Busulfan is an alkane sulphonate currently used as an anticancer drug and to prepare azoospermic animal models, because it selectively destroys differentiated spermatogonia in the testes. However, few studies have focussed on the exact effects of busulfan treatment on the epididymis currently. The present study assessed the effect of busulfan on epididymal morphology and the blood-epididymis ba...

BACKGROUND Given the established fact that obesity interferes with male reproductive functions, the present study aimed to evaluate sperm production in the testis and storage in the epididymis in a glutamate-induced model of obesity. METHODS Male rats were treated neonatally with monosodium glutamate (MSG) at doses of 4 mg/kg subcutaneously, or with saline solution (control group), on postnat...

In certain Australian marsupials including the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) and the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), formation of the acrosome is not completed in the testis but during a complex differentiation process as spermatozoa pass through the epididymis. Using transmission and scanning electron microscopy this paper defined the process of acrosome formation in the epididym...

BACKGROUND The molecular mechanisms implicated in regionalized gene expression in the human epididymis have not yet been fully elucidated. Interestingly, more than 200 microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified in the human epididymis and could be involved in the regulation of mRNA stability and post-transcriptional expression in this organ. METHODS Using a miRNA microarray approach, we investig...

Adenomatoid tumours are rare benign neoplasms involving the paratesticular regions, most commonly the tail of epididymis, however they involve various other structures like genitourinary system. Here, we report a case of adenomatoid tumor of the epididymis its ultrasound imaging features and review of literature.

DNA stability and thiol-disulphide status of rat sperm nuclei was observed in vivo during maturation in the epididymis and penetration of oocytes. When spermatids and spermatozoa were stained with acridine orange after fixation with acetic alcohol, the red/green fluorescence ratio observed under a confocal microscope was not different between spermatids (3.81 +/- 0.16) and testicular spermatozo...

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 ...

Mammalian spermatozoa interact with the proteins secreted by the epididymis to develop fertility. Transmembrane proteins that possess a disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) domains are shown to be closely related to spermatogenesis and fertilization. Our previous study demonstrated that GP-83, a glycoprotein secreted by the epididymis, was conjugated to mature sperm. In this study, a 2.1-kilo...

Myotis nigricans is a species of vespertilionid bat, whose males show two periods of total testicular regression within the same annual reproductive cycle in the northwest São Paulo State, Brazil. Studies have demonstrated that its epididymis has an elongation of the caudal portion, which stores spermatozoa during the period of testicular regression in July, but that they had no sperm during th...

Chronic inflammatory conditions of the male reproductive tract are thought to be a primary etiological factor in male infertility. The epididymis is considered to be the most common site of intrascrotal inflammation and a significant cause of male fertility disorders rather than the prostate or seminal vesicles. The purpose of the present study was to identify the distribution of DCs of various...