Immunocytochemical Localization of Alpha-Lactalbumin in the Male Reproductive Tract

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Abstract
The immunocytochemical localization of the milk protein .alpha.-lactalbumin in the male [rat] reproductive tract is described [in reference to sperm maturation]. Using a primary antiserum raised against highly purified rat milk .alpha.-lactalbumin, specific staining was consistently shown in the supranuclear Golgi region of the principal cells of the proximal caput epididymidis but only occasionally in epithelial cells from other regions of the duct. Staining was also found in the epididymal lumen and associated with spermatozoa. This luminal staining persisted throughout the distal caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis. Staining was rarely associated with spermatozoa in the efferent ducts and initial segment. .alpha.-Lactalbumin immunoreactivity was also detected in the seminiferous epithelium. Staining was confined to the Golgi-acrosome region of spermatids. An .alpha.-lactalbumin-like molecule, or molecues, apparently is present in the male reproductive tract and it is localized specifically in principal cells from the proximal caput epididymidis and germ cells from the seminiferous epithelium.