Selective Phagocytosis of Spermatozoa in the Epididymis of Bulls, Rabbits, and Monkeys

Roussel, J.D.; Stallcup, O. T.; Austin, C. R.

doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(16)36369-5

Cited by 63 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The extravasated spermatozoa become engulfed almost exclusively by macrophages. Decapitated spermatozoa (Roussel, Stallcup & Austin, 1967) and even living, morphologically normal spermatozoa (Phadke, 1964) (Maroni, Symon & Wilkinson, 1971) the chemotactic attraction of human neutrophils towards spermatozoa and seminal fluid in the presence of serum or plasma and, in this report, we extend these observations to the activity of guinea-pig peritoneal exúdate macrophages.…”

supporting

confidence: 64%

Selective Chemotaxis of Macrophages Towards Human and Guinea-Pig Spermatozoa

Maroni¹,

Wilkinson²

1971

Reproduction

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supporting

confidence: 64%

Selective Chemotaxis of Macrophages Towards Human and Guinea-Pig Spermatozoa

Maroni¹,

Wilkinson²

1971

Reproduction

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“…Dixon (1967) Phadke & Padukone, 1964;Riimke, 1965Riimke, , 1970Fjällbrant, 1968;Mitchinson et al, 1975). Although spermiophagy has been suggested to be a physiological means of disposal of surplus (Roussell, Stallcup & Austin, 1967), most authors conclude that it is only in pathological states such as seminal obstruction that the phenomenon is significant. The high frequency of sperm autoantibodies in man was therefore puzzling until Mitchinson et al (1975) pointed out that obstructive lesions of the human epididymis are very common.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of phagocytosed spermatozoa by mouse peritoneal macrophages in vitro

Ball¹,

Mitchinson²

1977

Reproduction

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Summary. Mouse peritoneal macrophages were cultured in vitro in the presence of autologous spermatozoa. The spermatozoa were found to be phagocytosed and degraded, with accumulation of pigment in the cytoplasm, during the first 5 days.Phagocytosis of spermatozoa by macrophages is seen in two lesions of the epididymis: sperm granulomata, in which the spermatozoa have escaped from a ruptured ductule (Glassy & Mostofi, 1956), and 'brown patches', in which the phagocytosis occurs in the lumen of an obstructed ductule (Mitchinson, Sherman & Stainer-Smith, 1975). In both conditions the phagocytosed spermatozoa appear to be converted to cytoplasmic pigment granules resembling lipofuscin.This mechanism might be important in the origin of autoantibodies to spermatozoa. The present study was an attempt to produce sperm phagocytosis in vitro, by culturing mouse peritoneal macro¬ phages with autologous spermatozoa, as a first step in the closer examination of the phenomenon.Eight male mice (strain B10.D2 from the Laboratory Animals Centre, Carshalton, Surrey, U.K.), 3 months of age, were decapitated and injected i.p. with 3 ml sterile Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS : Flow Laboratories, Irvine, Scotland). After gentle massage, the peritoneum was opened and the fluid was recovered with a syringe, diluted 1:9 with HBSS and dispensed in 1 ml aliquots to each culture dish (35 10 mm: Falcon Plastics, Oxnard, California). Ten dishes, 5 'experimental' and 5 'control' for each mouse, were allowed to stand for 20 min while the macrophages adhered to the bottom and were then washed twice with 1 ml HBSS.The epididymides of each mouse were sliced in 1 ml sterile culture medium so that spermatozoa could be collected without contamination by other cells. The culture medium contained the following constituents in 100 ml: 32-93 ml Eagles modified MEM + Hank's salts + 0-35 g NaHC03/l; 32-93 ml Hank's lactalbumin; 32-93 ml heat-inactivated bovine fetal serum; 1-1 ml 200 mM-L-glutamine solution; and 0-11 ml of a solution of 50 mg gentamicin/ml (all materials from Flow Laboratories).'Control' dishes received 1 ml culture medium and 'experimental' dishes received 0-9 ml culture medium +0-1 ml sperm suspension from the same mouse.The dishes were then gassed with 95 % air + 5 % C02 and incubated for up to 5 days at 37°C. At 24-h intervals the medium was replaced with fresh medium without spermatozoa. Every day 2 dishes, one 'experimental' and one 'control' for each mouse, were withdrawn. The cells were fixed with 10% formol saline, stained with haematoxylin and eosin, and cleared and mounted in epon resin. The percentage of cells containing sperm heads and yellowish pigment was then counted, using xlOOO magnification. It was difficult to decide whether or not there was any pigment in some cells; these were counted as positive in 'control' dishes and negative in 'experimental' dishes. Results and discussionSome of the sperm suspensions showed immediate head-to-head agglutination, the aggregates ranging from several spermatozoa to about 50. Suc...

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“…Resorption of spermatozoa was considered by Simeone and Young (1931) to be the main means of removing unejaculated spermatozoa from the genital tract. This concept, and that of the phagocytosis of spermatozoa in the epididymis, has had considerable support (Amann and Almquist 1962a;Koefoed-Johnsen 1964;Roussel, Stallcup, and Austin 1967;Orgebin-Crist 1968;Salamon 1968;Amann 1969;Lambiase and Amann 1969;Zankl 1969Zankl , 1970.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Output of Spermatozoa in Rams I. Relationship with Testicular Output of Spermatozoa and the Effect of Ejaculations

Bf¹,

Aw²

1972

Aust. Jnl. Of Bio. Sci.

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The mean daily output of spermatozoa was estimated for each of eight Merino rams from the numbers of spermatozoa eliminated from the urogenital tract both in the urine and in spontaneous discharges over 20 days (DSOU) and by doubling the number of spermatozoa collected daily from one testis by a rete testis catheter (DSOT). The two estimates (DSOU and DSOT) were highly correlated (r = 0·999), but the DSOU was usually a little lower than the DSOT. The mean difference was 3·4%.The effect of 20 ejaculations collected over 2 days was studied in four rams. The DSOU was severely depressed for a period of 9-16 days after the ejaculations but when the number of spermatozoa ejaculated was added to the DSOU in this period the mean daily spermatozoan output was similar to that in the periods immediately preceeding and succeeding it.It is concluded that the daily spermatozoan production of rams may be estimated accurately from the number of spermatozoa eliminated daily from the urogenital tract. It is unlikely that significant numbers of spermatozoa are resorbed or phagocytosed in the epididymides of normal rams.

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Selective Phagocytosis of Spermatozoa in the Epididymis of Bulls, Rabbits, and Monkeys

Cited by 63 publications

References 9 publications

Selective Chemotaxis of Macrophages Towards Human and Guinea-Pig Spermatozoa

Selective Chemotaxis of Macrophages Towards Human and Guinea-Pig Spermatozoa

Degradation of phagocytosed spermatozoa by mouse peritoneal macrophages in vitro

The Output of Spermatozoa in Rams I. Relationship with Testicular Output of Spermatozoa and the Effect of Ejaculations

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