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From the * Department of Cell Biology and
Physiology, Biomedical Research Institute, National Autonomous University of
Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico; the Department of
Pharmacology, Section of Experimental Endocrinology, Universidade Federal de
São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, Brazil; the
Department of Reproductive Biology, Faculty of
Sciences, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico; and
the Unit of Medical Investigation in
Neurological Diseases, XXI Century National Medical Center, Mexican Institute
of Social Security, Mexico City, Mexico.
| Correspondence to: Dr. Gabriel Gutiérrez-Ospina, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, 04510 (e-mail: gabo{at}correo.biomedicas.unam.mx). |
51 kd and 48 kd) that
were immunoreactive for tryptophan hydroxylase. Chromatographic analyses
documented the presence of tryptophan hydroxylase in the caput, and showed
that both its activity and serotonin availability increased with sexual
maturation and decreased following p-chlorophenylalanine treatment,
an inhibitor of tryptophan hydroxylase activity. Interestingly, serotonin
concentration and tryptophan hydroxylase activity tended to be higher in
breeding males than in those with no mating experience. We think that these
results support the existence of a local serotoninergic system in the rat
caput epididymis that might regulate some aspects of male reproductive
function.
Key words: 5-hydroxytryptamine, tryptophan hydroxylase, neuroendocrine cells, male reproduction, serotonin receptor, spermatozoa
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