Ablation of paternal accessory sex glands is detrimental to embryo development during implantation

The accessory sex glands are present in most mammals, but their function(s) have not yet been clearly defined. In the golden hamster, removal of all t he glands or the ventral prostate alone have been shown to considerably red uce fertility, while the effect is milder if the ampullary glands only are removed. In this study, embryo development from the 5th to the 7th day afte r mating are examined. Structural and morphometric criteria such as cell nu mber, cell density, embryo volume, volume fraction of proamniotic cavity fu rther revealed that abnormalities can be demonstrated as early as day 5 in the embryos sired by males with the ventral prostate gland alone or all gla nds ablated. Twin implantation and deviation from normal implanted axis are also observed. This is likely to be attributed to attenuated cell prolifer ation, as indicated by proliferating cell antigen labelling and more necrot ic cell death. Taken together, exposure of sperm to secretions of the male accessory sex glands in particular, the ventral prostate, is important for differentiation and multiplication of cells after the embryo has implanted.