Sperm samples may be used for assisted reproductive technologies (e.g., farmed or endangered species) or as a source of haploid DNA or sperm-specific RNA. When ejaculated spermatozoa are not available or are very difficult to obtain, as is the case for most wild endangered species, the epididymides of dead animals (e.g., animals that have been found dead, shot by hunters or poachers, or that th...

Cryopreservation of caudal epididymal spermatozoa is an effective technique to conserve genetic potentials of superior dogs when it is not possible to collect ejaculated spermatozoa. Although hen egg yolk is commonly supplemented into the semen extender, active substances within the egg yolk which protect sperm against cryoinjury remain to be discovered. Among its compositions, low-density lipo...

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the presence of leptin mRNA transcript in epididymal spermatozoa of Holstein cattle by RT-PCR analysis. Materials and Methods: To collect sperm from epididymis, the whole testes of three adult Holstein bulls were quickly removed after slaughtering. Samples were transferred to the laboratory on ice and subsequently the epididymal contents were c...

This study was conducted to determine whether the mode of sperm immobilization prior to intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) influences fertilization by immature spermatozoa. Of the 837 ICSI cycles evaluated, 81 were performed with epididymal or testicular spermatozoa; 35 cycles with epididymal spermatozoa immobilized in the standard fashion resulted in fertilization and pregnancy rates of 4...

Although dog prostatic fluid decreases the longevity of ejaculated dog spermatozoa, it also increases their rate of motility and their fertility after vaginal insemination, as well as the fertility of epididymal spermatozoa after uterine insemination. These findings indicate a need to further characterize the effects of prostatic fluid on dog spermatozoa. This study was done to determine the ef...

Cryopreservation of epididymal sperm is an effective technique to preserve genetic materials of domestic cats and wild felids when they unexpectedly die. However, this technique inevitably causes detrimental changes of cryopreserved-thawed spermatozoa, for example, by physical damage and excessive oxidative stress. L-carnitine is an antioxidant that has been used to improve sperm motility in hu...

The present study reports data on post-translational modifications in the glycosylation status during epididymal passage and significance in fertility of a 33 kDa glycoprotein of rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta), designated as MEF3 (monkey epididymal fluid protein 3). MEF3 exhibited strong affinity for N-linked alpha-D-mannose groups and O-linked N-Ac-galactosamine linkages in epididymal fluids a...

It has been reported that following administration, alkylphenols, such as octylphenol, reach the testis and epididymis but fail to accumulate in these tissues, suggesting the rapid expulsion of these chemicals by transporters. Specialized transporters that function to restrict compounds that enter target cells have been identified. ABCB1 is a member of the ATP-binding cassette family of protein...

Human epididymal tissue was recovered from 11 patients undergoing orchidectomy without anti-androgen treatment. Everted epithelial fragments from the caput and corpus epididymis of six patients were successfully cultured in a modified RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with HEPES and androgens for up to 110 days (mean 56 +/- 28) in 5% CO(2) in air at 37 degrees C. Epithelial cells from human oviduct...

The first report of a foal born after artificial insemination (AI) with frozen/thawed semen, more than fifty years ago, was the result of insemination with epididymal spermatozoa (Barker en Gandier, 1957). Ever since, reports have confirmed pregnancies and/ or births after AI with epididymal semen, which proves the fertilizing capacity of epididymal semen (Morris, 2002; Monteiro et al., 2011). ...