Abstract
The testicular and epididymal androgen-binding protein (ABP) appears to have an essential role in the processes of spermatogenesis and sperm maturation in the rat. The appearance of ABP coincides with the onset of fertility in normal rats (Hansson et al., 1973), and its disappearance in mature Hre rats coincides with the onset of sterility characteristic of this mutant (Musto and Bardin, 1976). In addition to its presumed role as a transport protein for testicular androgens, both within the Sertoli cell, where it is synthesized, and through the tubular system towards the epididymis, ABP could be an ‘androgen-concentrating factor’ maintaining a concentration of androgen at the caput epididymis sufficient for the maturation of the spermatozoa (Hansson et al., 1973; Purvis and Hansson, 1978). Finally, a transmembrane carrier function, facilitating the uptake of androgens by the epididymis, is possible (Bardin et al., 1981).
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Rousseau, G.G. et al. (1985). Non-steroidal inhibitors of androgen transport and metabolism. In: Lobl, T.J., Hafez, E.S.E. (eds) Male Fertility and Its Regulation. Advances in Reproductive Health Care, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4894-5_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4894-5_22
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