| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Regular Article |
2,a
a Unit of Molecular Toxicology, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, 10001 Zagreb, Croatia
b Program in Membrane Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
c Departments of Medicine and
d Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
e Urology Clinics, Clinical Hospital "Sisters of Mercy", 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
ABSTRACT
Luminal acidification in parts of the male reproductive tract generates an appropriate pH environment in which spermatozoa mature and are stored. The cellular mechanisms of proton (H+) secretion in the epididymis and the proximal vas deferens involve the activity of an apical vacuolar H+ATPase in specialized cell types, as well as an apical Na+/H+ exchanger in some tubule segments. In this study we used Western blotting and immunocytochemistry to localize the H+ATPase in various segments of the male reproductive tract in rat and man as a first step toward a more complete understanding of luminal acidification processes in this complex system of tissues. Immunoblotting of isolated total cell membranes indicated a variable amount of H+ATPase in various segments of the rat reproductive tract. In addition to its known expression in distinct cell types in the epididymis and vas deferens, the H+ATPase was also localized at the apical pole and in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells in the efferent duct (nonciliated cells), the ampulla of the vas deferens and the ventral prostate (scattered individual cells), the dorsal and lateral prostate, the ampullary gland, the coagulating gland, and all epithelial cells of the prostatic and penile urethra. Both apical and basolateral localization of the protein were found in epithelial cells of the prostatic ducts in the lateral prostate and in periurethral tissue. Only cytoplasmic, mostly perinuclear localization of the H+ATPase was found in all epithelial cells of the seminal vesicles and in most cells of the ventral prostate and coagulating gland. No staining was detected in the seminiferous tubules, rete testis, and bulbourethral gland. In human tissue, H+ATPase-rich cells were detected in the epididymis, prostate, and prostatic urethra. We conclude that the vacuolar H+ATPase is highly expressed in epithelial cells of most segments of the male reproductive tract in rat and man, where it may be involved in H+ secretion and/or intracellular processing of the material endocytosed from the luminal fluid or destined to be secreted by exocytosis.
First decision: 8 December 2000.
1 This work was supported by grants 0022111 (to C.M.H-K.) and 00220101 (to I.S.) from the Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology; by a Fogarty International Research Collaborative Award, 1-R03-TW01057-01 (to I.S. and D.B.); and by the National Institutes of Health, grant DK38452 (to D.B. and S.B.).
2 Correspondence: Ivan Saboli, Unit of Molecular Toxicology, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, P.O. Box 291, HR-10001 Zagreb, Croatia. FAX: 385 1 467 3303; sabolic{at}imi.hr
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. G. Paunescu, A. C. Jones, R. Tyszkowski, and D. Brown V-ATPase expression in the mouse olfactory epithelium Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, October 1, 2008; 295(4): C923 - C930. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Da Silva, W. W. C. Shum, J. El-Annan, T. G. Paunescu, M. McKee, P. J. S. Smith, D. Brown, and S. Breton Relocalization of the V-ATPase B2 subunit to the apical membrane of epididymal clear cells of mice deficient in the B1 subunit Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, July 1, 2007; 293(1): C199 - C210. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Kujala, S. Hihnala, J. Tienari, K. Kaunisto, J. Hastbacka, C. Holmberg, J. Kere, and P. Hoglund Expression of ion transport-associated proteins in human efferent and epididymal ducts Reproduction, April 1, 2007; 133(4): 775 - 784. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C.-F. Zhu, Q. Liu, L. Zhang, H.-X. Yuan, W. Zhen, J.-S. Zhang, Z.-J. Chen, S. H. Hall, F. S. French, and Y.-L. Zhang RNase9, an Androgen-Dependent Member of the RNase A Family, Is Specifically Expressed in the Rat Epididymis Biol Reprod, January 1, 2007; 76(1): 63 - 73. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Adler, Y. Hou, P. Sandrock, C. Y. Meyers, T. A. Winters, W. J. Banz, and S. Adler Derivatives of Z-Bisdehydrodoisynolic Acid Provide a New Description of the Binding-Activity Paradox and Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator Activity Endocrinology, August 1, 2006; 147(8): 3952 - 3960. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Pietrement, G-H. Sun-Wada, N. D. Silva, M. McKee, V. Marshansky, D. Brown, M. Futai, and S. Breton Distinct Expression Patterns of Different Subunit Isoforms of the V-ATPase in the Rat Epididymis Biol Reprod, January 1, 2006; 74(1): 185 - 194. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. Pastor-Soler, C. Pietrement, and S. Breton Role of Acid/Base Transporters in the Male Reproductive Tract and Potential Consequences of Their Malfunction Physiology, December 1, 2005; 20(6): 417 - 428. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. G. Paunescu, N. D. Silva, V. Marshansky, M. McKee, S. Breton, and D. Brown Expression of the 56-kDa B2 subunit isoform of the vacuolar H+-ATPase in proton-secreting cells of the kidney and epididymis Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, July 1, 2004; 287(1): C149 - C162. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. W. Carlin, J. H. Lee, D. C. Marcus, and B. D. Schultz Adenosine Stimulates Anion Secretion Across Cultured and Native Adult Human Vas Deferens Epithelia Biol Reprod, March 1, 2003; 68(3): 1027 - 1034. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. Sabolic, M. Ljubojevic, C. M. Herak-Kramberger, and D. Brown Cd-MT causes endocytosis of brush-border transporters in rat renal proximal tubules Am J Physiol Renal Physiol, December 1, 2002; 283(6): F1389 - F1402. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. S. Fisher, N. Pastor-Soler, R. M. Sharpe, and S. Breton Modulation of the Onset of Postnatal Development of H+-ATPase-Rich Cells by Steroid Hormones in Rat Epididymis Biol Reprod, October 1, 2002; 67(4): 1106 - 1114. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Butler, X. He, R. E. Gordon, H.-S. Wu, S. Gatt, and E. H. Schuchman Reproductive Pathology and Sperm Physiology in Acid Sphingomyelinase-Deficient Mice Am. J. Pathol., September 1, 2002; 161(3): 1061 - 1075. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F. E. Karet Inherited Distal Renal Tubular Acidosis J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., August 1, 2002; 13(8): 2178 - 2184. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Pastor-Soler, C. Isnard-Bagnis, C. Herak-Kramberger, I. Sabolic, A. Van Hoek, D. Brown, and S. Breton Expression of Aquaporin 9 in the Adult Rat Epididymal Epithelium Is Modulated by Androgens Biol Reprod, June 1, 2002; 66(6): 1716 - 1722. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. B. Pestov, T. V. Korneenko, G. Adams, M. Tillekeratne, M. I. Shakhparonov, and N. N. Modyanov Nongastric H-K-ATPase in rodent prostate: lobe-specific expression and apical localization Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, April 1, 2002; 282(4): C907 - C916. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. Sabolic, M. Ljubojevic, C. M. Herak-Kramberger, and D. Brown Cd-MT causes endocytosis of brush-border transporters in rat renal proximal tubules Am J Physiol Renal Physiol, December 1, 2002; 283(6): F1389 - F1402. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
