Role of androgens in survival of spermatozoa in epididymis of tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)

Abstract

Studies of undiluted micropuncture samples of luminal fluid from the cauda epididymidis of the tammar indicated that spermatozoa are immotile in situ and spontaneously activate during collection or subsequent incubation in vitro. The suppression of sperm motility was related to the androgen status of the tammars and when this was increased by the use of Silastic implants of testosterone propionate, the spontaneous activation of samples was delayed for up to 2 h during incubation in vitro. Spermatozoa survived for up to 9 weeks when isolated in the cauda epididymidis between ligatures around the ductus. However, even after isolation for 3 weeks their viability was reduced compared with samples from the contralateral, unligated duct. Isolation of a length of ductus between ligatures also reduced the concentration of spermatozoa in the lumen of the duct and reduced the concentration of some proteins in the epididymal plasma. However, it did not affect the electrophoretic pattern of detergent extracts of spermatozoa. A study of the effects of orchidectomy and testosterone therapy indicated that sperm survival in the epididymis is androgen dependent. Orchidectomy reduced the concentration of spermatozoa in the luminal fluid and the volume of luminal fluid, and resulted in an increase in the concentration and a change in the electrophoretic pattern of protein in the fluid. The effects of orchidectomy were reduced or prevented by testosterone therapy. It is concluded that the cauda epididymidis of the tammar is at least as well adapted for sperm storage as it is in the eutherian mammals that have been studied.