Sperm samples may be used for assisted reproductive technologies (e.g., farmed or endangered species) or as a source of haploid DNA or sperm-specific RNA. When ejaculated spermatozoa are not available or are very difficult to obtain, as is the case for most wild endangered species, the epididymides of dead animals (e.g., animals that have been found dead, shot by hunters or poachers, or that th...

Monoclonal antibodies (mabs) have been used as a powerful tool for identification of newer sperm proteins. However, conventional hybridoma technology rarely provides chance to obtain mabs to epididymal proteins. To increase this chance, we have used an alternate method of neonatal tolerization. In this protocol, animals were tolerized at birth using testicular proteins followed by immunization ...

The normal structure and function of sperm are prerequisites for successful fertilization and embryonic development, but little is known about how defective sperm are eliminated during mammalian spermatogenesis. Here, we describe a ubiquitin-dependent, sperm quality control mechanism that resides in the mammalian epididymis, the site of sperm maturation and storage. We used immunofluorescence, ...

This retrospective consecutive case series aimed at comparing the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with fresh and with frozen-thawed epididymal spermatozoa obtained after microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA) in 162 couples. These couples were suffering from infertility because of congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (n = 109), failed microsurgical rever...

Albino male rats were injected with diphenylhydantoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid or clonazepam for three months immediately after weaning. Following the treatment the fertility of the rats was tested by caging them with proestrus females and recording impregnations. The males were decapitated and their sex organs weighed. Epididymal sperm content and motility rate were recorded. A decrease i...

USING EPIDIDYMAL AND TESTICULAR SPERM FROM AZOOSPERMIC MEN: THE CLEVELAND CLINIC EXPERIENCE Mehmet Oder, Ramadan A Saleh, Namita Kattal, Mohamed A Bedaiwy, Anthony J Thomas, Ashok Agarwal, Cleveland Clinic Foundation Objective: Sperm retrieval from testis and epididymis, combined with ICSI, has significantly enhanced the chances of azoospermic men to father their own genetic offspring. The impa...

epididymal tubule (Figure 1c) was harvested simply by touching the base of sterilized disposable plastic dishes (60 mm in diameter), directly to the incised epididymal tubule (Figure 1d). The epididymal fluid collected in the plastic dishes was diluted with washing medium and then examined for the presence of sperm directly under an inverted phase-contrast microscope. If the sperm were not dete...

The epididymis has an important role in the maturation of sperm for fertilization, but little is known about the epididymal molecules involved in sperm modifications during this process. We have previously described the expression pattern for an antigen in epididymal epithelial cells that reacts with the monoclonal antibody (mAb) TRA 54. Immunohistochemical and immunoblotting analyses suggest t...