Effects of Vasectomy on Gene Expression Profiling along the Human Epididymis1

Thimon, Véronique; Calvo, Ézéquiel; Koukoui, Omédine; Légaré, Christine; Sullivan, Robert

doi:10.1095/biolreprod.107.066449

Cited by 38 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…CRISP1 staining was also observed on the sperm within the epididymal lumen. Within the corpus epididymis, the staining of epididymosomes was also evident consistent with a recent proteomic analysis of human epididymosomes (Thimon et al, 2008). Epididymosomes are transport vesicles involved in the transfer of epididymal proteins onto sperm (Sullivan et al, 2007).…”

Section: Crisp Protein Localizationsupporting

confidence: 87%

Cysteine‐rich secretory proteins are not exclusively expressed in the male reproductive tract

Reddy¹,

Gibbs²,

Merriner³

et al. 2008

Developmental Dynamics

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The Cysteine-RIch Secretory Proteins (CRISPs) are abundantly produced in the male reproductive tract of mammals and within the venom of reptiles and have been shown to regulate ion channel activity. CRISPs, along with the Antigen-5 proteins and the Pathogenesis related-1 (Pr-1) proteins, form the CAP superfamily of proteins. Analyses of EST expression databases are increasingly suggesting that mammalian CRISPs are expressed more widely than in the reproductive tract. We, therefore, conducted a reverse transcription PCR expression profile and immunohistochemical analyses of 16 mouse tissues to define the sites of production of each of the four murine CRISPs. These data showed that each of the CRISPs have distinct and sometimes overlapping expression profiles, typically associated with the male and female reproductive tract, the secretory epithelia of exocrine glands, and immune tissues including the spleen and thymus. These investigations raise the potential for a role for CRISPs in general mammalian physiology. Developmental Dynamics 237:3313-3323, 2008.

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Section: Crisp Protein Localizationsupporting

confidence: 87%

Cysteine‐rich secretory proteins are not exclusively expressed in the male reproductive tract

Reddy¹,

Gibbs²,

Merriner³

et al. 2008

Developmental Dynamics

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“…Globally, glycan-modifying enzymes were part of the caput epididymosome signatures. Thimon and colleagues used liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight technology to describe the proteome of human cauda epididymosomes collected from the vas deferens during surgical vasectomy reversal (Thimon et al 2008a(Thimon et al , 2008b. These results were analyzed in parallel to transcriptomes of caput, corpus, and cauda epididymidis of normal and vasectomized humans.…”

Section: Epididymosome Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The major conclusion from this study is that epididymosomes transit along the epididymis in humans and that vesicles collected distally represent a mixed population of vesicles secreted all along the epididymis. How these results can be transposed to animal models remains to be determined (Thimon et al 2007(Thimon et al , 2008a. Some proteins of ram epididymosomes have been identified by mass spectrometry analysis of selected protein spots separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis such as dipeptidyl peptidase, lactadherin, and vacuolar ATPase (Gatti et al 2005).…”

Section: Epididymosome Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epididymosomes, prostasomes, and liposomes: their roles in mammalian male reproductive physiology

Sullivan¹,

Saez²

2013

Reproduction

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262

215

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Mammalian spermatozoa are unique cells in many ways, and the acquisition of their main function, i.e. fertilization capacity, is a multistep process starting in the male gonad and ending near the female egg for the few cells reaching this point. Owing to the unique character of this cell, the molecular pathways necessary to achieve its maturation also show some specific characteristics. One of the most striking specificities of the spermatozoon is that its DNA is highly compacted after the replacement of histones by protamines, making the classical processes of transcription and translation impossible. The sperm cells are thus totally dependent on their extracellular environment for their protection against oxidative stress, for example, or for the molecular changes occurring during the transit of the epididymis; the first organ in which post-testicular maturation takes place. The molecular mechanisms underlying sperm maturation are still largely unknown, but it has been shown in the past three decades that extracellular vesicles secreted by the male reproductive tract are involved in this process. This review will examine the roles played by two types of naturally occurring extracellular vesicles, epididymosomes and prostasomes, secreted by the epididymis and the prostate respectively. We will also describe how the use of artificial vesicles, liposomes, contributed to the study of male reproductive physiology.Reproduction (2013) 146 R21-R35

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“…11 However, natural pregnancy occurs in only 15%-50% of these cases after repair of the reproductive tract obstruction. 12,13 The pregnancy rate decreases with increasing time between obstruction of the reproductive tract and its surgical reversal, suggesting that sequelae to the male reproductive tract increases with time after surgical reversal. [14][15][16] This study tried to demonstrate the expression change of epididymal proteins after obstruction and its surgical reversal.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of reproductive tract obstruction on expression of epididymal proteins and their restoration after patency

Wang²,

Liu³

et al. 2012

Asian J Androl

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Vasectomy is a simple and reliable method of male contraception. A growing number of men after vasectomy request vasectomy reversal due to various reasons. The pregnancy rate is lower than the patency rate after vasovasostomy and the pregnancy rate is time dependent. In this study, we evaluated the influence of reproductive tract obstruction on expression of epididymal proteins and their restoration after patency. Adult male Wistar rats were studied 30, 60 and 120 days after vasectomy, 30 days after vasovasostomy or after sham operations. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, mass-spectrometric technique, multidatabase search, Western blotting and real-time PCR were used to analyze the expression regulation of epididymal proteins. Total integrated intensity and total spot area of autoradiograms showed a consistent downward trend with time after obstruction, and this trend remained after patency. The intensity of the autoradiographic spots in three patency groups showed three trends: a downward trend, similar intensity and an upward trend compared with the correspondent obstruction group, respectively. Further verified experiments on human epididymis 2 (HE2), fertilization antigen-1 (FA-1), clusterin and PH20 demonstrated that compared with the correspondent obstruction group, the translation levels of HE2 and the mRNA transcription levels of HE2 showed an upward trend in patency groups, especially in the groups of obstruction for 60 days where the expression levels of HE2 were significantly upregulated after patency (P,0.05). Reproductive tract obstruction provokes a disregulation of gene expression in the epididymis and this disregulation remained after patency. Successful reversal may recover some proteins and the recovery is time dependent. Obstruction differentially alters mRNA transcription of different proteins and the content of proteins seemed to be easier to be influenced than the gene transcription. Vasovasostomy by modern microsurgical techniques remains the standard technique for vasectomy reversal with which all other methods of vasectomy reversal are compared. If success is defined that sperm can be detected in ejaculate following reversal, patency is over 80% in most microsurgical series, with patency approaching 100% in some reports. 1 However, pregnancies are obtained without assisted reproduction in 30%-75% of couples. 2 In other words, about 25% of couples are affected. Male factors account for about 50% of couples with infertility. 3 Approximately 10%-15% of infertile men suffer from azoospermia-complete absence of sperms in the ejaculate. Among these azoospermic patients, approximately 40% have complete obstruction in the ductal system and hence suffer from obstructive azoospermia. 4 Vasoepididymostomy is performed for congenital, infectious, postvasectomy or idiopathic epididymal obstruction. Following this type of microsurgery, 20%-40% of couples achieve pregnancy through intercourse without the assistance of reproductive techniques. 2 Similar to vasectomy reversal, the pregnancy rate is mu...

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Effects of Vasectomy on Gene Expression Profiling along the Human Epididymis1

Cited by 38 publications

References 79 publications

Cysteine‐rich secretory proteins are not exclusively expressed in the male reproductive tract

Cysteine‐rich secretory proteins are not exclusively expressed in the male reproductive tract

Epididymosomes, prostasomes, and liposomes: their roles in mammalian male reproductive physiology

Influence of reproductive tract obstruction on expression of epididymal proteins and their restoration after patency

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