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)

Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that chronic exposure of the father to low doses of cyclophosphamide results in a significant increase in early embryonic death with little effect on the male reproductive system in rats. Such effects on progeny outcome are hypothesized to be mediated by an action of the drug on the nucleus of spermatozoa. The purpose of the present studies was to investigate the effects of cyclophosphamide treatment for 1 or 6 wk on the pattern of decondensation of sperm nuclei and on the sulfhydryl content of sperm nuclear proteins. Adult male rats were treated with cyclophosphamide (6.1 mg/kg/day) daily for 1 or 6 wk. Cauda epididymal spermatozoa were collected, demembranated, and then incubated with dithiothreitol (DTT) and proteinase K. The in vitro decondensation pattern of the nuclei of spermatozoa was divided into two phases: nuclear swelling and nuclear elongation. Spermatozoa from animals treated for 1 wk with cyclophosphamide showed the same decondensation pattern as those treated with vehicle (saline) alone. However, spermatozoa from animals treated for 6 wk with cyclophosphamide showed normal initial nuclear swelling but had a markedly affected nuclear elongation pattern. The changes with time in the decondensation pattern of these spermatozoa were quantitated by morphometric analysis of the head region of the spermatozoa. The nuclear area, curvature, and length of spermatozoa obtained from chronically drug-treated males were all significantly smaller than for those obtained from controls, while cell diameter was not affected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Effects of chronic low-dose cyclophosphamide exposure on the nuclei of rat spermatozoa. 771 Nov 81

Treatment of male rats with low dosages of cyclophosphamide causes a dramatic increase in early embryo death among their progeny without significantly affecting the general health of the male. It is hypothesized that cyclophosphamide exerts its effects by targeting specific components of spermatozoal nuclei. The purpose of the present studies was to investigate the effects of chronic cyclophosphamide treatment on spermatozoal DNA. Two approaches were pursued. The first was to determine total DNA damage by using the alkaline elution method. The second was to study spermatozoal DNA template function by using an in vitro DNA synthesis system. Adult male rats were treated with saline or cyclophosphamide (6.1 mg/kg/day) daily for 1 or 6 wk. Cauda epididymal spermatozoa were collected and subjected to alkaline elution using DNA-DNA dot hybridization to quantify the fractionated DNA. One week of treatment with cyclophosphamide caused DNA single strand breaks that could be detected only in the presence of proteinase K in the lysis solution; no DNA cross-links were observed in the animals that received 1-wk drug treatment. In contrast, 6 wk of treatment with cyclophosphamide induced a significant increase in both DNA single strand breaks and cross-links in spermatozoal nuclei; the cross-links were attributable primarily to DNA-DNA linkages. The availability of spermatozoal DNA for template function was not affected by 1 wk of treatment with cyclophosphamide but was markedly affected after 6 wk of treatment with this drug. It is proposed that during chromatin transition processes the male genome may be in an open dynamic state with many exposed sites that are vulnerable to alkylating agents. Since there is no DNA repair during spermiogenesis, damage to the genome by alkylation at this stage may be cumulative, resulting in the production of dysfunctional germ cells.
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PMID:Damage to rat spermatozoal DNA after chronic cyclophosphamide exposure. 856 4

The presence of prion protein in sperm and fluids collected from different parts of the ram genital tract was investigated by immunoblotting with monoclonal antibodies. A slightly immunoreactive 25- to 30-kDa protein was recognized on Western blots of testicular and epididymal sperm extracts. Immunoreactivity increased on ejaculated sperm extracts and 2 other bands at 35 and 43 kDa also reacted. Seminal plasma showed several immunoreactive bands, the main bands being detected at 43 and 35 kDa, whereas less reactive bands were observed at 30, 25, 20, and <14 kDa. All these bands strongly decreased in the seminal plasma after vasectomy, indicating a testicular or an epididymal origin. Testicular fluid showed almost no reactivity, whereas caudal epididymal fluid contained the 2 strong immunoreactive bands at 43 and 35 kDa and in some cases a faint 30-kDa band. The 43-kDa band was also found in the fluid from the proximal caput, whereas the 35-kDa band appeared in the distal caput. Immunoprecipitation of (35)S-labeled proteins secreted in the epididymal fluid indicated that the 43-kDa form was synthesized in caput and caudal regions and the 35-kDa form in the distal caput to the distal corpus. Treatment of caudal fluid and seminal plasma by N-glycosidase resulted in the formation of 3 bands: 1 highly reactive at about 25 kDa, a second less reactive at about 28 kDa, and a third at approximately 20 kDa. The pattern of prion protein distribution in epididymal fluids was found to be similar in scrapie-infected rams to that of healthy rams. Cauda epididymal fluid and seminal plasma from infected animals could not be treated directly with proteinase K, because of the presence of protease inhibitors. However, the prion protein immunoprecipitated from these fluids was completely cleaved by proteinase K, whereas in the same conditions this from an infected sheep brain gave the usual resistant band pattern.
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PMID:Prion protein is secreted in soluble forms in the epididymal fluid and proteolytically processed and transported in seminal plasma. 1213 72

TMEM190, a small transmembrane protein containing the trefoil domain, was previously identified by our proteomic analysis of mouse sperm. Two structural features of TMEM190, 'trefoil domain' and 'small transmembrane protein', led us to hypothesize that this protein forms a protein-protein complex required during fertilization, and we characterized TMEM190 by biochemical, cytological, and genetic approaches. We showed in this study that the mouse Tmem190 gene exhibits testis-specific mRNA expression and that the encoded RNA is translated into a 19-kDa protein found in both testicular germ cells and cauda epididymal sperm. Treatment of the cell surface with proteinase K, subcellular fractionation, and immunofluorescence assay all revealed that mouse TMEM190 is an inner-acrosomal membrane protein of cauda epididymal sperm. During the acrosome reaction, TMEM190 partly relocated onto the surface of the equatorial segment, on which sperm-oocyte fusion occurs. Moreover, TMEM190 and IZUMO1, which is an immunoglobulin-like protein required for gamete fusion, co-localized in mouse sperm both before and after the acrosome reaction. However, immunoprecipitates of TMEM190 contained several sperm proteins, but did not include IZUMO1. These findings suggest that a mouse sperm protein complex(es) including TMEM190 plays an indirect role(s) in sperm-oocyte fusion. The role(s), if any, is probably dispensable since Tmem190-null male mice were normally fertile.
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PMID:Characterization of mouse sperm TMEM190, a small transmembrane protein with the trefoil domain: evidence for co-localization with IZUMO1 and complex formation with other sperm proteins. 2127 69