Differentiation of the rat epididymis after withdrawal of androgen.

The differentiation capacity of the rat epididymis after depletion of androgen was studied in organ culture and in castrated rats. The differentiation of "narrow cells' in 5- and 10-day-old explants and in 10-day-old castrated rats suggests that: (i) the testicular androgens are not essential for their differentiation, (ii) a differential androgen dependence exists among the epididymal cell types, (iii) the undifferentiated epithelial cells are the precursors of the narrow cells.