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ULTRASTRUCTURAL AND BIOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF THE RAT EPIDIDYMIS EXPOSED TO GOSSYPOL FROM WEANING THROUGH PUBERTY
Citation:
DE ANDRADE, S. F., S. U. Oliva, G R. Klinefelter, AND W. D. Kempinas. ULTRASTRUCTURAL AND BIOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF THE RAT EPIDIDYMIS EXPOSED TO GOSSYPOL FROM WEANING THROUGH PUBERTY. JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY 3(4):4011.1-4011.3, (2002).
Description:
Previous work in our laboratory revealed that the pubertal period of reproductive development in the male rat was particularly vulnerable to gossypol exposure, with a higher frequency of round structures in the lumen of the cauda epididymidis in the treated rats. Histological and immunocytochemical evaluations suggested that those structures originated in the epididymis, not the testis, implicating the epididymis as a target organ. Herein, we utilized hemi-castration, electron microscopy, and quantitation of the two dimensional proteome of the epididymis to confirm that the epididymis is a definitive target of gossypol. Although exposure to gossypol from weaning through puberty caused a significant decrease in daily sperm production, as well as in the concentration of sperm in the epididymis, there were no significant differences in serum testosterone levels or reproductive organ weights. In gossypol treated rats, sperm morphology was compromised severely in both the testis and the epididymis, but the epithelium in testis and epididymis appeared morphologically normal. Ultrastructural examination revealed that round structures, present only in gossypol exposed males, represented: 1) principal cells exfoliated from the epididymal epithelium; 2) epididymal epithelial cell cytoplasm comprising degenerating sperm; and 3) degenerating epithelial cells, consisting of vesicles and particles of different sizes, forms and densities. A quantitative analysis of proteins recovered from homogenates of cauda epididymal tissue and resolved by 2D-electrophoresis revealed a significant decrease in 34 proteins and an increase in 17 proteins.Taken together, the data confirms that gossypol targets the epididymis, disturbing both the structure and functon of the epididymis, and presumably dirsupts sperm maturation.
Key-words: male contraception, puberty, electron microscopy, 2D proteome