Summary
Antibodies against whole rabbit epididymal fluid as well as against three purified proteins from this fluid (namely EP21, EP35 and uteroglobin) were prepared and characterized by Western immunoblot. These antibodies were used to study the association of those proteins to the spermatozoon by means of immunoelectron microscopy using a colloidal gold-labelling technique. Antibodies against whole fluid intensely stained the spermatozoon surface at the acrosomal and postacrosomal regions of the head and at the middle piece of the tail. The equatorial region and the principal piece were much less labelled. The EP21 antigen associated with the whole surface of the head and the middle piece but not with the principal piece of the tail. EP35 was distributed over the acrosomal but not the postacrosomal region. The principal piece also contained this antigen in considerable amounts. The antibody against uteroglobin did not stain the head surface but intensely labelled both the middle and principal pieces.
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García, C., Regalado, F., López de Haro, M.S. et al. Ultrastructural localization of epididymal secretory proteins associated with the surface of spermatozoa from rabbit cauda epididymis. Histochem J 20, 708–714 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01002751
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01002751