Presence of α-glucosidases in the male reproductive system of the rat and hormonal influences

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Abstract
The use of a synthetic substrate (p-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucoside) to measure α-glucosidase activity has allowed us to demonstrate the presence of acid and neutral α-glucosidases in the reproductive organs of the male rat. Both enzymes increased in the epididymis, particularly in the caput segment, along with initiation of spermatogenesis at puberty; it then started decreasing after 12 weeks of life. Similar variations were not recorded in testis, prostate, and seminal vesicles. Castration led to a significant decrease of acid and neutral α-glucosidases in all accessory reproductive organs, but administration of testosterone proprionate (50 μg/day for 10 days) restored the enzyme activity to its original level. When estradiol-17β (5 mg) was administered simultaneously with testosterone (500 μg), the antagonistic effect of estradiol on testosterone was particularly evident on the levels of neutral α-glucosidases which reached the castration range, while the acid α-glucosidase remained unchanged in epididymis, prostate, and seminal vesicles. These results show that both acid and neutral α-glucosidases may be influenced by gonadal hormones in the male rat.