IMMUNOLOCALIZATION OF RECEPTORS FOR ANDROGEN AND ESTROGEN IN MALE CAPRINE REPRODUCTIVE TISSUES - UNIQUE DISTRIBUTION OF ESTROGEN-RECEPTORS IN EFFERENT DUCTULE EPITHELIUM
Ho. Goyal et al., IMMUNOLOCALIZATION OF RECEPTORS FOR ANDROGEN AND ESTROGEN IN MALE CAPRINE REPRODUCTIVE TISSUES - UNIQUE DISTRIBUTION OF ESTROGEN-RECEPTORS IN EFFERENT DUCTULE EPITHELIUM, Biology of reproduction, 56(1), 1997, pp. 90-101
Androgens and estrogens affect physiological processes in the testis a
nd male excurrent duct system. This study was designed to identify and
characterize distribution of androgen receptors (AR) and estrogen rec
eptors (ER) in the reproductive organs of the male goat. Tissues, incl
uding testis, efferent ductules, epididymis (regions I-V), and ductus
deferens, were obtained from five mature Nubian goats, fixed in 4% par
aformaldehyde, and embedded in paraplast. Antigenic sites for AR were
unmasked by microwave treatment (four times, 5 min each) of tissue sec
tions immersed in 10 mM citrate (pH 6) and were detected using the PG-
21 rabbit anti-rat/human antibody. Antigenic sites for ER were identif
ied using the H-222 rat anti-human monoclonal antibody after tissue se
ctions were treated with pronase (0.5 mg/ml, 37 degrees C, 8 min). Avi
din-biotin horseradish peroxidase procedures were used to identify pos
itive immunoreactivity, irrelevant IgG was substituted for primary ant
ibody in negative controls. Positive nuclear immunostaining for AR was
observed in all types of epithelial cells, peritubular smooth muscle
cells, and intertubular fibroblasts of the intratesticular rete, effer
ent ductules, epididymis (regions I-V), and ductus deferens, as well a
s in Sertoli, Leydig, and peritubular myoid cells and intertubular fib
roblasts of the testis. In contrast, nuclear immunostaining for ER was
confined to nonciliated cells of the efferent ductules. Thus, AR-posi
tive cells are ubiquitously distributed in caprine testicular and excu
rrent ductular tissues, and ER-positive cells are unique to the effere
nt ductules. The caprine model should be useful in studies designed to
determine mechanisms through which androgens and estrogens regulate d
evelopment and function of the testes and excurrent ducts.