QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE-ANALYSES OF SEMINAL RIBONUCLEASE IN REPRODUCTIVE-TRACT FLUIDS OF BULLS

Bovine seminal ribonuclease (BS RNase) is synthetized in the ampulary gland and seminal vesicles of the bull as shown by indirect immunofluo rescence and by using a sensitive sandwich-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ampullary and seminal vesicle BS RNase concentrations in samples from 15 bulls were 656 mu g/ml and 1285 mu g/ml, respectively. Seminal plasma BS RNase levels in 22 breeding bulls were slightly low er than in the seminal vesicles-1132 mu g/ml. There were no significan t differences in the concentration of this enzyme in seminal plasma of 16 bulls ranked as having high and low fertility. Even with its immun osuppressive activity this enzyme does not seem important for the prot ection of sperm cells in the female reproductive tract. (C) 1998 Elsev ier Science B.V.