Carnitine content of rabbit epididymal spermatozoa in organ culture

Summary. Tubules of the rabbit proximal corpus epididymidis were maintained for 24 h in vitro. The carnitine content in cells from tubules cultured with dihydrotestosterone was greater than that in cells from tubules cultured without androgen. The effect of dihydrotestosterone was abolished by the simultaneous addition of cyproterone acetate to the medium. Culture of segments of the distal corpus for 24 h with dihydrotestosterone did not change the carnitine content of spermatozoa. These results support our hypothesis that the accumulation of carnitine is involved in sperm maturation