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Biology of Reproduction, Vol 1, 167-184, Copyright © 1969 by Society for the Study of Reproduction
1 Department of Anatomy and Laboratories
of Human Reproduction and Reproductive Biology,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 The fine structure and the biosynthesis of cholesterol were studied in the epididymis
and ductus deferens of the following groups (24-30 animals per group) of mice: intact,
castrated for 30 or 60 days, and castrated animals receiving testosterone. The most distinctive features of cells along the ductus deferens is the whorled configuration of smooth endoplasmic reticulum, which is in contrast to the tubular reticulum
found in the caput, corpus, and cauda epididymidis. It is shown that cells from all
segments of the tract incorporate [1-14C]-acetate into cholesterol. Although the caput
epididymidis incorporates significantly more acetate than other segments after 1-hour
incubation, at the end of 3-hours incubation more acetate has been incorporated into
cholesterol in the vas deferens than in the other segments. The effects of castration and
hormone replacement therapy are detailed, and the findings are discussed in respect to
smooth membrane involvement in sterol biosynthesis and the possible differences in
function between the tubular and whorled configurations of reticulum. The effect that
the ability of the epididymis to synthesize sterols might have on spermatozoa in the lumen
of the ducts is discussed.
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