Segmental differentiation of the murine epididymis: identification of segment-specific, GM1-enriched vesicles and regulation by luminal fluid factors†.

ABSTRACT: The murine epididymis has 10 distinct segments that provide the opportunity to identify compartmentalized cell physiological mechanisms underlying sperm maturation. However, despite the essential role of the epididymis in reproduction, remarkably little is known about segment-specific functions of this organ. Here, we investigate the dramatic segmental localization of the ganglioside GM1, a glycosphingolipid already known to play key roles in sperm capacitation and acrosome exocytosis. Frozen tissue sections of epididymides from adult mice were treated with the binding subunit of cholera toxin conjugated to AlexaFluor 488 to label GM1. We report that GM1-enriched vesicles were found exclusively in principal and clear cells of segment 2. These vesicles were also restricted to the lumen of s

SUBMITTER: Sosnicki DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10724454 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature