thcdnaofbin1bis385,encoding68aminoacid.itisasingle-copygeneandhasa1.3kbintron.of18organtiues,bin1bmrnawasonlyfoundintheepididymisandconfinedtoepithelialcellsinthemiddlepartofthecaputregion.itwasdevelopmentallyregulatedanditsexpreionstartedat30daysofageandreachedamaximumduringthesexuallyactiveperiod,andthen,decreasedintheagedrats.bysimilarityanalysis,bin1bisprobablyanewmemberofmamalianb-defeinfamilywhichisinvolvedinhostiateimmunity.andithashomologsinprimate.itsantimicrobialactivitywasprovedusingpri
maryculturesofepididymalepitheliaandantiseetechniqueunderthecooperationofthechineseuniversityofhongkong.
thefull-lengthcdnaofbin2ais2606,encoding637aminoacid.itsaminoacidsequencehasninecoervedblocksofglycosylhydrolasesfamily35,includinganactivesiteglu210ofprotondonor,butlackinganotheractivesiteglu279ofnucleophile.itisobviousthatbin2aisdifferentfromacidb-galactosidasereportedinratepididymis.maybeitisanewmemberofb-galactosidasefamily.bin2amrnaisupregulatedbyandrogenandalsoepididymis-ecific,majorlyincaputepididymides.thereisamarkedincrease(aroximatelyfourfold)ofitsmrnalevelinratof45daysage.
thecloningofbin1bandbin2agiveusaclueinmucosalimmunityandermmaturationinepididymis.
keywords:epididymis,ermmaturation,malecontroception,b-defein,b-galactosidase.