The blood-epididymis barrier (BEB) is formed by epithelial tight junctions mediating selective permeability of the epididymal epithelium. Defective barrier function can disturb the balance of the epididymal milieu, which may result in infertility. The stroma of the epididymis contains high amounts of cytokines of the TGFβ family of unknown function. We screened possible effects of all three TGF...

Testicular hamartomas (TH) is a benign condition. An association of TH with Cowden disease (CD) is known. Ultrasound features of hamartomas are often diagnostic. We present a case of Cowden disease with TH and an epididymal tumor. Imaging features of TH and its differentials has been discussed. Although, association of Cowden disease with many malignancies have been documented, epididymal tumor...

background: testis tissue xenografting and the resultant sperm in a xenograft may provide a unique approach to rescue the genetic material of males that die prematurely and is a model for the study of human spermatogenesis and can represent an alternative approach for fertility preservation in cancer patients. this study was aimed to evaluate the xenogenic dog sperm in formation of male pronucl...

in the present study, the fertilizing potential of semen recovered from slaughtered bulls epididymis was evaluated after cryopreservation, by conventional techniques and flow cytometry methods. the cauda epididymal was dissected and sperm were recovered and evaluated for volume, sperm concentration, and membrane and acrosome integrity using a flow cytometer. sperm fertility potential was tested...

OBJECTIVE To analyse the incidence of epididymal anomalies and the structure of the processus vaginalis (PV) in patients with cryptorchidism treated or not with human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), and to compare these findings with human fetuses with testes in the scrotum. PATIENTS, MATERIALS AND METHODS We assessed 24 fetuses with a gestational age of 23-35 weeks, and 114 cryptorchid patien...

OBJECTIVES Human Epididymal Secretory Protein 4 was firstly described as an epididymis-specific protein but more recently it has been demonstrated to be a putative serum tumor marker for different malignancies, especially ovarian epithelial cancers. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between tissue Human Epididymal Secretory Protein 4 expression and the clinicopathological ...

Maturation of spermatozoa, including the acquisition of motility and the ability to undergo capacitation, occurs during transit through the dynamic environment of the epididymis. The microenvironments created along the length of the epididymal tubule are essential to the molecular modifications of spermatozoa that result in fertile gametes. The secretory and resorptive processes of the epitheli...

Because epididymal secretory glycoproteins form important functional associations with maturing spermatozoa, the possibility has been explored that epididymal antigens might be useful in contraceptive vaccine development. Male and female rabbits, hamsters, and rats were immunized for several weeks with epididymal fluid, initially either with complete Freund's adjuvant, or conjugated with glutar...