Attractin (Atrn), an autosomal recessive gene, is widely expressed in the body and displays multiple physiological and pathological functions in different types of tissues. The objective of this study was to localize Atrn protein and mRNA in the testis and epididymis of rats at different stages of maturation. Testis and epididymidis samples were obtained from the following 5 groups of Sprague D...

It has been a long-lasting controversial issue as to whether or not the male genital organs, such as the testis and prostate, contain metallothioneins (MTs), a group of cysteine-rich heavy-metal-binding proteins that play a role in detoxifying heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd). Earlier studies reported that the rodent testis lacks MTs and concluded that this is why the testis is very susceptibl...

The identification of gonadal gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptors (GnRH-R) and evidence of direct inhibitory effects of GnRH agonists upon steroidogenesis in adult rat gonads, lend credence to a putative intragonadal role of a locally secreted GnRH or GnRH-like peptide. Using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction followed by Southern blot hybridization and sequencing, we identifi...

The testis determining protein, Sry, has functions outside of testis determination. Multiple Sry loci are found on the Y-chromosome. Proteins from these loci have differential activity on promoters of renin-angiotensin system genes, possibly contributing to elevation of blood pressure. Variation at amino acid 76 accounts for the majority of differential effects by rat proteins Sry1 and Sry3. Hu...

DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) are unique and perform specific functions during male germ cell development. To further characterize the significance of Dnmts in the events leading to production of spermatozoa, we investigated whether the expression patterns in Dnmt1, Dnmt3a, Dnmt3b and Dnmt3l were apparent in rat testes at different time points during development. The qRT-PCR results showed tha...

A cDNA encoding rat homologue of the previously characterized mouse Sox6 was isolated by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cloning strategy. Comparison of this eDNA with homologous mouse, human and rainbow trout cDNA exhibited an overall amino acid sequence identity of 99.6, 89.3 and 76.3% respectively. The leucine-zipper and HMG-box motif were almost completely conserved between these homologu...

A cDNA clone for a type II regulatory (R) subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (ATP:protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) was isolated from a rat skeletal muscle library using a specific 47-base oligonucleotide probe. The rat cDNA was 1.2 kilobases (kb) in length and contained an open reading frame of 1.113 kb representing 92% of the coding region of the molecule. Nick-translated rat...

Background: Since ranitidine inhibits the activity of testis Na+-K+ATPase, Ca++ATPase and Mg++ATPase enzymes, and affects estrogen metabolism in the liver and causes gynecomastia, the effects of long term use of ranitidine on testis were studied. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study 40 two-month aged male rats were divided into four groups (control group and 1, 2&3 test groups). T...

The purpose of this study was to determine the cellular and subcellular localization of aquaporin-8 (AQP8) in rat kidney and other organs by RT-PCR analyses and by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry using peptide-derived rabbit antibodies to rat AQP8. RT-PCR and Southern blotting revealed the presence of AQP8 mRNA in all kidney zones. LLC-PK(1) cells transfected with a rat AQP8 construct e...

Immunohistochemistry using an antiserum raised against the synthetic follistatin peptide (residues 123-134) was used, in the present study, to detect the stage-specific appearance of immunoreactive follistatin in the rat testis. Follistatin immunoreactivity was not found in Sertoli and Leydig cells, while it was clearly detected in spermatogenic cells. Follistatin-like immunoreactivity was dete...