Scientists detail epididymis development

CHAMPAIGN, Ill., June 28 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have found a gene and a related mechanism are essential to development of the epididymis -- a coiled tube between the testes and penis.

Human sperm cells travel up to nearly 20 feet during their transit from testes to penis and most of the journey occurs in the epididymis, which primes the cells for fertilization.

Now, University of Illinois graduate student Jessica Tomaszewski, Professor Humphrey Hung-Chang Yao and colleagues have detailed the development of the epididymis.

Yao's team determined the gene for one component of a growth factor, inhibin beta A, spurs activity in the cells that form the walls of the epididymal tube, while a lack of inhibin beta A leads to stasis in those cells.

The researchers said their findings add to the evidence that while testosterone is the master switch that triggers the development of male reproductive structures, it doesn't work alone,

The scientists say the research might also provide new insights into the problem of male infertility.

The study, which included graduate students Avenel Joseph and Denise Archambeault, is reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.