Structure of the Lining Epithelium of the Cauda Epididymis of the Golden Hamster

The ductus epididymis has roles in the maturation and storage of spermatozoa. The main function of the cauda epididymis is the storage of spermatozoa; however, this region exerts other morphophysiological roles. So, this study was aimed at investigating structural features of the cauda epididymis epithelium, which could indicate roles other than the storage. The relative percentages of the cell types in the epithelium were 74.9, 6.9, 12.5 and 5.6% of principal, clear, basal and halo cells respectively. Large intercellular spaces were seen among the lateral plasmatic membranes of adjacent principal cells or among these cells and others cell types. These spaces were found to be filled with multivesicular bodies, myelin figures, scrolls and debris of membranes or flocculent dense material. Clear cells had the cytoplasms filled with lysosomes (3/4 of basal cytoplasm), and vacuoles and vesicles (1/4 of apical cytoplasm). The observations allowed us to infer that clear cells could act in the process of endocytosis and also in water transfer from the lumen to the interstitium through the epithelium compartment. Moreover, transcytosis may occur at the cauda epididymis of Golden hamster.381495

Morphological features of the epididymal epithelium of gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus

Principal cells of the ducts epididymis of the Mongolian gerbil showed ultrastructural characteristics of lining epithelium cells close related to processes of protein secretion, and transcytosis occurring between adjacent principal cells which were mainly verified in the initial segment. Principal cells also presented roles of fluid phase and adsorptive endocytoses, as well as autophagic and heterophagic lysosomal activities mainly observed in the caput epididymis. Columnar (principal) cells of the corpus epididymidis presented great number of variable vesicles and vacuoles distributed in all the cytoplasmic levels occurring a progressive coalescence pattern among them, which help to guarantee formation of cytoplasmic channels for fluid phase transport between the tubular lumen and epididymal interstitium. Clear cells were presented in the initial segment and predominately in the cauda epididymis epithelium of the gerbil and showed marked ultrastructural characteristics of endocytosis activities occurrence, perhaps directly related to the turnover of fluid phase of spermatozoa stored into the lumen of the distal tail. Other epididymal epithelium cells were verified and described such as basal, halo, apical and dark cells, but they did not presented special ultrastructural features. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.391475

Aquaporin 9 (AQP9) localization in the adult dog testis excurrent ducts by immunohistochemistry

Aquaporins (AQPs) are small, intrinsic membrane proteins that are present in many cell types involved in fluid transport. AQP9 is a major apical water channel that is expressed throughout the efferent ducts, epididymis, and vas deferens, as well as in other regions of the human and rodent male reproductive tract. The target of this study was to examine the expression of AQP9 in epithelial cells in the adult dog efferent ducts, epididymis, and vas deferens. Samples of dog male reproductive tract comprising fragments of the testis; initial segment, caput, corpus, and cauda of the epididymis; and vas deferens were obtained from eight adult mongrel dogs. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting procedures were used to show AQP9 localization and distribution. AQP9 expression was not detected either in dog seminiferous tubules or rete testis. However, apical labeling for AQP9 was detected in the different regions of epididymis and vas deferens, with the reaction being less intense in the caput epididymis. Thus, AQP9 is abundantly expressed in dog male reproductive tract, in which it is an important apical pathway for transmembrane flow of water and neutral solutes.290121519152

Hypertension and migraine comorbidity: prevalence and risk of cerebrovascular events: evidence from a large, multicenter, cross-sectional survey in Italy (MIRACLES study)

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of hypertension-migraine comorbidity; to determine their demographic and clinical characteristics versus patients with hypertension or migraine alone; and to see whether a history of cerebrovascular events was more common in the comorbidity group. METHODS: The MIRACLES, multicenter, cross-sectional, survey included 2973 patients with a known diagnosis of hypertension or migraine in a general practitioner setting in Italy. RESULTS: Five hundred and seventeen patients (17%) suffered from hypertension-migraine comorbidity, whereas 1271 (43%) suffered from hypertension only, and 1185 (40%) from migraine only. In the comorbidity group, the onset of comorbidity occurred at about 45 years of age, with migraine starting significantly later than in the migraine-only group, and hypertension significantly before than in the hypertension-only group; a familial history of both hypertension and migraine had a significantly higher frequency as compared with the hypertension and migraine group. Compared to hypertension (3.1%) and migraine (0.7%), the comorbidity group had a higher prevalence (4.4%) of history of cerebrovascular events, with an odds ratio of a predicted history of stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) of 1.76 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-3.07] compared to the hypertension group. In patients without other recognized risk factors for stroke, stroke/TIA occurred more frequently in the comorbidity group, compared to the hypertension group. In the age range 40-49 years, prevalence of history of stroke/TIA was five-fold greater (4.8% in comorbidity vs. 0.9% in hypertension group). CONCLUSION: This cross-sectional study indicates that the prevalence of comorbidity hypertension-migraine is substantial and that patients with comorbidity have a higher probability of history of cerebrovascular events, compared to hypertensive patient

The CMS experiment at the CERN LHC

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