Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P56851 (epididymal)
 11,273 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The incorporation of radioactivity into various cells in the sequence of spermatogenesis was measured by preparing highly purified spermatozoan nuclei from the cauda epididymidis of mice at daily intervals after injection of (3H)thymidine. The stages of differentiation of these sperm at the time of thymidine administration were calculated from the kinetics of spermatogenesis. The procedure for purification of sperm nuclei included sonication, mechanical shearing, and treatment with trypsin, DNase, Triton X-100, 2M NaC1, and sodium dodecyl sulfate. DNA was isolated from these nuclei by treatment with dithiothreitol and pronase, followed by phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation. The levels of radioactivity in the epididymal sperm head preparations were low (less than 13 dpm/mouse) for 27 days after injection, and then rose dramatically to over 4 times 104 dpm/mouse. Further experiments demonstrated that the 11 dpm of 3H radioactivity contained in sperm heads at 21 or 26 days after injection of (3H)TdR was significantly above background and contamination levels from other cells or other sources. Most of the radioactivity was in the sperm DNA and represented incorporation of tritium from (3H)TdR into the nuclear DNA of meiotic cells at 0.002 percent of the rate of incorporation into S-phase cells. Little, if any, (3H)TdR was incorporation into the DNA of spermatids. The levels of DNA synthesis during the meiotic prophase in the mouse appear to be much lower than those reported for other organisms.
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PMID:Meiotic DNA synthesis during mouse spermatogenesis. 110 31

A single monoclonal antibody, BSA4, raised against baboon epididymal sperm was used to study the ontogeny of the baboon sperm acrosome region during testicular spermiogenesis. This antibody is not species-specific but is restricted to the acrosome region in all other sperm examined (human, rat, and mouse). In the baboon, treatment of epididymal sperm with 0.05% Triton-X results in complete loss of anterior acrosome staining. Such treated sperm display a distinct equatorial staining. Antibody BSA4 reacts with a determinant (molecular weight, 43,000 d) that first appears in postmeiotic round spermatids during spermiogenesis. When tested for an effect on the fertilization process in vitro, the antibody BSA4 displayed significant inhibition, indicating a possible functional role for the determinant on mouse sperm. Using the avidin-biotin immunoperoxidase method, several stages of acrosome development were recognized: ie, cap, acrosome, and maturation stages of spermiogenesis. The antibody staining was restricted to the developing acrosome at all stages, indicating that the equatorial region is part of the acrosome and is expressed with temporal specificity during spermatogenesis in the baboon.
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PMID:Stage-specific expression of a protein of the acrosome of baboon sperm during spermiogenesis detected with a monoclonal antibody. 205 May 81

Chronic ethanol ingestion by the male is associated with reproductive impairment. No longitudinal studies have been carried out to determine the recovery of ethanol-related reproductive failure subsequent to moderate periods of abstinence. An animal model (C57B1 mouse) was utilized to examine the effectiveness of abstinence for reversal of ethanol-induced reproductive failure. After treatment with either a 5% ethanol diet (10 weeks) or a 6% ethanol diet (5 weeks), animals were hemicastrated (right testis and accessory organs); their reproductive tracts and epididymal spermatozoa were examined. Ingestion of the 5% and 6% ethanol diets resulted in significantly (p less than 0.05) decreased testicular weights (24% and 28%, respectively) and seminal vesicle/prostate weights (20%, 6% diet only), increased frequencies of germ cell desquamation (480% and 400%), inactive seminiferous tubules (186% and 567%) and inhibition of in vitro fertilization of mouse oocytes by epididymal spermatozoa (26% and 62%), as compared to their respective pair-fed control values. Also observed was a significant decrease in total motile spermatozoa (85%, 6% diet only). Improvement in all parameters was observed in the contralateral reproductive organs subsequent to ten weeks abstinence. Only germ cell desquamation remained significantly elevated (100% as compared to control) in animals that ingested the 5% diet. In contrast, significant abnormalities persisted ten weeks after treatment with the 6% ethanol diet, including increased germ cell desquamation (200%) and inactive seminiferous tubules (157%); decreased forward progression (17%) of epididymal sperm also persisted. If these data can be applied clinically, male alcoholic patients with reproductive disorders could have a prognosis of at least partial recovery following moderate periods of abstinence from ethanol.
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PMID:Spontaneous recovery from ethanol-induced male infertility. 402 69

To date, no longitudinal studies have been carried out to determine the recovery of ethanol-related reproductive failure subsequent to moderate periods of abstinence. An animal model (C57B1 mouse) was utilized to examine the effectiveness of abstinence for reversal of ethanol-induced reproductive failure. After treatment with either a 5% (v/v) ethanol diet (10 weeks) or a 6% (v/v) ethanol diet (5 weeks), ethanol-treated animals and their pair-fed controls were electroejaculated and hemicastrated (right testis and accessory organs); their reproductive tracts and epididymal spermatozoa were examined. Ingestion of the 5% and 6% ethanol diets resulted in significantly (P less than 0.05) decreased weights of testes (24% and 28%, respectively) and seminal vesicles/prostate (20%, 6% diet only), increased frequencies of germ cell desquamation (480% and 400%), inactive seminiferous tubules (186% and 567%), sperm dysmorphology (31% and 119%) and inhibition of in vitro fertilization of mouse oocytes by epididymal spermatozoa (26% and 62%), as compared to their respective pair-fed control values. Also observed were significant decreases in epididymal sperm content (72%, 6% diet only), total motile spermatozoa (85%, 6% diet only) and seminal vesicles epithelial cell height (13% and 29%). No abnormal semen parameters were observed after treatment with the 5% ethanol diet; however, in animals treated with the 6% diet, significant decreases were noted in coagulum weight (50%), sperm count (85%) and acid phosphatase content (53%). Improvement in all parameters was observed in the contralateral half of the reproductive tract subsequent to 10 weeks abstinence. Only germ cell desquamation remained significantly elevated (100% as compared to control) in animals that ingested the 5% diet. In contrast, significant abnormalities persisting 10 weeks after treatment with the 6% ethanol diet included increased germ cell desquamation (200%), inactive seminiferous tubules (157%) and sperm dysmorphology (39%) and decreased forward progression (17%) of epididymal sperm, as compared to values. These findings are discussed in relation to the influence of alcohol consumption on male reproductive function in man.
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PMID:Partial reversal of ethanol-induced male reproductive pathology following abstinence. 405 65

The regulation of hexokinase II (HKII) was examined in fat and skeletal muscle of an animal model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, the KKAY mouse. These tissues require insulin for facilitated transport of glucose and express the insulin-responsive transporter GLUT4. The combined data from two experiments (n = 12 for each experimental condition) demonstrated mean concentrations of plasma insulin in pmol/l and glucose in mmol/l of 122 and 7.2 (control nondiabetic C57 mouse) vs. 1,118 and 29.6 (diabetic mouse), respectively. The tissues of diabetic mice compared with control mice demonstrated a reduction of HKII mRNA abundance of 68% in epididymal fat (P = 0.0001) and 34% in the quadriceps muscles (P < 0.001), with concordant reduction in the abundance of GLUT4 mRNA of 60% in epididymal fat (P < 0.001). In comparison with the results in untreated diabetic mice, diabetic animals treated with the insulin-sensitizing drug pioglitazone demonstrated an increase in the abundance of HKII mRNA with a concordant increase of GLUT4 mRNA in epididymal fat (P = 0.03 and < 0.01, respectively), and an increase of HKII mRNA in the quadriceps muscles (P < 0.05). Separate experiments demonstrated a reduction of HKII protein abundance by 61% in epididymal fat (P < 0.001, n = 12 for each experimental condition) and by 71% in the quadriceps muscles (P < 0.001, n = 6 for each experimental condition). In comparison with untreated diabetic mice, there was an increase in the abundance of HKII protein in epididymal fat of animals treated with pioglitazone (P < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Reduced expression of hexokinase II in insulin-resistant diabetes. 781 13

Western blotting, immunofluorescence and immunogold electron microscopy were used to examine the compartmentalization, processing and redistribution of the integral plasma membrane protein CE9 on the spermatozoa of rats, mice and hamsters. In each species examined, spermatozoal CE9 was found to undergo endoproteolytic processing followed by a net redistribution from the posterior-tail domain into the anterior-tail domain of the plasma membrane during epididymal maturation. Compared to spermatozoa of the rat and mouse, those of the hamster were found to express a greater proportion of their CE9 within the anterior-tail plasma membrane domain at all stages of maturation. As a consequence, CE9 was judged to be a suitable marker for two different spermatozoal plasma membrane domains: the posterior-tail plasma membrane domain (spermatozoa from the testis and caput epididymidis of the rat and mouse) and the anterior-tail domain (spermatozoa from the cauda epididymidis of the hamster). Immunogold electron microscopy was used to pinpoint the positions of the boundaries of these CE9-containing plasma membrane domains at a high level of resolution. In each case, the position of the CE9 domain boundary was found to be strongly correlated with that of the subplasmalemmal electron-dense ring known as the annulus. The precise spatial relationship between the CE9 domain boundary and the annulus was, however, found to differ significantly among species and/or as a function of maturation.
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PMID:Compartmentalization, processing and redistribution of the plasma membrane protein CE9 on rodent spermatozoa. Relationship of the annulus to domain boundaries in the plasma membrane of the tail. 820 79

Immunoisolation of allogeneic cells within a membrane-bound device is a unique approach for gene therapy. We employed an immunoisolation device that protects allograft, but not xenograft, cells from destruction, to implant a human fibroblast line (MSU 1.2) in athymic rodents. Cells, transduced with the MFG-human factor IX retroviral vector, and expressing 0.9 microg/10(6) cells/day in vitro, were implanted in rats (four 40-microl devices, each containing 2 x 10(7) cells, two subcutaneously, two in epididymal fat) and in mice (two 20-microl devices, each containing 2 x 10(6) cells, subcutaneously). Plasma factor IX levels increased for 50 days, reaching maxima of 203 ng/ml (rat) and 597 ng/ml (mouse), and both continued at greater than 100 ng/ml for more than 140 days. A clone derived from the transduced cells, making 5 microg of factor IX/10(6) cells/day, was implanted within a device (one 20-microl device containing 2.5 x 10(6) cells), or without a device (1 x 10(7) cells implanted freely), either subcutaneously or in epididymal fat. The freely implanted cells expressed transiently, reaching more than 100 ng/ml in each site by day 4, but dropped to zero by day 20 (subcutaneous) or day 90 (epididymal fat). In devices, levels gradually increased to 100 ng/ml (subcutaneous) or 300 ng/ml (epididymal fat), remaining high for more than 100 days. These results show long-term, high-level expression of a human protein: (1) when cells are implanted within a cell transplantation device, but not when the cells are freely implanted, and (2) from a transgene driven by a viral promoter. An alloprotective device will enable the use of cloned cell lines that can be subjected to stringent quality control assessment that is impossible to achieve with autologous approaches.
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PMID:Sustained expression of high levels of human factor IX from human cells implanted within an immunoisolation device into athymic rodents. 958 10

Due to the existence of ample background information on its reproduction, embryology and genetics, the mouse is potentially an excellent animal model for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Normal fertile mouse offspring have been obtained by ICSI using not only mature (epididymal) and immature (testicular) spermatozoa, but also round spermatids and secondary spermatocytes. This suggests that genomic imprinting of male germ cells is complete before spermiogenesis. Mature mouse spermatozoa carry one or more factors that activate oocytes. This sperm-borne oocyte-activating factor is present in testicular spermatozoa, but not in round spermatids. Thus, at least in the mouse, it seems to appear (or become active) during spermiogenesis. Part of the factor seems to be associated with the perinuclear materials because, when freed from plasma and acrosomal membranes as well as all acrosome components, spermatozoa remain fully capable of activating oocytes by ICSI. Spermatozoa with grossly misshapen heads (e.g. those from the BALB/c mouse) are unable to fertilize oocytes under ordinary in-vivo and in-vitro conditions. However, by ICSI they can fertilize the oocytes, and the zygotes develop into fertile offspring. Inherently poorly motile spermatozoa (of male mice carrying two t haplotypes) are unable to fertilize, but through ICSI they can participate in normal fertilization and embryonic development. Examination of human sperm chromosomes after sperm injection into mouse oocytes revealed that spermatozoa with abnormal head morphology have a significantly higher incidence of chromosome abnormality than those with normal heads, yet the majority of the abnormal spermatozoa have normal chromosomal constitutions. These findings suggest that spermatozoa with aberrant morphology and/or motility are not necessarily genomically abnormal.
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PMID:Intracytoplasmic sperm injection experiments using the mouse as a model. 966 73

Rat epididymal protein DE associates with the sperm surface during epididymal maturation and is a candidate molecule for mediating gamete membrane fusion in the rat. Here, we provide evidence supporting a role for DE in mouse sperm-egg fusion. Western blot studies indicated that the antibody against rat protein DE can recognize the mouse homologue in both epididymal tissue and sperm extracts. Indirect immunofluorescence studies using this antibody localized the protein on the dorsal region of the acrosome. Experiments in which zona-free mouse eggs were coincubated with mouse capacitated sperm in the presence of DE showed a significant and concentration-dependent inhibition in the percentage of penetrated eggs, with no effect on either the percentage of oocytes with bound sperm or the number of sperm bound per egg. Immunofluorescence experiments revealed specific DE-binding sites on the fusogenic region of mouse eggs. Because mouse sperm can penetrate zona-free rat eggs, the participation of DE in this interaction was also investigated. The presence of the protein during gamete coincubation produced a significant reduction in the percentage of penetrated eggs, without affecting the binding of sperm to the oolemma. These observations support the involvement of DE in an event subsequent to sperm-egg binding and leading to fusion in both homologous (mouse-mouse) and heterologous (mouse-rat) sperm-egg interaction. The lack of disintegrin domains in DE indicates that the protein interacts with its egg-binding sites through a novel mechanism that does not involve the reported disintegrin-integrin interaction.
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PMID:Mammalian sperm-egg fusion: evidence that epididymal protein DE plays a role in mouse gamete fusion. 1090 51

The present study was undertaken to assess the reversible contraceptive efficacy of methanolic extract of Mentha arvensis leaves. Aqueous solution of the extract (10 mg per day per mouse) when administered orally to male mice of proven fertility for 20, 40 and 60 days caused inhibition of fertility while maintaining their normal sexual behaviour. With the increase in treatment duration, there occurred a corresponding decrease in the mean weight of testis and accessory organs of reproduction. Sperm concentration, motility and viability in the cauda epididymis were also decreased. Spermatozoa with coiled tails also appeared in the epididymal smear. However, all the induced effects returned to normalcy within 30 days following withdrawal of 60-day treatment. Oral administration of the extract also did not affect the body weight of the mice and their blood cells count, packed cell volume, haemoglobin and blood/serum biochemistry.
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PMID:Assessment of reversible contraceptive efficacy of methanol extract of Mentha arvensis L. leaves in male albino mice. 1189 Oct 81


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