Protein profiles in various epididymal segments of normal and castrated rats

Epididymal proteins are known to play an important role in the maturation o f spermatozoa. We ought to determine if there are regional differences in a ndrogen-dependent epididymal proteins. Methods: A group of adult rats was c astrated and epididymides were removed three days following castration. The epididymides were dissected into caput, corpus and cauda segments, homogen ized, and proteins were fractionated by anion exchange HPLC. Proteins in se lected fractions were resolved by SDS-PAGE and visualized by silver stainin g. Results: It was observed that the levels of multiple proteins drasticall y reduced in the various regions of epididymis of the orchiectomized rats. Conclusion: The epididymal proteins appear to be useful markers to study an drogenic action in the epididymis.