The mammalian spermatozoon has many cellular compartments, such as head and tail, permitting it to interact with the female reproductive tract and fertilize the egg. It acquires this fertilizing potential during transit through the epididymis, which secretes proteins that coat different sperm domains. Optimal levels of these proteins provide the spermatozoon with its ability to move to, bind to...

Objective: The study aimed to compare intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcome of patients with epididymal sperm and testicular sperm in different paternal age with obstructive azoospermia. Methods: We retrospectively studied the records of 177 men with obstructive azoospermia who underwent sperm retrieval for ICSI. 71 cases were performed with testicular sperm aspiration (TESA), 106 cas...

This work was designed to study how this ability is affected by different sperm treatments routinely used for in vitro fertilization (IVF) assay. In this study, boar sperm samples from epididymal or ejaculated origin were processed by three different methods: left unwashed (NW group), washed in Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline supplemented with 0.1% BSA (BSA group), and washed on a Percoll(...

We observed the influences of low-temperature storage of the feline epididymis on the epididymal semen qualities before and after cryopreservation to identify the optimal duration for low-temperature storage of the epididymis. After excision, the feline epididymis was stored at 4 degrees C for 0-72 hr and then subjected to epididymal sperm collection. When sperm from the refrigerated cauda epid...

This study was done to evaluate the effect of sperm source on chromatin integrity and ICSI outcomes. One hundred and thirteen samples containing epididymal aspirates of 57 obstructive azoospermic men and 56-ejaculated semen of normozoospermic men were included in this study. Sperm chromatin status was evaluated by Chromomycin A3 (CMA3), Aniline Blue (AB) and Toluidine Blue (TB). Fertilization r...

The viscacha (Lagostomus maximus maximus) is a seasonal South American wild rodent. The adult males exhibit an annual reproductive cycle with periods of maximum and minimum gonadal activity. Four segments have been identified in the epididymis of this species: initial, caput, corpus, and cauda. The main objective of this work was to relate the seasonal morphological changes observed in the epid...

Background: Epididymal spermatozoa have been used for production of offspring from genetically important animals after they are dead. To attain optimal fertility with epididymal spermatozoa, they should be preserved in a suitable medium in 37°C. Preservation media provides requirement for spermatozoa and affects its motility, viability, and fertility. Sucrose is one of the important components ...

This study was conducted to determine whether the mode of sperm immobilization prior to intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) influences fertilization by immature spermatozoa. Of the 837 ICSI cycles evaluated, 81 were performed with epididymal or testicular spermatozoa; 35 cycles with epididymal spermatozoa immobilized in the standard fashion resulted in fertilization and pregnancy rates of 4...

GRP78, a resident endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone involved in protein transport, folding and assembly, has been reported in sperm. It is shown to be localized in the neck region of human sperm. We have previously reported GRP78 to be less phosphorylated in asthenozoosperm.The present study aimed to determine whether sperm GRP78 undergoes phosphorylation changes during epididymal maturation...

Although lipid metabolism is thought to be important for the proper maturation and function of spermatozoa, the molecular mechanisms that underlie this dynamic process in the gonads remains incompletely understood. Here, we show that group III phospholipase A2 (sPLA2-III), a member of the secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) family, is expressed in the mouse proximal epididymal epithelium and that...