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Query: UNIPROT:P56851 (epididymal)
 11,273 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In male rats, a single injection of 10 mg metallic copper particles in oil into each caput epididymidis induced infertility, whilst leaving mating behaviour and blood testosterone levels unchanged. Fertility tended to recover 5.5 months after the copper treatment. Although the copper content of the caput epididymidis reached a level of around 100 times higher than control values, the serum copper concentration did not rise significantly. This finding and the observation that treated animals gained weight as fast as the controls suggest a low systemic toxicity of this method. The testicular copper concentration was significantly higher than that in controls and different degrees of damage, including vacuolation, karyorrhexis, pyknosis, and cytolysis, were seen mainly in pachytene spermatocytes and early spermatids. Clumps of foreign particles, apparently metallic copper, were found in the interstices of the caput epididymidis together with degenerative changes in the epithelial cells of the caput, suggesting a possible effect of copper on the epididymal epithelium. The viability of epididymal sperm decreased more markedly than the decrease in sperm density. It is therefore most likely that the major cause of infertility after copper injection into the caput epididymidis is a direct inhibitory effect of copper on the sperm, whilst damage to the seminiferous and epididymal epithelial may contribute.
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PMID:Effect of intra-epididymal injection of copper particles on fertility, spermatogenesis, and tissue copper levels in rats. 401 91

In an experimentally established model of torsion of the testis, morphological and immunological observations were evaluated in 180 Wistar rats. Torsion of the testis were carried out to observe in animals the biological phenomenon that naturally occurs in man. The effect of the twisted testis on the contralateral testis was carefully checked. The morphological observations revealed serious damage to the seminiferous tubules in the contralateral testis. In four rats, persistent infertility was observed as an effect of torsion. The infertility was confirmed by total atrophy of seminiferous epithelium in testis section. The cell-binding ability of sera obtained from rats at different times after torsion were studied by cell-binding radioimmunoassay with different types of germinal cells. The presence of autoantibodies to epididymal spermatozoa was revealed in most cases, being a secondary effect of the thus-far unknown, nonspecific factors responsible for damage of the contralateral testis.
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PMID:Morphological and immunological observations in experimentally induced torsion of testis in rats. 409 Nov 72

Pig testicular hyaluronidase was prepared, separated and purified. An assay technique for hyaluronidase which takes advantage of colorimetric methods for the detection of Nacetyglucosamine, which is released from hyaluronic acid was employed. Male and female guinea pigs were immunized with crude pig testicular hyaluronidase or guinea pig epididymal sperm and sacrificed at various times up to 8 weeks. The serum was assayed for inhibition of hyaluronidase. Complete inhibition of enzyme activity is observed in antiserum from female guinea pigs at serum dilutions of 1:100. The implications for this infertility inducing antibody for human use require further study.
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PMID:Hyaluronidase and its relationship to contraceptive development. 473 93

Exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero is associated with adverse effects on the reproductive tract in male and female progeny. These effects include epididymal cysts, microphallus, cryptorchidism, and testicular hypoplasia in male subjects and adenosis, clear cell adenocarcinoma, and structural defects of the cervix, vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes in female subjects. As these offspring have reached reproductive age, reports of adverse reproductive performance have been published, including still controversial reports of menstrual dysfunction and infertility. More well established are increased rates of spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, premature deliveries, and perinatal deaths, all contributing to an increase in overall adverse pregnancy outcome. Often there is correlation between the DES-associated anatomic abnormalities in the reproductive tract and the adverse reproductive performance. Altered male reproductive capacity is also suggested by diminished semen analyses and sperm penetration assays. A detailed review of these effects of in utero DES exposure is presented.
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PMID:In utero exposure to diethylstilbestrol: adverse effects on the reproductive tract and reproductive performance and male and female offspring. 612 86

The effects of vasectomy on the likelihood of recovering fertility are reviewed. It was found that the secondary effects of pressure buildup on the epididymis after vasectomy were the causes of infertility even after an accurate vasovasostomy, and that bypass of the area of the secondary epididymal obstruction, or vasoepididymostomy, is required when fertility does not result after a perfect reanastomosis. Vasectomy technique assuring the greatest likelihood of reversibility is described. Techniques are also described for testicle autotransplantation for the high undescended testicle which involve the following questions: 1) whether transplantation of the testes to the scrotum will enhance the ultimate development of fertility as children grow up, and 2) what is the safest procedure. 5 cases are presented to illustrate various methods currently used, including microsurgical techniques. 2 cases in which testicla allotransplantation for anorchia was performed are presented as well.
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PMID:Recent advances in microsurgery of the male genitalia. 612 5

This report reviews the results of various studies concerning the progeny of pregnant women exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES), focusing on the effects on male and female progeny (lesions of the genital tract and reproductive performance). Studies concerning the DES effects on male progeny are few and involve small numbers of participants. The design of these studies attempts to show a relationship between structural abnormalities and/or infertility from DES exposure in utero. Driscoll and Taylor found that the ratio of interstitial cells to spermatogonia in the testicles of exposed male perinates was increased over that in controls. They also found squamous metaplasia rather than cuboidal tissue in the prostatic utricle. Structural abnormalities such as varicoceles and epididymal cysts were 8.9 times more common in DES exposed males than for nonexposed volunteers. Cryptorchidism and testicular hypoplasia have also been reported. Also cited in the literature are a decrease in sperm counts and in quality of sperm. Retrospective studies have shown that the incidence of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina in exposed females is 0.14-1.4/1000 up to age 24. Approximately 2/3 of the 400 cases on registery from 1950 have been associated with exogenous estrogen use during the mother's pregnancy. The survival rate is 80% overall, and 90% if found at stage I. Observations of the vaginal and cervical epithelial changes found in DES exposed females appear in the literature from 1970 to the present. To data there is no increased risk of squamous cell cancer in these women. Several studies have noted that the amount of vaginal epithelial changes (VEC) observed in exposed women depended on the timing and the amount of drug given. These studies indicate that unless DES exposure was begun before the 18th week of gestation, the chance of VEC is very small. Sandburg et al. combined the results of pregnancy outcome studies from their institution with similar studies conducted elsewhere in an effort to isolate any difference in outcome of pregnancy between exposed and unexposed women. Their review included the following conclusions: approximately 25% of all pregnancies ended in elective abortion regardless of DES related history; the incidence of spontaneous abortion among exposed women is 24% versus 12% in the unexposed population; the incidence of preterm delivery was 3 times as great in the exposed population of women (approximately 16%); more than 2/3 of the exposed population had a least 1 pregnancy that ended with a term delivery; live births resulted in 67% of all pregnancies of exposed women in contrast to 87% in unexposed women; and 1 of every 24 exposed parous women will have at least 1 ectopic pregnancy and 1 of every 30 pregnancies in exposed women will be ectopic.
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PMID:Diethylstilbestrol exposure in utero: review of literature. 636 86

Orchitis, epididymitis and prostatitis have been reported in male dogs infected with Brucella canis (B. canis), but the pathogenesis of infertility in male dogs has not been clarified yet. We examined localization of B. canis in the tissue of infected male reproductive organs and production of autoantibody to spermatozoa in male dogs by immunofluorescence and unlabeled antibody peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) methods and electron microscopy. B. canis were found in the cytoplasm of macrophages and epithelial cells in testis, epididymis and prostate. Particularly in the prostate, B. canis multiplied in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells and emerged in the glandular lumen with destroyed epithelial cells. Head-to-head agglutination of spermatozoa was found in the semen, urine and epididymal duct with varying degrees of intensity among the infected dogs. Appearance of the spermagglutination began following the detection of B. canis in urine and semen, suggesting invasion of the organisms in male reproductive organs. In the sera from the dogs orally inoculated with B. canis, (Ig M), Ig G and Ig A anti-spermantibodies were detected in parallel with the appearance of the serum spermagglutinating activity. The heads of agglutinated spermatozoa in the epididymal duct and semen were coated with Ig A antibody, which is considered to be anti-spermautoantibody locally produced. The target of these circulating and local antibodies was acrosome of the dog spermatozoa and spermatids. It seems probable that multiplication of B. canis in epithelial cells is the direct cause of damage to the infected cells, and the damage acts as a trigger of the production of autoantibody to spermatozoa.
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PMID:Multiplication of Brucella canis in male reproductive organs and detection of autoantibody to spermatozoa in canine brucellosis. 638 74

The epididymis as a site for fertility control intervention in males is under experimental research. This is an ideal contraceptive site because epididymal spermatozoa maturation involves several biophysicochemical parameters which can be selectively interrupted. Other advantages to this approach are that there is no chance of mutagenic side effects and the effect on stored spermatozoa produces infertility within days as compared with effects in the testis which require several weeks. A review of the study literature shows that the following morphological, biochemical, and physiological changes in sperm maturation in the epididymis can be the target of contraceptive interference: 1) spermatozoan structural stabilization by the progressive oxidation of SH groups at different cellular structure levels; 2) changes in the spermatozoa energy metabolism; 3) changes in the spermatozoa motility pattern; and 4) the relationship between the sialoglycoproteins in the epididymal milieu and in the sperm cell. The physiological processes occurring in the epididymis are explained. Each of these intervention strategies is explained. Some of these interventions might have an effect also on subsequent sperm capacitation postejaculation.
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PMID:Interference with epididymal physiology as possible site of male contraception. 645 6

Data about the levels of free L-carnitine, an epididymal marker in human semen, are contradictory and unclear, particularly in their relationship to fertility. This can perhaps be explained by the absence of any studies of seminal L-carnitine in a large group of fertile men, and by the lack of consideration of factors influencing its secretion. In this study, free L-carnitine was determined using a spectrophotometric method in deproteinized semen samples from fertile (n = 162) and infertile men without azoospermia (n = 303). Our results can be summarized as follows: Infertile men were found to have significantly lower (P less than 0.001) seminal carnitine levels (755 +/- SD 499 nmoles) compared with fertile men (1010 +/- 570). Percentiles have been calculated for fertile men, and 'normal' values proposed (10th percentile = 390 and 90th percentile = 1830 nmoles). Distribution of the levels of L-carnitine were asymmetric in fertile as well as in infertile men (median: 922 nmoles vs 645). In both groups, a significant increase in carnitine levels was observed with increasing length of abstinence, and a decrease in the ratio of carnitine/days of abstinence. Methodological, physiological and pathological factors which may explain these results are discussed.
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PMID:Levels of seminal free L(-) carnitine in fertile and infertile men. 648 Jan 40

The hypothesized relationship between androgen-binding protein (ABP) and sperm maturation was investigated using a mutant rodent: the restricted rat. The seminiferous epithelium of these animals undergoes a spontaneous degeneration, but changes are progressive. Restricted rats in the transition to infertility were used to determine if changes in ABP were related to the decreased fertility found in these animals. Fertilizing ability was determined by insemination of cauda epididymal spermatozoa into hormonally primed female rats and examination of ova for evidence of fertilization 48 h later. Epididymal and testicular tissues were analyzed for ABP using a charcoal assay. Androgen levels were determined by RIA. Testicular weights were significantly reduced compared to those of normal littermates in restricted rats at all ages; epididymal weights were significantly reduced in rats 140 days and older. Among restricted rats, sperm fertilizing ability was variable, but was significantly lower than that in normal littermates; it was consistently highest at 90 days of age. Epididymal ABP content (picomoles per organ) was significantly reduced in restricted rats at all ages; peak values occurred at 90 days. Testicular ABP content was significantly reduced only in the youngest and oldest animals. Plasma testosterone levels were not statistically lower than those found in normal littermates, and ventral prostate weights were maintained at normal levels in all four groups of animals. A significant positive correlation existed between sperm fertilizing ability and epididymal ABP, but not between sperm fertilizing ability and plasma testosterone. Since ABP is an index of Sertoli cell function, these data indicate that sperm fertilizing ability is closely related to Sertoli cell function and/or ABP.
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PMID:Investigations on the relationship between sperm fertilizing ability and androgen-binding protein in the restricted rat. 653 77


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