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)

Stabilization of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-phosphodiesterase (PDE) in 50% glycerol made possible the removal of endogenous inhibitors from tissue extracts by dialysis and the storage of the extracts at -20 degrees C without loss of PDE activity. Dialysates of heat-inactivated epididymal extracts were fractionated by liquid chromatography, and 4 fractions-F2, F5, F7, and F12-were found to contain endogenous inhibitors of PDE. The masses of the fractions required to inhibit low-Km PDE activity by ca. 50% in 430-microliter incubation mixtures were F2, 89 micrograms; F5, 23 micrograms; F7, 275 micrograms; and F12, 1.2 mg. The mechanisms of inhibition of low-Km PDE by the endogenous inhibitors were investigated by kinetic analysis of enzyme-inhibitor interaction. F2 and F12 inhibited PDE competitively; F5 and F7 decreased both apparent Km and Vmax, suggesting an uncompetitive mechanism of inhibition. The high potency of F5 in low concentration suggests that it may be a physiological modulator of low-Km cAMP-PDE activity.
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PMID:Endogenous inhibitors of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate-phosphodiesterase in rat epididymis. 302 16

Generally it is believed that mammalian sperm mature during their transit through the whole epididymis. However spermatozoa aspirated from the epididymal duct or vasa defferentia have been recently reported to move actively in azoospermic patients with seminal tract obstruction. We examined whether the testicular sperm move which would provide useful information in the diagnosis of male infertility. Testicular biopsy materials were obtained from 38 testes of 37 patients as follows; 19 cases with azoospermia, 11 with oligozoospermia, and 8 orchiectomized for prostatic cancer (3), testicular cancer (2), epididymal abscess (1), and cryptorchid (2). All materials were obtained from either open biopsy or from the normal portion of the orchiectomized testis. The material was minced with a sharp knife or scissors in an Eppendorf tube containing Ham's F12 solution. Then a couple of drops of sperm suspension were placed on a warmed (37 degrees C) slide glass which was then covered with a coverglass. The prepared slide was immediately examined by phase-contrast microscopy. Another part was used for preparing a touch smear for confirming the presence of testicular sperm and then was fixed in Bouin's solution and stained with H-E. Spermatogenesis was evaluated by Johnsen's mean score (JMS). Eleven of the 19 azoospermic cases revealed the presence of testicular sperm, and ten of them demonstrated the presence of motile sperm. The mean JMS in these cases was 8.8 (normal spermatogenesis). After surgical exploration or vasography, these patients were diagnosed with obstructive azoospermia (post-vasectomy (4 cases), congenital absence of vas deferens (2 cases), secondary epididymal duct obstruction (4 cases)).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Significance of the motile sperm presented in the testis]. 759 83

The ability of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p-dioxin (TCDD) to induce oxidative stress in various tissues of animals has been reported. The nature and mechanism of action of TCDD on the antioxidant system of sperm has not been studied. In the present study we have sought to investigate whether TCDD induces oxidative stress in the epididymal sperm of rats. Subchronic doses of TCDD (1, 10, and 100 ng/kg body weight per day) were administered orally to male Wistar strain rats for 45 days. After 24 h of the last treatment the rats were killed using diethyl ether. The epididymides were removed and cleared from the adhering tissues. Epididymal sperm were collected by cutting the epididymides into small pieces in Ham's F12 medium, and counted using a hemocytometer. The epididymal sperm counts in the TCDD-treated groups decreased in a dose-dependent manner from the control value of 8.2+/-0.14 x 10(8) to 5.31+/-0.15 x 10(8). Since a positive correlation (r=0.95; n=24) was observed between sperm count and DNA content of the epididymal sperm, DNA content was routinely used as an indicator of sperm count, and the results were expressed in terms of both protein and DNA. There was a significant decline in the activities of superoxide dismutase (40+/-2.17 to 27.1+/-0.76/mg protein and 32.41 to 18.07+/-0.76/mg DNA), catalase (2.49+/-0.13 to 2.03+/-0.05/mg protein and 2.01+/-0.05 to 1.35+/-0.05/mg DNA), glutathione reductase (71.2+/-3.87 to 48+/-1.79/mg protein and 57.58+/-1.52 to 31.94/mg DNA) and glutathione peroxidase (22.4+/-1.43 to 16.9+/-1.57/mg protein and 18.08+/-0.61 to 11.38+/-1.22/mg DNA) while there were increases in the levels of hydrogen peroxide (20.8+/-1.96 to 55.3+/-0.88/ mg protein and 16.18+/-1.88 to 36.87+/-0.88/ mg DNA) and lipid peroxidation (2.17+/-0.2 to 6.08/mg protein and 1.75+/-0.12 to 4.05+/-0.12/mg DNA) in the epididymal sperm. The results suggest that graded doses of TCDD elicit depletion of antioxidant defense system in sperm, indicating TCDD-induced oxidative stress in the epididymal sperm. In conclusion, the adverse effect on male reproduction in TCDD-treated rats may be due to the induction of oxidative stress in sperm.
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PMID:Induction of oxidative stress in rat epididymal sperm after exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. 1191 81

A tissue-culture system in which cells retain defined ultrastructural and functional characteristics was established to provide a basis for functional investigations of the epididymal duct in the cat. A widely used culture protocol for rat epididymal epithelium was used as a starting point and subsequently modified. The cellular population of the cat's epididymal epithelium was isolated by successive collagenase and trypsin digestion. A high yield of isolated cells obtained with good viability, were cultured in DMEM/F12 medium supplemented with foetal bovine serum, in absence or in presence of additional dihydrotestosterone (1 nM). The plated primary cultures reached confluence within 5-8 days, producing a monolayer of cohesive cells. Samples taken after 6 days in culture were processed for transmission and scanning electron microscopies. Immunocytochemical staining was used to estimate the purity of the epithelial cell population in the monolayers. The cell cultures displayed several functional traits of in vivo epithelia, including [35S] hypotaurine and [35S] taurine production. These results demonstrate that primary cultures of epididymal epithelial cells isolated from sexually mature cats maintain several differentiated characteristics of the intact organ and therefore provide a valuable system for the study of epididymal epithelial cell functions, metabolic activities and their regulation in cats.
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PMID:Isolation, culture and characteristics of epididymal epithelial cells from adult cats. 1590 91