Oxidative stress, the imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant activity is a major culprit of male infertility. Peroxiredoxins (PRDXs) are major antioxidant enzymes of mammalian spermatozoa and are thiol oxidized and inactivated by ROS in a dose-dependent manner. Their deficiency and/or inactivation have been associated with men infertility. The aim of t...

The epididymis is critically dependent on the presence of the testis. Although several hormones, such as retinoids and progestins, and factors secreted directly into the epididymal lumen, such as androgen binding protein and fibroblast growth factor, might play regulatory roles in epididymal function, testosterone (T) and its metabolites, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and estradiol (E2), are accept...

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a high incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) related to obesity and insulin resistance. Currently, medical interventions for NAFLD have focused on diet control and exercise to reduce body weight, and there is a requirement for effective pharmacological therapies. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are oral antidi...

The metamorphosis of an immature and nonfunctional sperm into a mature sperm capable of progressive motility and fertility is thought to be the result of a highly regulated and complex series of events in the epididymis. It is well established that sperm maturation is not intrinsic to sperm cells themselves but requires the interaction of spermatozoa with proteins that are synthesized and secre...

The Sertoli cells were regarded as the only target for FSH in male reproductive system. The expression of FSH receptor (FSH-R) was detected also in epithelial cells of the caput epididymis of rat and monkey. We showed in the immunohistochemistry study the expression of FSH-R in rat and human ductuli efferentes and the caput, corpus, and cauda epididymis, moreover, by Western blot analysis in th...

1. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase was assayed by three methods: (i) incorporation of H(14)CO(3) (-) into oxaloacetate: (ii) conversion of oxaloacetate into phosphoenolpyruvate, subsequently assayed enzymically; and (iii) transfer of (32)P from [gamma-(32)P]GTP to oxaloacetate. 2. Enzyme activity is increased in liver and epididymal adipose tissue in alloxan-diabetes and starvation, and in ki...

Freeze-storage of epididymal sperm is an important technique for the preservation of gametes in animals, including those becoming extinct. We froze canine sperm recovered from the cauda epididymis and investigated the fertility. The qualities of sperm from the cauda epididymis before freezing were: mean sperm motility, 89.4 +/- 1.6 (SE) %; sperm viability, 89.1 +/- 1.1%; and these were signific...

The effect of metabolic inhibitors on transepithelial movement of 3H-androgens was investigated by in vivo perifusion and subsequent micropuncture of caput and cauda epididymal tubules. Epididymal tissue (adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations were determined at 1 h after exposure of perifusion fluid with metabolic inhibitor. To determine whether or not metabolic inhibitor alters intralumi...

Amyloids are aggregated proteins characterized by a specific cross-β-sheet structure and are typically associated with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease. Recently, however, several nonpathological amyloids have been found in intracellular organelles of normal mammalian tissues suggesting that amyloid may also carry out biological functions. We previously have shown that t...

Histological, histochemical and ultrastructural studies were performed on the epididymal regions of ten adult sexually mature apparently healthy male native turkeys (Meleagrisgallopavo). The epididymis of turkey was consisted of extra testicular rete, efferent ductules, connecting ductules, and the epididymal duct. The rete testis were lined by squamous to cuboidal cells, while the proximal eff...