In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of CT scans performed, both in the US and the UK, which has fuelled concern about the long-term consequences of these exposures, particularly in terms of cancer induction. Statistics from the US and the UK indicate a 20-fold and 12-fold increase, respectively, in CT usage over the past two decades, with per caput CT usage in the US ...

During maturation and the acquisition of their fertilization potential, male germ cells are subjected to various sequential modifications that occur in the epididymis. Protein addition, reorganization or withdrawal, comprise some of these modifications. Dicarbonyl L-xylulose reductase (DCXR), a multifunctional protein involved in various enzymatic and protein interaction processes in different ...

PURPOSE A late finding of some hips treated for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a growth disturbance of the lateral proximal femoral physis, which results in caput valgum and possibly osteoarthritis. Current treatment options include complete epiphysiodesis of the proximal femoral physis or a corrective proximal femoral osteotomy. Alternatively, a transphyseal screw through the infe...

Oxysterol nuclear receptors liver x receptors (LXRalpha and LXRbeta) regulate lipid homeostasis when cells have to face high amounts of cholesterol and/or fatty acids. Male mice invalidated for both lxr (LXR-/-) are infertile by 5 months of age, and become sterile by the age of 9 months. The epididymis was previously shown to be affected by the gene invalidation, a phenotype specifically locate...

S PERMATOZOA from the caput, corpus and cauda epididymis and ejaculated sperm were analyzed for their phospholipid and phospholipid fatty acid content. Caput spermatozoa contained 16 and 34% more total phospholipid than sperm from the corpus and cauda epididymis, respectively. Caudal sperm were similar to ejaculated sperm in phospholipid content. Seminal plasma from ejaculated semen collected a...

Proluminal movement of 3H-androgen from peritubular to intratubular fluids of the adult rat testis and epididymis was investigated by using in vivo microperifusion and subsequent micropuncture of seminiferous tubules and caput, corpus, and cauda epididymal tubules. Tubules were perifused with Minimum Essential Medium containing 3H-testosterone. 14C-polyethyleneglycol was included in the perifus...

Originally identified as a basolateral domain-specific integral plasma membrane protein of the rat hepatocyte, CE9 mRNA and protein were also detected at high levels in the testis of the rat by Northern and Western blotting and immunoprecipitation. CE9 proved to be a domain-specific integral plasma membrane protein of the rat spermatozoon: on testicular spermatozoa, it was concentrated within t...

Aquaporins (AQPs) are small, intrinsic membrane proteins that are present in many cell types involved in fluid transport. AQP9 is a major apical water channel that is expressed throughout the efferent ducts, epididymis, and vas deferens, as well as in other regions of the human and rodent male reproductive tract. The target of this study was to examine the expression of AQP9 in epithelial cells...

BACKGROUND The epididymal epithelium secretes membranous vesicles, called epididymosomes, with which a complex mixture of proteins is associated. These vesicles transfer to spermatozoa selected proteins involved in sperm maturation. Epididymosomes in the human excurrent duct have been described, but their protein composition and possible functions are unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS Epididymosom...

OBJECTIVE To identify whether the cause, site of ductal obstruction, and characteristics of fluid aspirates are associated with the cryosurvival and fertility after thawing of sperm obtained during reconstruction of the excurrent ducts with microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration, vasal sperm aspiration, or both. DESIGN Prospective study. SETTING Andrology center at a tertiary care instit...