Uterus morphological characterization in woolly monkey (Lagothrix poeppigii) and red uakari (Cacajao calvus)
Immunohistochemistry, Menstrual cycle, estrus, Neotropical primates.
The destruction of habitats, predatory hunting and climate change make it difficult to maintain neotropical primates, promote the reduction of free-living populations and increase the chances of extinction in the short term. Thus, the preservation of endangered species depends on the understanding of reproductive physiology, which is essential to develop in situ and ex situ conservation models, in addition to developing assisted reproduction techniques. In this context, the objective was to describe the morphophysiological description of the uterus of Lagothrix poeppigii and Cacajao calvus to characterize the reproductive cycle and assess the occurrence of menstruation. Thus, genital organ fragments were fixed in formaldehyde solution and submitted to histotechnics for staining in hematoxylin-eosin, Masson's trichrome and Picrosirius Red. The presence of hemosiderin was observed in the uterine epithelium of C. calvus, compatible with the menstrual cycle, while L. poeppigii did not show histological signs of menstruation. The histological evaluation of the uterus of these species allowed and allows the identification of the extracellular matrix and basement membranes. With this, future studies with immunohistochemistry will be carried out to evaluate the matrix of metalloproteinases and the changes promoted in menstrual and estrous cycles.