Exploring the Role of Estrogens in Lizard Spermatogenesis through the Study of Clomiphene and FSH Effects

Figure 3

Immunohistochemistry with ERα antibody on the testis (a–e) and epididymis (f–i). (a) Untreated males: ir-ERα is evident only in the final differentiating stage, that is, spermatozoa. (b) Clomiphene-treated and (c) FSH-treated samples: ir-ERα is present in all the cells inside the seminiferous epithelium (SE). The dotted white and black lines indicate the basal (BSE) and apical (ASE) seminiferous epithelium, respectively. Note in (b, c), oocyte-like structure marked for ERα (⇧). (d) FSH-Clomiphene-treated samples: ir-ERα is evident only in spermatozoa. (f) Untreated males: ir-ERα is absent in the corpus (↑↑) but present in the efferent ductules (↑). (g) Clomiphene-treated and (h) FSH-treated samples: ir-ERα is evident in the cells lining the corpus (↑↑) and in the efferent ductules (↑). (i) FSH-Clomiphene-treated samples: ir-ERα is absent in the corpus (↑↑). (e) Negative control prepared omitting the antibody in the reaction. The bar is 30 μm.

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