BACKGROUND Date Palm Pollen (DPP) and Astragalus genus are used in some countries for the treatment of infertility. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to investigate effects of DPP and Astragalus ovinus (A.Ovinus) on fertility in healthy adult male rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-six rats were divided into six groups (n=6) including control and five treatment groups. DPP (120, 240 and 360...

Spermatogenesis in adult mammals is highly organized, with the goal being the uninterrupted production of sperm. How continual, asynchronous sperm production is initiated and maintained in the mammalian testis is still under investigation but retinoic acid (RA) likely plays a key role. Investigations utilizing vitamin A deficient rodents, transgenic mouse models, whole testis and isolated germ ...

Formaldehyde (FA) is the leading cause of cellular injury and oxidative damage in testis that is one of the main infertility causes. There has been an increasing evidence of herbal remedies use in male infertility treatment. This assay examines the role of Ficus carica (Fc) leaf extracts in sperm parameters and testis of mice intoxicated with FA. Twenty-five adult male mice were randomly divide...

This case report concerns a 3.5-year-old Duroc boar with an enlargement of the left hemiscrotum. Sonography revealed multiple hypoechogenic cavities around the testis, indicating a complex hydrocele. An infectious origin of the hydrocele was excluded by laboratory tests. Repeated semen analysis by microscope, computer-assisted sperm analyzer, flow cytometric assessment, and sperm chromatin stru...

The present study has investigated the effects of mobile phone electromagnetic radiation (EMR) on fertility in rats. The purpose of this study was to explore the capability of polyphenolic-rich Moringa oleifera leaf extract in protecting rat testis against EMR-induced impairments based on evaluation of sperm count, viability, motility, sperm cell morphology, anti-oxidants (SOD & CAT), oxidative...

Oxymycterus rufus is a wild rodent that inhabits one of the world hotspots known as the Atlantic Rain Forest in Brazil. Due to the lack of reproductive data regarding such species, the present study aimed to describe O. rufus spermatogenic process through morphometrical and stereological analyses. To do so, testicular fragments of five sexually mature males were routinely processed for light an...

The guinea pig sperm surface protein PH-20 has an essential function in sperm adhesion to the zona pellucida of guinea pig eggs. Fully effective contraception has been achieved by immunizing either male or female guinea pigs with purified guinea pig PH-20. Here we report the isolation of human and cynomolgus monkey PH-20 cDNAs as a key step toward testing the function of primate PH-20 and the c...

BACKGROUND The similarities between gametogenic and carcinogenesis processes have been noted for more than decades. Among prominent similarities between these two processes is expression of a group of antigens, namely cancer-testis antigens in both the testes and various cancer tissues. Outer dense fiber (ODF) proteins are testis-specific proteins localized to sperm tails and involved in sperm ...

Two members of the human testis-specific serine/threonine (Ser/Thr) kinase family, TSSK 1 and TSSK 2, were cloned and sequenced from a human testis adaptor-ligated cDNA library using a PCR strategy. Within the cDNA, open reading frames (ORF) were defined encoding proteins of 367 and 358 amino acids respectively, as well as conserved kinase domains typical of the superfamily of Ser/Thr kinases. ...

Acrosomal assembly during spermatogenesis and acrosome reaction during sperm-oocyte interaction are unique events of vesicle synthesis, transport, and fusion leading to fertilization. SNARE complex formation is essential for membrane fusion, and vesicle-associated (v-) SNARE intertwines with target membrane (t-) SNARE to form a coiled coil that bridges two membranes and facilitates fusion. We d...