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)

Linuron is an herbicide with weak androgen receptor (AR) antagonist activity. Exposure to linuron from gestation days (GD) 12 to 21 perturbs androgen-dependent male reproductive development. In utero exposure to 50-mg/kg/day linuron induces malformations of the epididymis and the vas deferens. The objective of this study was to identify alterations in gene expression within the testis and epididymis associated with abnormal Wolffian duct development and to correlate changes in gene expression with the gross morphology of the affected epididymides. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were administered either corn oil vehicle or linuron (50 mg/kg/day) by gavage from GD 12 to 21 (n = 3-6 controls, n = 5-10 linuron-treated dams per time point). Changes in gene expression were evaluated in testes on GD 21 and in epididymides on GD 21 and postnatal day (PND) 7, using cDNA microarrays and confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses. RNA was isolated from intact epididymides with reduced or no ductal coiling from the linuron groups, and epididymides with noncontiguous ducts were excluded. In the fetal testis, exposure to linuron did not result in reduced mRNA expression of the AR or that of several steroidogenic enzymes, supporting the hypothesis that linuron does not reduce fetal testosterone production. Linuron induced a significant decrease in AR mRNA expression in GD 21 epididymides. Significant changes in mRNA expression in GD 21 and PND 7 epididymides were also identified in the epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and Notch signaling pathways. These pathways are involved in tissue morphogenesis. Changes in the expression of AR and IGF-1 receptors were detected by immunostaining in malformed epididymides from linuron-exposed rats. Linuron induced changes in epididymal gene expression suggestive of altered paracrine interactions between the mesenchyme and epithelial cells during development. The EGF, Notch, IGF-1, BMP4, and FGF signaling pathways may be involved in normal testosterone-mediated development of the Wolffian duct.
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PMID:Altered gene expression during rat Wolffian duct development in response to in utero exposure to the antiandrogen linuron. 1273 Jun 24

To identify the initial response to androgens and estrogens in the orchidectomized, regressed epididymis, we determined the gene expression changes triggered by the administration of either of two metabolites of testosterone, 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or 17beta-estradiol (E2), in the regressed rat epididymis. Adult rats were orchidectomized and 8 d later implanted with either empty implants (control), DHT-filled-, or E2-filled-polydioxanone implants. Rats were euthanized 12 h, 1 d, and 7 d later, and RNA was extracted and probed on Rat230-2.0 Affymetrix arrays. Probe sets that respond to DHT or E2 were identified at early time points; although the expression of some was repressed, the expression of many others was either transiently or chronically elevated. Nerve growth factor receptor (Ngfr) and S100 calcium binding protein G (S100g) were two E2 up-regulated genes detected at 12 h. Among the genes that showed a dramatic early response to DHT were endothelin 1 (Edn1), bone morphogenetic protein 4 (Bmp4), and IGF binding protein 3 (Igfbp3), which were suppressed, and IGF-I (Igf1), which was induced. Genes that were up- or down-regulated by DHT were classified based on biological function. Using PathwayStudio 4.0, we identified genes that were linked and directly influenced either the expression or regulation of one another. Epidermal growth factor and IGF-I play an important role in the pathway due to their function in regulation and expression of many other genes. These results provide novel insights into the impact of androgen action on the expression of genes that are important for epididymal function.
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PMID:Identification of early response genes and pathway activated by androgens in the initial segment and caput regions of the regressed rat epididymis. 2066 69

Immature spermatozoa undergo series of events in the epididymis to acquire motility and fertilizing ability. These events are a direct result of exposure to, and interaction with, the luminal environment created by the epididymal epithelium. The three conventional regions of the epididymis namely; caput, corpus and cauda have been identified to play specific roles in the epididymal maturation process of the spermatozoa; their respective roles have been associated with specific gene expression patterns that account for the composition of the luminal fluid that bathe the spermatozoa as they transit through the epididymal lumen and ensure their maturation. The identification of genes expressed in a region-specific manner provides valuable insight into the functional differences among the regions. Microarray technology has previously been employed in region-specific gene expression studies using the epididymis as a model in different species such as mouse, rat, boar and human. However, to characterize gene expression in the different regions of the epididymis, RNA-seq analysis was used in our study to examine gene expressions in the caput, corpus, and cauda of yak epididymis. Comparative transcriptomic analysis was performed between region pairs in the order; caput vs corpus, caput vs cauda and corpus vs cauda. DEGs among the various region pairs were detected and functional analysis were performed for the detected DEGs. Overall, the caput vs cauda epididymidis pair produced the highest number of DEGs (49.4%) while the corpus vs cauda pair produced the least number of DEGs (19.3%). The caput segment demonstrated relatively high expression of Sal1, LCN6, PTDS, DEFB109, DEFB 119, DEFB 123, SPAG11, PROC, CST3, ADAM28, KCNJ12 and SLC13A2; corpus epididymis demonstrated relatively high expression of MAN2B2, ELP, ZFYVE21, GLB1L, BMP4, DEFB125, PPP1R10, RIOX2, TKDP1, DEFB106A, NPBWR1 and SLC28A1; and the cauda epididymis, demonstrated relatively high expressions of MCT7, PAG4, OAS1, TGM3 and PRSS45. Gene Ontology results showed that DEGs in the caput vs corpus and corpus vs cauda pairs were mostly enriched in the cell/cell part GO term. On the other hand, DEGs in the caput vs cauda pair was were mostly enriched in the cellular process term. KEGG pathway annotation was also performed for DEGs among the various groups. AMPK signaling pathway, which is characterized by the ratio between cellular AMP and ATP and also determines cellular energy state, was selected from among the top five KEGG pathways for DEGs in the caput vs corpus pair. Our results showed that some down-regulated DEGs in the caput and corpus pair such as HN4a, eEF2K and CFTR were present and played significant roles in the AMPK signaling pathway. In the corpus vs cauda pair, our results showed that up-regulated DEGs such as XDH, TRMP2 and ENTPD were involved in the purine metabolism KEGG pathway, which was among top five KEGG pathways for DEGs in this pair. Pentose phosphate pathway functions in antioxidation to protect both the spermatozoa and epididymis from oxidative damage; it was among top five KEGG pathways for DEGs in the caput vs cauda pair. Our results also showed that down-regulated genes in the caput vs cauda pair such as TALDO1 was found to be involved in the Pentose phosphate pathway. The significance of the upregulated and downregulated genes on the pathways were elucidated. SAL1, which showed high expression in the caput, had previously not been demonstrated in the epididymis, needs further investigation to establish its unique role in the yak epididymis.
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PMID:Region-specific gene expression in the epididymis of Yak. 3140 23