Hybrid method of transurethral resection of ejaculatory ducts using holmium:yttriumaluminium garnet laser on complete ejaculatory duct obstruction.
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Histochemical and immunohistochemical studies on intraepithelial nerve fibers in the ejaculatory duct of the monkey (Macaca fuscatus).
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With special attention to intraepithelial nerve supply, the distribution of peripheral nerve fibers in the ejaculatory duct of the monkey (Macaca fuscatus) was examined by histochemical and immunohistochemical methods and conventional transmission electron microscopic (TEM) method. The conventional TEM study has suggested that there are two types of intraepithelial nerve fibers, i.e. cholinergic and peptidergic. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-positive nerve fibers which were seen by means of light microscopy (LM) as surrounding the epithelium were revealed to be present intraepithelially by means of TEM examination. Neuropeptide Y (NPY)-like immunoreactive nerve fibers were richly distributed in the ejaculatory duct with a dense plexus spreading just beneath the epithelium. The immunoreactive nerves appeared, in part, to enter the epithelium. Substance P (SP)- and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-like immunoreactive nerve fibers were found to be present to a moderate extent in the ejaculatory duct; some of them entered the interior of the epithelium to extend their nerve terminals to its free surface. Neural elements clearly immunoreactive for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) could not be found in the ejaculatory duct, except for the surroundings of the blood vessels. Possible functional roles of these intraepithelial nerves were discussed on the basis of their distribution pattern. (+info)
Congenital mesonephric defects in male infants with mucoviscidosis.
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Reports that men with mucoviscidosis were sterile and that portions of their genital tracts were atretic prompted us to investigate the genital tracts of 15 male infants with mucoviscidosis who died within the first year of life and came to necropsy. The genital tracts of all of these infants were abnormal, the abnormalities being confined to mesonephric derivatives. Hypoplastic or absent ducti efferentia, ducti epididymides, or ducti deferentia were found in all 28 specimens of epididymides, and the ducti deferentia were missing from 25 of 27 examples of spermatic cord. The seminal vesicles and the ejaculatory ducts were less frequently hypoplastic or absent. Because these abnormalities of mesonephric derivatives were present so early in life and inflammatory and obstructive changes were absent we believe that they resulted from a failure of development. (+info)
Studies of esterase 6 in Drosophila melanogaster. VI. ejaculate competitive abilities of males having null or active alleles.
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Recent studies of the function of the polymorphic seminal fluid enzyme, esterase 6, of Drosophila melanogaster suggested that it may act in the process of sperm displacement (Gilbert, Richmond and Sheehan, 1981a). This report examines the competitive ability of ejaculates from males homozygous for null or active alleles of esterase 6 under three experimental conditions that model aspects of sexual selection affecting males. The results demonstrate no significant difference in ejaculate competition between esterase 6 null or active male types, but marker males used for paternity identification had poorly competitive ejaculates. The proportion of second-male progeny, P2, used as an index of competition is primarily influenced by second-male genotype and uninfluenced by female genotype, P2 can change with time from remating and be unaffected by different intensities of competition, which suggests a complex ejaculate competition mechanism. (+info)
Localization of nitric oxide synthase in the reproductive organs of the male rat.
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Nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which catalyzes the production of nitric oxide (NO), was characterized within the reproductive tract of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats by means of biochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. Tissues examined included the testis, epididymis (caput, corpus, and cauda regions), vas deferens, ejaculatory duct, seminal vesicle, and coagulating gland. NOS activity was measured by use of an assay based on the stoichiometric conversion of [3H]-L-arginine to [3H]-L-citrulline and NO, catalyzed by NOS. Low levels of NOS activity were detected in the testis and seminal vesicle (< 0.5 fmol [3H]-L-citrulline formed/min/mg protein in each tissue). The highest levels of NOS activity were present in the cauda segment of the epididymis and in the vas deferens, each having a sevenfold greater amount of NOS activity than the testis (p < 0.05). Intermediate levels of NOS activity were detected in the coagulating gland (0.863 +/- 0.248 fmol [3H]-L-citrulline formed/min/mg protein), caput epididymidis (0.457 +/- 0.180 fmol [3H]-L-citrulline formed/min/mg protein), and corpus epididymidis (0.631 +/- 0.215 fmol [3H]-L-citrulline formed/min/mg protein). NADPH diaphorase histochemistry and NOS immunohistochemistry localized NOS to neuronal fibers coursing throughout the smooth musculature and subepithelial regions of the epididymis, vas deferens, and ejaculatory duct. Endothelial cells and nerve plexuses within the adventitia of blood vessels supplying reproductive tissues were also positive for NOS. Additional localizations of NOS were within epithelial cells of the epididymis and coagulating gland.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) (+info)
Regional differences in bioelectrical properties and anion secretion in cultured epithelia from rat and human male excurrent ducts.
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Bioelectrical properties and anion secretion in cultured epithelia from different regions of rat and human male excurrent ducts were studied by measuring the short-circuit currents (ISC). In all regions of the rat excurrent duct, Cl- secretion accounts for over 90% of the basal ISC, although the magnitude varied in different regions. Cl- secretion was found to be mediated by a Cl-/HCO3- exchanger, an Na+/H+ exchanger, and an Na+/K+/2Cl- symport located on the basolateral side of the epithelial cells. Forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase, and ionomycin, a Ca2+ ionophore, were used to investigate the relative importance of cAMP and Ca2+ as intracellular messengers regulating Cl- secretion in different regions. It was found that in both species, the forskolin-evoked ISC response was larger in the proximal end (efferent duct/caput epididymidis [rat/human, respectively]) than in the distal end (cauda/corpus epididymidis). The response to ionomycin in the rat cauda epididymidis (distal end) was larger than that in the efferent duct (proximal end); on the other hand, no significant difference in the ionomycin-induced ISC was observed in the caput and the corpus regions from the human epididymis. Our results indicate that while the cAMP- and Ca(2+)-dependent pathways are both involved in regulating Cl- secretion in all regions along the male excurrent ducts in both species, a regional difference exists with respect to the relative importance of the two regulatory pathways involved in Cl- secretion along the male reproductive tract. (+info)
In vivo microperfusion of the ductuli efferentes testis of the rat: flow dependence of fluid reabsorption.
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Individual ducts from the initial zone of the efferent ducts of the rat were microperfused in vivo using a double cannulation procedure, which allowed the recovery of perfused fluids for analysis and determination of the rate of fluid reabsorption from the perfused duct. The ducts were perfused at rates from 0.025 to 0.4 microliters min-1 with either Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate (KRB) solution or the native rete testis fluid (nRTF) that perfuses the ducts in situ. Reabsorption of KRB solution increased linearly with a perfusion rate of between 0.025 and 0.1 microliter min-1 (from 17.4 +/- 1.5 to 34.3 +/- 3.2 nl (10 mm duct)-1 min-1), then increased no further. Reabsorption of nRTF increased linearly between 0.025 and 0.2 microliters min-1 (from 17.7 +/- 1.5 to 61.4 +/- 13.5 nl (10 mm duct)-1 min-1) and then declined. The reabsorption rate from nRTF perfusates was significantly higher than from KRB perfusates. As a proportion of the luminal perfusate, reabsorption declined from 73.0 +/- 6.0 to 7.4 +/- 3.0% (10 mm duct)-1 for KRB solution and from 73.1 +/- 6.0 to 4.1 +/- 1.3% (10 mm duct)-1 for nRTF. There was no significant change in the concentration of either Na+ or Cl- in KRB solution or nRTF during perfusion through the efferent ducts, indicating that the reabsorption of these ions was isomolar. However, the reabsorption of K+ from nRTF occurred at a greater rate than that of water, and the initial [K+] declined from 17.2 +/- 0.4 mM in nRTF perfusates to 5.7 +/- 0.5 mM in collectates (perfusion rate, 0.1 microliter min-1) to achieve equilibrium with blood plasma (4.7 +/- 0.4 mM). The osmotic pressure of both KRB and nRTF perfusates equilibrated with blood plasma, indicating a high permeability of the epithelium to water. The results of this study provide further evidence that fluid reabsorption in the efferent ducts is isosmotic, or close to isosmotic, and have shown that, as in the homologous proximal kidney tubule, reabsorption is dependent on luminal flow rate. In contrast to the proximal tubule, however, reabsorption in the efferent ducts is not maintained as a constant proportion of the perfusion load. It is concluded that microperfusion in vivo provides a useful technique for studying fluid reabsorption in the efferent ducts of the rat. (+info)
Low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-2 expression in efferent duct and epididymal epithelia: evidence in rats for its in vivo role in endocytosis of apolipoprotein J/clusterin.
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Apolipoprotein J/clusterin/sulfated glycoprotein-2 (apo J) disassociates from spermatozoa and is endocytosed by epithelial cells lining the efferent ducts and epididymis. The low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-2/megalin (LRP-2) has been shown to bind to apo J and mediates its endocytosis and lysosomal degradation in cultured cells. In this study, immunocytological techniques were used to localize LRP-2 in rat efferent ducts and epididymis and to determine whether its expression correlated with those epithelial cells involved in apo J endocytosis. Pronounced LRP-2 immunochemical staining was observed on the apical surfaces of epithelial cells lining the efferent ducts and in the intermediate zone, proximal caput, and corpus and cauda regions of the epididymis. Single immunogold labeling at the electron microscopic level showed LRP-2 to be present within coated pits, endocytic vesicles, and early endosomes of the nonciliated cells of the efferent ducts and the principal cells of the epididymis. In efferent ducts, double immunogold labeling showed both LRP-2 and apo J to be present in endocytic compartments including coated pits, endocytic vesicles, and early endosomes of nonciliated cells. However, while apo J was detected in late endosomes and lysosomes of nonciliated cells, LRP-2 was not. Apical tubules, possibly emerging from late endosomes, contained labeling for LRP-2 but not for apo J. Ciliated cells lying adjacent to nonciliated cells displayed no labeling for either LRP-2 or apo J. These results are consistent with the possibility that LRP-2 serves as an endocytic receptor for apo J in vivo and that after endocytosis the LRP-2 is recycled back to the cell surface while apo J is delivered to the lysosomes for degradation. To provide additional evidence implicating LRP-2 in apo J endocytosis, a receptor-associated protein (RAP), an antagonist of apo J binding to LRP-2, was injected into the efferent duct lumen. Subsequent immunocytological analysis of the efferent duct showed that the RAP treatment abolished the endocytosis of apo J by the nonciliated cells. Taken together, these data indicate that LRP-2 is a likely mediator of apo J endocytosis by the nonciliated efferent duct cells. (+info)