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Mol. Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on July 2, 2004
Molecular Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/molehr/gah087
© 2004 by Oxford University Press
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Received April 28, 2004
Revised June 9, 2004
Accepted June 14, 2004

Article

Expression and localization of c-ros oncogene along the human excurrent duct

Christine Légaré 1 Robert Sullivan 2*

1 Centre de Recherche en Biologie de la Reproduction, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
2 Centre de Recherche en Biologie de la Reproduction, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada; Département d'Obstétrique-Gynécologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: robert.sullivan{at}crchul.ulaval.ca.


  Abstract

Compared to other animals, the anatomy of the human epididymis appears unusual. The caput epididymis is composed mostly of efferent ducts with an undefined initial segment. The present study investigates the regionalization of c-ros in human epididymis by real-time quantitative RT-PCR, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry studies. C-ros gene encodes a receptor-type protein tyrosine kinase that is expressed in adult mice exclusively in the epithelial cells of the initial segment of the epididymis. Transgenic mice targeted for the c-ros gene lack the initial segment of the epididymis and are infertile. Real-time PCR analysis showed that c-ros mRNA is expressed all along the human epididymis with the exception of the proximal caput epididymidis, where c-ros transcript was undetectable. In situ hydridization revealed that c-ros transcript was strongly expressed by principal cells and to a lower level by basal cells. Immunohistochemical studies showed that c-ros protein distribution was similar to the transcript. These results showed that c-ros expression in the human epididymis differs from that in mice suggesting that the unusual morphology of the human epididymis may reflect species differences in gene expression along the excurrent duct.

Keywords: c-ros; epididymis; gene expression; sperm maturation.
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