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Sperm binding glycoprotein is differentially present surrounding the lumen of isthmus and ampulla of the pig’s oviduct

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Abstract

In several mammals a sperm reservoir is formed at the isthmus of the Fallopian tube, providing viable, potentially fertile sperm for an extensive period. In pig (Sus scrofa) the spermadhesin AQN-1 seems to be involved in the establishment of the sperm reservoir. The pig oviductal protein, sperm binding glycoprotein (SBG), binds to sperm and exposes carbohydrate groups that can be recognized by AQN-1. In this study we obtain anti-SBG polyclonal antibodies and use them to localize SBG in the oviduct. Immunohistochemical analysis shows that SBG is present at the apical surface of isthmic and ampullar epithelial cells. The presence of SBG is limited to the upper two-thirds of the crypts of the isthmus and to cells located near the oviductal lumen in the ampulla. The ratio of the amount of SBG detected by western blot is 1:3 (ampulla:isthmus). Sperm entering the Fallopian tube probably contact the epithelial cells at the lumen before they reach the cells at the bottom of the folds. In vitro sperm can bind to isthmus and, at less extent, to ampulla. Thus, the localization and the relative amount of SBG in the isthmus and ampulla of pig’s oviduct are compatible with its possible function in sperm binding to oviductal epithelial cells.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by UNR and the ANPCyT-BID program PICT 01-15092 of Argentina. We thank S.A. Frigorífico Paladini for kindly providing the organs used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cátedra de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (UNR), Rosario, Argentina

    Fernando A. Pérez & Stella M. Roma

  2. División Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR-CONICET), Rosario, Argentina

    Marcelo O. Cabada & Patricia E. Marini

  3. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas (UNR), Consejo de Investigaciones de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario (CIUNR-UNR), Area Biología, Suipacha 531, Rosario, S2002LRK, Argentina

    Patricia E. Marini

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  1. Fernando A. Pérez
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  2. Stella M. Roma
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  3. Marcelo O. Cabada
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  4. Patricia E. Marini
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Correspondence to Patricia E. Marini.

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Pérez, F.A., Roma, S.M., Cabada, M.O. et al. Sperm binding glycoprotein is differentially present surrounding the lumen of isthmus and ampulla of the pig’s oviduct. Anat Embryol 211, 619–624 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-006-0114-0

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