Disease relevance of Epididymis

• One of these proteins, which contains two WAP domains, is HE4 (also known as WFDC2), originally described as an epididymis specific protein but more recently suggested to be a putative serum tumour marker for ovarian cancer [1].
• Antibacterial properties of the sperm-binding proteins and peptides of human epididymis 2 (HE2) family; salt sensitivity, structural dependence and their interaction with outer and cytoplasmic membranes of Escherichia coli [2].
• Glomerular filtration rate was reduced by 87%, resulting in stable uremia for up to 13 weeks with characteristic biochemical changes and reduction in weight of testes, prostate, seminal vesicles, and epididymis but not of heart, liver, spleen, or epididymal fat-pads in comparison with pair-fed and sham-operated, ad libitum-fed littermate controls [3].
• In this study we analyzed cadmium transport into tissues with a vascular barrier, the testis, epididymis, and brain, in an attempt to characterize the mechanisms of strain resistance to cadmium-induced testicular toxicity [4].
• Papillary cystadenoma of the epididymis is an uncommon benign lesion that may occur sporadically or as a manifestation of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease [5].

Psychiatry related information on Epididymis

• The significance of these findings is viewed in relation to the hypothesis of a differential threshold requirement of androgen for the epididymis and the accessory sex glands [6].

High impact information on Epididymis

• The few that survive to populate the epididymis exhibit head abnormalities similar to those described in human globozoospermia, thus Csnk2a2 may be a candidate gene for these inherited syndromes [7].
• Twenty-eight men with congenital absence of the vas deferens underwent microsurgical aspiration of sperm from the epididymis and vasa efferentia for attempted in vitro fertilization of their wives' oocytes, with subsequent transfer of embryos [8].
• The most motile sperm were found in the proximal epididymis, at or near the vasa efferentia [8].
• In males, testosterone promotes differentiation of Wolffian ducts into the epididymis, vas deferens and seminal vesicle [9].
• We show that oestrogen regulates the reabsorption of luminal fluid in the head of the epididymis [10].

Chemical compound and disease context of Epididymis

• Hypothyroidism induced by PTU significantly increased TRH-IR and TRH-Gly-IR levels in prostate and testis and reduced these levels in epididymis but did not affect the serum concentrations of testosterone compared with those of controls [11].
• Co-administration of the antioxidant vitamin E (20 mg/kg body weight/ day) to the 200 mg/kg/d methoxychlor-treated rats for 7 days prevented significant changes in the antioxidant systems in the epididymis and epididymal sperm and prevented alterations in sperm counts and motility [12].
• Effect of testosterone on diethylstilbestrol toxicity and comparison to a recovery study in the rat epididymis and vas deferens [13].
• To investigate the protective role of vitamin E against mercuric chloride toxicity for the testis, epididymis, and vas deferens of adult male mice, animals were treated with either mercuric chloride 1.25 mg/kg/day, vitamin E 2 mg/kg/kg, or a combination of the two treatments [14].
• Effects of chronic fluoride toxicity on the morphology of ductus epididymis and the maturation of spermatozoa of rabbit [15].

Biological context of Epididymis

• We cloned a 385-base pair complementary DNA and its genomic DNA named Bin1b that is exclusively expressed in the caput region of the rat epididymis and that is responsible for sperm maturation, storage, and protection [16].
• Ros and SHP-1 are coexpressed in epididymal epithelium, and elevated phosphorylation of Ros in the epididymis of me(v) mice suggests that Ros signaling is under control of SHP-1 in vivo [17].
• To determine whether the low concentrations of POMC-derived peptides in the male reproductive tract are synthesized locally and are not contaminants from blood, we have demonstrated POMC-like gene expression in both testis and epididymis [18].
• The concentration of 9S binding sites in epididymis is approximately 10(-11) mol/mg of supernatant protein, which is at least 10(5) times greater than the concentration of androgen receptor [19].
• In contrast to raf, A-raf shows a highly restricted tissue distribution of expression, with highest levels observed in epididymis, followed by intestine [20].

Anatomical context of Epididymis

• We have shown that a vacuolar (H+)-ATPase is expressed at high levels on the luminal plasma membrane of specialized cells in the epididymis (9), which closely resemble acid-secreting kidney intercalated cells (10,11) [21].
• The review focuses on the effects of estrogen administration or deprivation, primarily in rodents, on the hypothalamo-pituitary-testis axis, testicular function (including Leydig cell, Sertoli cell, and germ cell development and function), and in the development and function of the efferent ductules and epididymis [22].
• The Man2a2 null spermatogenic cells fail to adhere to Sertoli cells and are prematurely released from the testis to epididymis [23].
• Our results highlight the essential role of the epididymis in male fertility and demonstrate a highly specific function of the c-ros receptor tyrosine kinase during development of distinct epithelial cells [24].
• Here we show that Bin1b, a rat epididymis-specific beta-defensin with antimicrobial activity, can bind to the sperm head in different regions of the epididymis with varied binding patterns [25].

Associations of Epididymis with chemical compounds

• Amino-terminal amino acid microsequencing of CE9 immunoaffinity purified from epididymis suggested that the cleavage occurred on the carboxy-terminal side of arginine-74 in the primary sequence of CE9, resulting in the loss of approximately 40% of the amino acids in the extra-cellular domain of this transmembrane glycoprotein [26].
• Neurohypophysial hormones stimulate the motility of tunica albuginea, epididymis, and vas deferens acting through oxytocin (OT) and V1 vasopressin receptors [27].
• However, in the sperm obtained from either the caput or the cauda of epididymis, the adenylate cyclase is membrane-associated and found in particulate fractions of sperm homogenates [28].
• Thin-layer chromatography demonstrated an accumulation of disaccharide in epididymis and brain [29].
• Monobromobimane labeling and protein-free thiol titration revealed significantly less extensive oxidation in the cauda epididymis when compared to that in the wild type [30].

Gene context of Epididymis

• Specific PCI immunoreactivity was also shown to be present in the testes, the epididymis glands, and the prostate, suggesting the inhibitor to have a complex or multiple function in the male reproductive system [31].
• CRF-RB and related transcripts are expressed in the heart, as well as in other tissues, including the gastrointestinal tract, epididymis, and brain [32].
• Epithelia expressing WNK4 include sweat ducts, colonic crypts, pancreatic ducts, bile ducts, and epididymis [33].
• The Fucalpha(1-->2)Galbeta epitope is absent from the uterine epithelia of FUT2 null mice and from the epithelia of the epididymis of FUT1 null mice [34].
• In the testes, LTBP-2 expression was seen within lumenal cells of the epididymis in the absence of tropoelastin [35].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Epididymis

• A large number of cultured epididymal cells retain a differentiated function as demonstrated by the immunocytochemical and radioimmunoassay finding of acidic epididymal glycoprotein, a spermatozoa-coating protein secreted by the principal cells of rat epididymis [36].
• Northern blot analysis revealed high expression of multiple sialidase transcripts in kidney and epididymis, moderate levels in brain and spinal cord, and low levels in adrenal, heart, liver, lung and spleen [37].
• Furthermore, in situ hybridization shows that this region coincides with the anterior limit of embryonic Hoxa-10 expression in the urogenital ducts and a parallel transformation is observed in Hoxa-10 mutant males at the junction of the epididymis and ductus deferens [38].
• In castrated male hosts, the serum testosterone levels and the epididymis weights were significantly decreased, and the tumor weights were significantly less as compared to intact control hosts [39].
• C4BP alpha mRNA was also detected in the normal murine epididymis at a significant level, but it decreased drastically after castration, suggesting that epididymal expression of the C4BP alpha gene is regulated by androgen [40].

References