Search:        >> Advanced Search
Guidelines | Subscriptions | About | exPRESS - Current - Archive | Business Information | Contact

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hermo, L. Articles by Smith, C. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hermo, L. Articles by Smith, C. E. Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Region- and Cell-specific Differences in the Distribution of Carbonic Anhydrases II, III, XII, and XIV in the Adult Rat Epididymis

Louis Hermo, Dennis Lee Chong, Pierre Moffatt, William S. Sly, Abdul Waheed and Charles E. Smith

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology (LH) and Faculty of Dentistry (DLC), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec; Departement de Stomatologie, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec (PM,CES); and Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (WSS,AW)

Correspondence to: Dr. Louis Hermo, McGill University Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, 3640 University St., Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2B2. E-mail: louis.hermo{at}mcgill.ca

We employed RT-PCR followed by light microscope immunocytochemistry on St. Marie's- and Bouin's-fixed tissues to define the distribution of carbonic anhydrase (CA) isoforms in the male reproductive tract. The data revealed that CA II, III, IV, XII, and XIV were expressed in rat epididymis. Whereas CA III was found in principal cells of all epididymal regions, CA II was localized in narrow cells of the initial segment and principal cells of all regions. CA XII expression was most intense in the corpus and proximal cauda regions, where it appeared over the basolateral plasma membranes of principal cells. Narrow cells of the initial segment also revealed intense reactions, as did basal cells of the corpus and proximal cauda regions. Principal cells of the initial segment and proximal caput regions showed diffuse apical cytosolic reactions and occasional basolateral staining for CA XIV, whereas principal cells of distal regions showed more diffuse cytosolic reactions highlighting both apical and basal regions of the cell, with basal cells also being reactive. These data suggest subtle differences in cell type and subcellular- and region-specific distributions for CAs in their role of fine-tuning pH in the lumen, cell cytosol, and intervening intercellular spaces of the epididymis. (J Histochem Cytochem 53:699–713, 2005)

Key Words: RT-PCR • immunocytochemistry • principal cells • carbonic anhydrase • epididymis • pH • basal cells • region specificity • rat

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. Primiani, M. Gregory, J. Dufresne, C. E. Smith, Y. L. Liu, J. R. Bartles, D. G. Cyr, and L. Hermo Microvillar Size and Espin Expression in Principal Cells of the Adult Rat Epididymis Are Regulated by Androgens J Androl, September 1, 2007; 28(5): 659 - 669. [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]

Guidelines | Subscriptions | About | exPRESS - Current - Archive | Business Information | Contact

The Journal of Histochemistry & Cytochemistry is owned, published, and licensed by The Histochemical Society © 2005