Effects of local testicular heat treatment on Leydig cell hyperplasia and testosterone biosynthesis in rat testes

Reproduction, Fertility, and Development
Zhonghai LiDapeng Yu

Abstract

Cryptorchidism or local testicular heat treatment induces reversible oligospermia or azoospermia in rodents and humans via increased germ cell apoptosis. Research in this field has concentrated on the impact of heat on spermatogenesis, with rather little attention paid to the molecular effects of heat treatment on Leydig cell function. In the present study, we investigated the effects of exposure to heat stress on the proliferative activity and testosterone biosynthesis of Leydig cells. We subjected adult rats to a single local testicular heat treatment of water at 43°C for 30min. The expression of Leydig cell-specific markers, such as cholesterol side-chain cleavage (P450SCC) and 3?-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. The proliferative activity of Leydig cells was detected by immunostaining with proliferation-associated markers, including Ki67, bromodeoxyuridine and phosphohistone-H3 (pHH3). The mRNA and protein levels of cell cycle proteins and testosterone synthesis-related enzymes were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis, respectively. The testes of heat-treated rats contained 50% more Leydig cells than those of control rats, in...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 29, 2015·Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Toxicology & Pharmacology : CBP·Zhihang YuanJing Wu
Feb 16, 2019·Molecular Reproduction and Development·Raffaele Boni
Feb 28, 2021·Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology·Rashid A Aldahhan, Peter G Stanton
Oct 20, 2017·Theriogenology·Somayeh ShadmehrAlireza Amiri
Mar 29, 2019·Theriogenology·Augusto Bicalho Cruz VieiraElizete Rizzo

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
electrophoresis
contraception
transmission electron microscopy

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MS Excel

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Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a specific process that leads to programmed cell death through the activation of an evolutionary conserved intracellular pathway leading to pathognomic cellular changes distinct from cellular necrosis