RT Journal Article
T1 Immunolocalisation of aquaporins 3, 7, 9 and 10 in the epididymis of three wild ruminant species (Iberian ibex, mouflon and chamois) and sperm cryoresistance.
A1 Martínez Madrid, Carmen Belén
A1 Martínez-Cáceres, Carlos
A1 Pequeño, Belén
A1 Castaño, Cristina
A1 Toledano-Díaz, Adolfo
A1 Bóveda, Paula
A1 Prieto, Pilar
A1 Alvarez-Rodriguez, Manuel
A1 Rodriguez-Martinez, Heriberto
A1 Santiago-Moreno, Julián
A2 Yeste, Marc
AB Context: In the epididymis, epithelial cells manage changes in the luminal environment for proper sperm maturation. Moreover, aquaglyceroporins, a subgroup of aquaporins (AQP), modulate the transport of water, glycerol and other small molecules in epithelial cells.Aims: We aim to characterise the lining epithelium, quantify its cell composition and immunolocalise the aquaglyceroporins AQP3, AQP7, AQP9 and AQP10 alongside the epididymal ductus of three wild ruminant species, and to determine if species-specific differences could be associated with cauda sperm cryoresistance variations.Methods: Epididymides from Iberian ibex (n =5), mouflon (n =5) and chamois (n =6) were obtained. Cauda spermatozoa were collected and sperm parameters were analysed before and after freezing. Histology and immunohistochemistry of AQP3, 7, 9, 10 and T-CD3 were performed in the caput, corpus and cauda epididymal regions.Key results: This work first describes the lining epithelium in Iberian ibex, mouflon and chamois epididymis along the three anatomical regions, consisting of principal, basal, apical, clear and halo cells. However, the percentage of each cell type differed in ibex compared to mouflon and chamois. The positive T-CD3 immunolabeling of all the halo cells confirmed their T-lymphocyte nature. Aquaglyceroporin expression patterns were similar among species, except for differences in AQP7 and AQP10 immunolocalisation in ibex. Species-specific differences in epididymal sperm cryoresistance were confirmed.Conclusions: The epididymal epithelium of the three wild ruminants differ in their relative number of cell types and AQP immunolocalisation, which ultimately appears to affect cauda epidydimal spermatozoa cryoresistance.Implications: Our study provides information on the relevance of the quantitative composition and AQP pattern expression in epididymal lining epithelium on sperm cryoresistance.
PB CSIRO Publishing
SN 1448-5990
SN 1031-3613
YR 2023
FD 2023-11-16
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95649
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95649
LA eng
NO Martinez-Madrid B, Martínez-Cáceres C, Pequeño B, Castaño C, Toledano-Díaz A, Bóveda P, Prieto P, Alvarez-Rodriguez M, Rodriguez-Martinez H, Santiago-Moreno J. Immunolocalisation of aquaporins 3, 7, 9 and 10 in the epididymis of three wild ruminant species (Iberian ibex, mouflon and chamois) and sperm cryoresistance. Reprod Fertil Dev. 2023 Nov;35(16):708-721
NO Beca predoctoral de Pequeño financiada por la AEI (PRE2018-085637)
NO Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 31 dic 2025