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. 1980 Jul 1;189(1):135–142. doi: 10.1042/bj1890135

The presence and longitudinal distribution of the glutathione S-transferase in rat epididymis and vas deferens

Barbara F Hales 1,2,3, Christiane Hachey 1,2,3, Bernard Robaire 1,2,3
PMCID: PMC1161925  PMID: 7458899

Abstract

The presence of the glutathione S-transferases, enzymes that catalyse the conjugation of glutathione with a variety of compounds, is reported here, for the first time, in the mammalian epididymis–vas deferens. These glutathione S-transferases, approx. 50% of those from rat liver on a per-mg-of-protein basis, are resolved by isoelectric focusing into six peaks, each with a characteristic isoelectric point and substrate specificity. By these same criteria, the first three peaks (pI 8.9, 8.2 and 7.8) can be identified as transferases B, A and C respectively. The fifth peak (pI7.2) may correspond to transferase M; the fourth (pI7.5) and sixth (pI7.0) peaks do not correspond to previously described transferases. The distribution of transferase activity towards any one substrate studied differs in sequential sections of the epididymis and vas deferens; in addition, the longitudinal-distribution pattern differs for each of the three substrates studied. Isoelectric focusing of the cytosol fractions of the different sections further substantiates these observations. The potential significance of these enzymes and of their distribution in terms of epididymal function, maturation of spermatozoa, is discussed.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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