Fluid-phase transcytosis in the primate epididymis in vitro and in vivo

Ligated tubules from the corpus epididymidis of men and monkeys were incubated in medium containing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a marker for fluid-phase endocytosis. HRP was localized by light and electron microscopy after 0, 15, 30 and 60 min of incubation. Movement between the cells was prevented by tight junctions, but bypass of this barrier was apparently achieved by an intracellular vesicular mechanism leading to a time-dependent appearance of HRP in the lumen. Uptake of HRP into basal cells and capture by the lysosomal apparatus of principal cells were also observed. HRP-filled vesicles also appeared in the basal, mid and apical cytoplasm of epithelial cells in the caput 1 h after injection of the tracer into the epididymal circulation of the monkey, suggesting that this pathway also operates in vivo.