Male Drosophila flies secrete seminal-fluid proteins that mediate proper sperm storage and fertilization, and that induce changes in female behavior. Females also produce reproductive-tract secretions, yet their contributions to postmating physiology are poorly understood. Large secretory cells line the female's spermathecae, a pair of sperm-storage organs. We identified the regulatory regions ...

This study was aimed at evaluating the relationship between body mass index, sex hormones and semen characteristics in male adults. 120 male adults aged 20 to 50 years who consented to participate in the study were used. Serum samples collected from each subject were analyzed for luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), progesterone, estradiol and testoster...

Preserving genetic resources for next millennium is of great importance, whereas the major contribution of conserving sperms has the potential in many applications such as agriculture, biotechnology, species conservation and clinical medicine. Two major systems (liquid and frozen) of storage technologies have been developed for sperm conservation until the 20th century. The combinations of stor...

Catsper1 is a voltage-gated calcium channel located in the plasma membrane of the sperm tail and is necessary for sperm motility and fertility in mice. We here examine the evolutionary pattern of Catsper1 from nine species of the rodent subfamily Murinae of family Muridae. We show that the rate of insertion/deletion (indel) substitutions in exon 1 of the gene is 4-15 times that in introns or ne...

The role of oestrogens in male reproductive tract physiology has for a long time been a subject of debate. The testis produces significant amounts of oestrogenic hormones, via aromatase, and oestrogen receptors (ERs)alpha (ESR1) and ERbeta (ESR2) are selectively expressed in cells of the testis as well as the epididymal epithelium, depending upon species. This review summarizes the current know...

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have many features that make them attractive as medical devices, especially in therapeutic agents and drug delivery systems. Here we have introduced AgNPs into mouse spermatozoa and then determined the cytotoxic effects of AgNPs on sperm function and subsequent embryo development. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses showed that...

Mating induces profound changes in female insect behavior and physiology. In Drosophila melanogaster, mating causes a reduction in sexual receptivity and an elevation in egg production for at least 5 days. Injection of the seminal fluid sex peptide (SP) induces both responses in virgin females, but only for 1-2 days. The role of SP in eliciting the responses to mating remains to be elucidated. ...

The cryopreservation process has an important impact on sperm structure and physiology. The negative effects have been mainly observed on the plasma membrane, which is directly stabilized by the cytoskeleton. Since cytoskeleton proteins are osmosensitive and thermosensitive, the aim of this study was to evaluate the damage caused to the bull sperm cytoskeleton by cryopreservation (freezing-thaw...

Introduction It is well known that cryopreserved semen could be used to regenerate commercial or research poultry lines; however, fertility rates from poultry semen frozen with current methods are not reliable enough for germ-line retrieval, especially from lines with low reproductive efficiency. As part of a long-term research plan to determine how and why poultry sperm lose functional compete...

BACKGROUND The 12 kD FK506 binding protein FKBP12 is a cytosolic receptor for the immunosuppressant drugs FK506 and rapamycin. In addition to its critical role in drug-induced T-cell immunosuppression, FKBP12 associates physiologically with ryanodine and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors, regulating their ability to flux calcium. We investigated a role for FKBP12 in male reproductive...