The epididymis is an androgen-responsive tissue where spermatozoa
mature and gain motility. The three major regions of the epididymis,
caput, corpus, and cauda, are known to have different functions
and exhibit varied gene expression. Specific genes within the
different regions of the epididymis have been identified to be
under the influence of androgens. The goal of this study was to
begin to elucidate the profile of androgen-responsive genes that
may be important for sperm maturation using the Affymetrix MGU74Av2
GeneChip oligonucleotide microarray platform. Adult mice (B6/129
strain) were castrated and treated 6 days after castration with
two injections of 5 mg of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or oil over
a 48-h period. The mice were killed 48 h later and total RNA was
purified from the caput, corpus, and cauda regions of the epididymis.
Using GeneSpring 5.0 (Silicon Genetics) software, transcripts
were identified that were upregulated 2-fold or more by DHT in
the caput (33 transcripts), the corpus (8 transcripts), and the
cauda (9 transcripts).