An essential aspect of male reproductive capacity is the immediate availability of fertilization-ready spermatozoa. To ensure this, most mammals rely on post-testicular sperm maturation. In epididymis, germ cells are matured and stored in a quiescent state that readily can be altered to produce active spermatozoa. This depends on active proton secretion into the epididymal lumen. We have identi...

Epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) has been involved in several calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion events; however, its participation in gamete interaction has not been fully investigated. Our results have demonstrated expression of E-cadherin mRNA in the human male reproductive tract showing higher levels in the caput, corpus and cauda epididymis than in the testis. The mature 122 kDa E-cadher...

BACKGROUND We undertook this study to investigate the variation relationship of sperm associated antigen 11 (Spag11) mRNA expression and SPAG11E protein in the epididymis and spermatozoa of experimental left varicocele (ELV) rats. These findings could contribute to the understanding of the role of epididymal proteins in sperm functions and the mechanism of male infertility induced by varicocele...

The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with fresh and frozen-thawed surgically retrieved spermatozoa from men diagnosed with congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD). Twenty-seven azoospermic men with their partners were treated [25 with CBAVD and two with clinical cystic fibrosis (CF)]. CF gene mutation analysis and genetic co...

Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is part of a superfamily of molecular chaperones, which protect cells from chemical and heat shock. The objectives of this study were to determine the presence of HSP70 in bovine spermatozoa and its subcellular localization during different stages of spermatogenesis. Analysis of sperm proteins by Western blotting using a monoclonal antibody to the inducible form of...

INTRODUCTION Congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens (CBAVD) is a non-treatable cause of obstructive azoospermia (OA). However, the affected men can father children by undergoing sperm retrieval (SR) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). MATERIALS AND METHODS This video describes percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA), performed on a 36 year--old male with CBAVD. In PESA ...

OBJECTIVES Evaluation of the presence of spermatozoa in vas deferens fluid after a long interval of unilateral and homolateral percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) in vasectomized men. When found, the spermatozoa were evaluated including concentration and motility, in order to verify the patency of the epididymal tubules. MATERIALS AND METHODS Four patients, numbered in a progressi...

Abstract This study is the first to investigate effects of tebuconazole (TEB) on physiological functions bovine testicular cells and epididymal spermatozoa. Motility plasma membrane integrity spermatozoa exposed TEB (0.001–100 µM) were evaluated at different incubation times (0–6 h), while TEB-induced spermiotoxicity was assessed after 24 h in cell cultures. Testicular cells, obtained from pare...

A major secretory protein of the human epididymis that is taken up by maturing spermatozoa is homologous to the leukocyte antigen CD52. The epididymis was shown to be the sole source of CD52 in seminal fluid, since CD52 could be detected in seminal plasma from sperm-containing ejaculates and not in ejaculates of vasectomized patients by Western blot analysis. The glycoprotein is not expressed i...

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...