus berezovskii a preliminary study |
| topic | Forest musk deer musk gland immunohistochemistry tissue structure three-dimensional reconstruction |
| url | https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/4216 |
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