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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted cell‐derived membrane structures present in all organisms across animal, bacterial, and plant phyla. These vesicles play important roles in cell‐cell communication in many processes integral to health and disease. Recent studies demonstrate that EVs and their cargo have influential and conserved roles in male reproduction. While EVs have been isolated from virtually all specialized tissues comprising the male reproductive tract, they are best characterized in the epididymis (epididymosomes) and seminal fluid (seminal fluid extracellular vesicles or prostasomes). Broadly speaking, EVs promote reproductive success through supporting sperm development and function, as well as influencing the physiology of female reproductive tract cells after mating. In this review, we present current knowledge on the composition and function of male reproductive tract EV populations in both normal physiology and pathology, and argue that their functions identify them as critical regulators of fertility and fecundity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of innate immunity receptors that are essential for detecting invading pathogens. Objectives of this study were to identify epididymal cell types expressing TLRs and to determine if TLRs are present on spermatozoa. Method of study Immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded sections from regions of the rat epididymis was used to identify epididymal cell types expressing TLRs. Immunoblot analysis and immunofluorescence were used to detect TLRs on spermatozoa. Results TLRs 1–9 and 11 are abundantly expressed by the epididymal epithelium in most regions of the duct with the exception of clear cells of the cauda which do not express TLRs 5–7 or 11. TLRs were detected on epididymal spermatozoa and several TLRs showed regional distributions patterns suggesting modification during epididymal transit. Conclusion The abundance of TLR family members in the epididymal epithelium and on spermatozoa provides strong evidence that TLRs play important roles in innate immunity of the male reproductive tract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domagała A, Kurpisz M. Immunoprecipitation of sperm and somatic antigens with antibodies from sera of sperm-sensitized and anti-sperm antibody-free individuals. AJRI 2004; 51:226–234 © Blackwell Munksgaard, 2004 Immune infertility may result from the presence of anti-sperm antibodies (ASA) in sera of sensitized individuals or in their genito-urinary millieu. According to some authors, sera of pre-pubertal boys with genital disorders may contain ASA, too. When identified and characterized, sperm antigenic components can be employed for diagnostic and/or for immunocontraceptive purposes. Sperm auto- and isoimmune reactive surface antigens were identified by means of immunoprecipitation. Comparative immunoprecipitations of somatic antigens by using antibodies, contained in polyclonal sera of fertile and (immunologically) infertile adults as well as pre-pubertal boys with gonadal failures were performed. Antibodies contained in sera of the all studied populations reacted with a number of sperm as well as somatic antigens. However, we distinguished a panel of antigens localized exclusively on the surface of sperm cells, reacting with ASA positive sera (in the range of molecular weight between 15 and 115 kDa), some of them seem to present novel entities as can be judged by the molecular weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]