The epididymis is a male genital organ that has plays various functions, including sperm concentration, maturation, and storage. The epididymal epithelium consists of principal cells, clear cells, and basal cells. To comprehensively understand the occurrence and morphological differentiation of basal cells, we examined the expression and localization of cytokeratins (CKs) in the epididymal epithelium during postnatal development of the mouse. Immunohistochemical staining showed that, in adult mice, CK5 and CK14 were exclusively expressed in the cytoplasm of basal cells. During postnatal development, basal cells that stained positive for CK5 and CK14 first appeared in immature columnar epithelial cells in mice aged 1 week. The immunoreactivity became progressively stronger in mice aged 2-3 weeks. In mice aged 3 weeks, the immunoreactivity was strong in regions IV and V. In mice aged ≥ 4 weeks, strong immunoreactivity was observed in all epididymal regions. CK5 and CK14 could be useful markers of differentiation in epididymal basal cells. These basal cells originate from immature columnar epithelial cells and are of two types—dome-shaped and flask-shaped—. The flask-shaped cells are mainly located in the initial segment of the mouse epididymis.

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The prostate is a male accessory genital gland that plays an essential role in reproductive function. To understand the cytological characteristics of differentiating prostatic cells, we used lectin histochemistry combined with immunohistochemistry to examine the distribution of lectin-binding sites on prostatic cells during postnatal development in the mouse. During postnatal development, Hippeastrum Hybrid Lectin (HHL) lectin reacted consistently with the luminal cells of all prostatic lobes (regions), whereas the Ricinus Communis Agglutinin I (RCA-I) and Soybean Agglutinin (SBA) lectins showed remarkable differences with age, region, and cell type. We found that the lectin-binding pattern in differentiating prostatic cells acquired adult characteristics around 3 weeks after birth. The results indicate that prostatic cell differentiation during postnatal development in mice is characterized by the presence of cell- and region-specific lectin-binding sites in the prostate, suggesting that there may also be cellular and regional differences in their function. Furthermore, some lectins (HHL, RCA-I, and SBA) could provide useful markers for research into cell differentiation and for the pathological evaluation of prostatic diseases or in the diagnosis of male infertility.