Freezing of ejaculated and epididymal spermatozoa is currently a subject of interest with the purpose of establishing an efficient gene banking model for valuable animals or endangered species. Therefore, the present study evaluated the influence of different storage duration )0, 1.5 and 5 h) at 5 ºC and type of cryoprotectant on freezability of ram epididymal spermatozoa. With increasing the s...

Because epididymal secretory glycoproteins form important functional associations with maturing spermatozoa, the possibility has been explored that epididymal antigens might be useful in contraceptive vaccine development. Male and female rabbits, hamsters, and rats were immunized for several weeks with epididymal fluid, initially either with complete Freund's adjuvant, or conjugated with glutar...

  SUMMARY This study was conducted to shed light on to the factors contributing to fertilizing ability of the caput epididymal spermatozoa. In this content, it should be stated that seminal plasma am! epididymal fluid of most mammalians contains inhibitory factors connected to spermatozoa surface. To do this, components of different regions of mouse epididymis centrifuged and a given volume o...

To evaluate the effect of male accessory sex gland secretions on Ca2+ oscillations of oocytes, epididymal or ejaculated spermatozoa recovered from uteri were used to inseminate oocytes. Ca2+ oscillations were measured by Fura 2 fluorescence imaging (F340/F380). We showed that although Ca2+ oscillations induced by ejaculated spermatozoa had a pattern similar to those induced by epididymal sperma...

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 present review examines whether monotremes may help to resolve three questions relating to sperm production in mammals: why the testes descend into a scrotum in most mammals, why spermatozoa are infertile when they leave the testes and require a period of maturation in the specific milieu provided by the epididymides, and why ejaculated spermatozoa cannot immediately fertilise an ovum until...

During their epididymal maturation, stabilizing factors such as cholesterol sulfate are associated with the sperm plasma membrane. Cholesterol is sulfated in epididymal spermatozoa by the enzyme estrogen sulfotransferase. Because of its role in the efflux of sulfate conjugates formed intracellularly by sulfotransferases, the ATP-binding cassette membrane transporter G2 (ABCG2) might have a role...

Changes of chromosomal basic proteins of rats have been followed during transformation of spermatids into spermatozoa in the testis and during maturation of spermatozoa in the epididymis. Rat testis chromatin has been fractionated on the basis of differing sensitivity to shearing, yielding a soluble fraction and a condensed fraction. The sperm histone is found in the condensed fraction. Somatic...

Testicular parameters and morphological characteristics of testicular and epididymal spermatozoa of white Fulani bulls were study using twenty testicles. The objective was to study the normal testicular parameter and morphological changes during epididymal transit in the epididymis of white Fulani bulls. It was observed that there was reduction in the proportion of spermatozoa carrying the prox...

This study was carried out to determine if exposure to hot environmental temperatures had a direct, detrimental effect on sperm quality. For this the effect of whole-body heat exposure on epididymal spermatozoa of laboratory mice was investigated. C57BL/6 mice (n = 7) were housed in a microclimate chamber at 37 degrees C-38 degrees C for 8 h per day for three consecutive days, while control mic...