A variety of mammalian species have been used in studies of epididymal function. The knowledge gained from these laboratory and domestic species has been applied to the human as well, but the anatomy and biology of the human epididymis is not commonly investigated directly. Nonpathological specimens from men within their reproductive years are understandably difficult to obtain, and even when s...

BACKGROUND B7-H3, a member of the B7 family of the Ig superfamily of proteins, has been detected in the epididymis, which is a storage organ related to sperm maturation. However, the characteristics of its expression in different regions of the epididymis remain unknown. Our aim was to investigate the expression of B7-H3 in the caput, corpus, and cauda of the epididymis. METHODS We extracted ...

In order to determine the effects of Zinc deficient diet on oxidative stress in testis and epididymis, various parameters viz: total proteins, lipid peroxidation, hydroperoxides, antioxidant capacity and enzymatic activities are evaluated in rats fed on zinc deficient diet for 2, 4 and 6 weeks. Total proteins, water and lipid solouble antioxidant capacity decreased while lipid peroxidation (TBA...

testicles were isolated from dromedary camels in a local slaughterhouse at breeding and non-breeding seasons. sperms were recovered from different parts of the epididymis (caput, corpus and cauda) and stained separately on slide glasses by eosin nigrosin staining method and dried by a hair dryer and carried to the laboratory. in the lab, slides were observed for evaluation of the proportion of ...

In the present work, histochemical and biochemical studies were conducted to analyze changes in the pattern of autonomic innervation during sexual maturation, using the rat epididymis as a model. Glyoxylic acid histochemistry and immunohistochemical studies against dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DbetaH) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) indicated a reduction in the amount of catecholaminergic and ACh...

Spermatozoa are not mature until they transit the epididymis where they acquire motility and the ability to fertilize an egg through sequential modifications. The epididymis has three functional regions, caput, corpus, and cauda, and the luminal proteins of the epididymis play important roles in the above modifications. However, the proteins with differential enrichment between the caput and ca...

The aim of the study was to compare the localisation of oestrogen receptors a and b (ERa and ERb) in the human and rat epididymides. In the human epididymis the immunoexpression for ERa was detected in the nuclei of the caput epithelial cells, while positive reaction for ERb was observed in the nuclei of the cauda epithelial cells. In the rat epididymis, immunoexpression for ERa showed nuclei o...

In a previous study we showed that the administration of gossypol to rats for 34 days caused 2 types of modification of the epididymis: (1) the secretion of carnitine and inositol were reduced in the fluid, (2) the spermatozoa lost their motility and showed major morphological changes (head-flagella dissociation). We wished to clarify the early effects of gossypol on the epididymis. Sprague Daw...

High-resolution two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses have indicated that several major boar sperm plasma membrane polypeptides (PMPs) increased in concentration during maturation in the epididymis. To investigate this further, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to two of these PMPs/glycoproteins referenced as 4.85 and 5.0 and polyclonal antisera (PCA) raised against PMP 5.0 wer...

The reproductive function of G-protein subunit Galphaq (GNAQ), a member of the G protein alpha subunit family, has been extensively studied in humans and rats. However, no data is available on its status in ruminants. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the expression pattern of the GNAQ in the testis and epididymis of sheep by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The mRNA expression leve...