The expression of the new epididymal luminal protein of PDZ domain containing 1 is decreased in asthenozoospermia.

Spermatozoa are not mature until they transit the epididymis where they acquire motility and the ability to fertilize an egg through sequential modifications. The epididymis has three functional regions, caput, corpus, and cauda, and the luminal proteins of the epididymis play important roles in the above modifications. However, the proteins with differential enrichment between the caput and cauda are still largely unknown.

Androgenic regulation of beta-defensins in the mouse epididymis.

Background: The majority of beta-defensin family members are exclusively expressed in the epididymis, and some members have been shown to play essential roles in sperm maturation and fertility in rats, mice and humans. Therefore, beta-defensins are hypothesized to be potential targets for contraception and infertility diagnosis and treatment. Clarifying the regulatory mechanisms for the expression of these genes is necessary.

Different effects of androgen on the expression of Fut1, Fut2, Fut4 and Fut9 in male mouse reproductive tract.

The α-(1,2) fucosyltransferases (Fut1 and Fut2) and α-(1,3) fucosyltransferases (Fut4, Fut9) are responsible for the synthesis of Lewis X (LeX) and Lewis Y (LeY) conjugated to glycoproteins. We recently reported that these fucosyltransferases were differentially expressed in the reproductive tract of male mouse. Here, we studied the effect of androgen on fucosyltransferase expression through the use of mouse castration models.

[Androgen/androgen receptor directly regulates the expression of Caveolin-1 in mouse epididymides].

Objective: To investigate the mechanisms of androgen/androgen receptor (AR) regulating the expression of Caveolin-1 in the mouse epididymis.

Methods: The AR binding sites associated with the Caveolin-1 gene were identified by searching the database of genomewide AR binding sites in mouse epididymides obtained from chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq). Total RNA was extracted from the epididymal tissues of normal and castrated mice and those castrated but supplemented with testosterone propionate, and the expression of Caveolin-1 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR and RT-qPCR.

Molecular cloning and identification of mouse epididymis-specific gene mHong1, the homologue of rat HongrES1.

Previous studies have shown that rat epididymis-specific gene HongrES1 plays important roles in sperm capacitation and fertility. In this study, we cloned the mouse homologue gene by sequence alignment and RT-PCR methods and designated it as mHong1. The mHong1 gene is located on chromosome 12p14, spanning five exons.