The distribution of cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP) in rat liver, ileum, and epididymis was examined by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunolocalization technique. Positive cytoplasmic staining was seen in the liver when antiserum prepared against purified CRBP was used but not when antiserum absorbed with purified CRBP was used. Ileal mucosa, a tissue that contains no detectable CRBP, ...

Mammalian spermatozoa must mature in the epididymis before they can fertilize an egg. It is known that modification of the protein composition of the sperm surface is an important part of the maturation process. In this paper, we present data on two related glycoproteins that can be extracted from mature but not immature spermatozoa. Cell surface radioiodination has shown that these proteins ar...

BACKGROUND Estrogen receptors (ER) have important physiological roles in both the female and male reproductive systems. Previous studies using the estrogen receptor-alpha knockout mouse (alphaERKO) or antiestrogen treatment in adult rodents have shown that ERalpha is essential for normal function of the male reproductive tract. In the present study, time-response effects of the antiestrogen ICI...

Problem: The sequential changes in the immunogenicity of spermatozoa in male reproductive tract and the effect of seminal vesicle secretions are long thought to act as central players in influencing immunological equilibrium in the male reproductive tract. Method of Study: Popliteal lymph nodes of mice were collected on the 8th day after sensitizing them with the testicular and epididymal sperm...

We studied the expression and distribution of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) isoforms in the rat male accessory sex glands and the epididymis. Our data demonstrate the expression of both TGF-beta1 and -beta3 isoforms in ventral prostate (VP), seminal vesicle (SV), coagulating gland (CG), and epididymis (E) by Northern blot analysis. In addition, there was differential expression of ...

The fertilizing sperm's lengthiest unchartered voyage is through the longest, least-investigated organ in a man's body - the Epididymis. Over six meters long in men, ~80 meters in stallions and over one-hundred times a mouse's body length, there are few functions known aside from sperm storage and nutrition. While spermatogenesis is completed in the testes, here we demonstrate sperm centriole r...

BACKGROUND The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is expressed in human testis, and vitamin D (VD) has been suggested to affect survival and function of mature spermatozoa. Indeed, VDR knockout mice and VD deficient rats show decreased sperm counts and low fertility. However, the cellular response to VD is complex, since it is not solely dependent on VDR expression, but also on cellular uptake of circula...

It is generally accepted that spermatozoa become functionally mature during epididymal transit. The objective of this study was to determine whether the cellular location of equine PH-20 is modified during epididymal transit and, if so, the mechanism for such modification. Sperm were isolated from caput and cauda epididymal regions from stallions undergoing castration (n = 7) and used as whole ...

We divided the mouse epididymis into 5 segments (Segments I-V) based on regional diff erences in histology to obtain a fundamental division that refl ects the functions of this organ. Segments I-III are contained in the caput epididymidis, Segment IV in the corpus epididymidis, and Segment V in the cauda epididymidis. For this classifi cation, we observed morphological features of the epididyma...