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)

1. Adipocytes were isolated from the interscapular brown fat and the epididymal white fat of normal, streptozotocin-diabetic and hypothyroid rats. 2. Measurements were made of the maximum rate of triacylglycerol synthesis by monitoring the incorporation of [U-14C]glucose into acylglycerol glycerol in the presence of palmitate (1 mM) and insulin (4 nM) and of the activities of the following triacylglycerol-synthesizing enzymes: fatty acyl-CoA synthetase (FAS), mitochondrial and microsomal forms of glycerolphosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase (DHAPAT), monoacylglycerol phosphate acyltransferase (MGPAT), Mg2+-dependent phosphatidate phosphohydrolase (PPH) and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT). 3. FAS activity in brown adipocytes was predominantly localized in the mitochondrial fraction, whereas a microsomal localization of this enzyme predominated in white adipocytes. Subcellular distributions of the other enzyme activities in brown adipocytes were similar to those shown previously with white adipocytes [Saggerson, Carpenter, Cheng & Sooranna (1980) Biochem. J. 190, 183-189]. 4. Relative to cell DNA, brown adipocytes had lower activities of triacylglycerol-synthesizing enzymes and showed lower rates of metabolic flux into acylglycerols than did white adipocytes isolated from the same animals. 5. Diabetes decreased both metabolic flux into acylglycerols and the activities of triacylglycerol-synthesizing enzymes in white adipocytes. By contrast, although diabetes decreased metabolic flux into brown-adipocyte acylglycerols by 80%, there were no decreases in the activities of triacylglycerol-synthesizing enzymes, and the activity of PPH was significantly increased. 6. Hypothyroidism increased metabolic flux into acylglycerols in both cell types, and increased activities of all triacylglycerol-synthesizing enzymes in brown adipocytes. By contrast, in white adipocytes, although hypothyroidism increased the activities of FAS, microsomal GPAT and DGAT, this condition decreased the activities of mitochondrial GPAT and PPH. 7. It was calculated that the maximum capabilities for fatty acid oxidation and esterification are approximately equal in brown adipocytes. In white adipocytes esterification is predominant by approx. 100-fold. 8. Diabetes almost abolished incorporation of [U-14C]glucose into fatty acids in both adipocyte types. Hypothyroidism increased fatty acid synthesis in white and brown adipocytes by 50% and 1000% respectively.
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PMID:Comparison of triacylglycerol synthesis in rat brown and white adipocytes. Effects of hypothyroidism and streptozotocin-diabetes on enzyme activities and metabolic fluxes. 335 27

Plasmalogens are a main component of the spermatozoon membrane, playing a crucial role in their maturation. The initial steps in plasmalogen biosynthesis are catalyzed by two peroxisomal enzymes, dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase and alkyl-dihydroxyacetonephosphate synthase. The localization of both enzymes in the membrane of peroxisomes implies that plasmalogen-producing cells should contain this organelle. To unravel the putative source of spermatozoan plasmalogens we investigated which cell types in the testis and epididymis are endowed with peroxisomes. To this extent, testicular and epididymal tissue was analyzed at the protein and RNA levels by means of light and electron microscopical immunocytochemistry as well as by Western and Northern blotting. Proteins and mRNAs of peroxisomal enzymes, especially those of dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase and alkyl-dihydroxyacetonephosphate synthase, were detected in the testis and epididymis. In the testis, peroxisomes were localized exclusively in Leydig cells and not in cells of the seminiferous tubules, implying that the latter do not contribute to the biosynthesis of plasmalogens of the sperm membrane. In contrast, peroxisomes could be clearly visualized in the epithelial cells of the epididymis. The results suggest that peroxisomes in epithelial cells of the rat epididymis play a pivotal role in the biosynthesis of plasmalogens destined for delivery to the sperm plasma membrane.
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PMID:Peroxisomes and ether lipid biosynthesis in rat testis and epididymis. 1136 96

Spermatozoa undergo sequential maturation changes during their transit along the epididymis. These changes are modulated by the epididymal epithelium and require a finely tuned gene expression. The Notch cell signaling pathway is a major regulator of cell fate decisions in several tissues, including the testis. Here, we evaluated the transcription and expression patterns of Notch components (Notch1-3, Dll1, Dll4, and Jagged1) and effectors (Hes1-2 and Hes5) in the adult mouse epididymis, and evaluated the role of Notch signaling in the epididymis through its in vivo blockade following administration of an inhibitor (DAPT). Notch components and effectors were dynamically transcribed and expressed in the epididymis and vas deferens, each segment exhibiting a specific combination of epithelial receptor/ligand/effector expression patterns. Nuclear detection of Notch effectors indicates that Notch signaling was active. Notch components (but not effectors) were identified in the cytoplasmic droplet of spermatozoa, in a dynamic and specific pattern along the epididymis. In addition, Notch components were identified within large and small vesicles in the epididymal lumen. A purified population of these membranous vesicles from different epididymal segments was obtained, and through dot blot analysis, it was confirmed that Notch components were carried within these vesicles in a dynamic pattern along the epididymal lumen. We hypothesize that these vesicles (epididymosomes) allow Notch signaling at distance from epididymal epithelial cells to spermatozoa. DAPT-induced in vivo Notch signaling blockade, although showing a low efficiency, disrupted the expression patterns of Notch components and effectors in the epididymal epithelium and in spermatozoa, and significantly decreased sperm motility, although not affecting male fertility. These results prompt for a regulatory role of Notch signaling in epididymal epithelial function and sperm maturation.
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PMID:Notch signaling in the epididymal epithelium regulates sperm motility and is transferred at a distance within epididymosomes. 2682 31