Effects of Norepinephrine and Acetylcholine on the Development of Cultured Leydig Cells in Mice
Open Access
- 1 January 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Hindawi Limited in Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology
- Vol. 2012, 1-8
- https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/503093
Abstract
Few data have suggested how norepinephrine (NE) and acetylcholine (Ach) regulate the development of Leydig cells in mice at prepuberty, except for data indicating endocrine effects. The present study aims to elucidate the roles of NE and Ach on the differentiation and proliferation of Leydig cells. Firstly, the expression of adrenergic receptors and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in Leydig cells was investigated. It was found that adrenergic receptors (β1AR,β2AR, andα1D) and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (M1 and M3) mRNA are expressed in adult Leydig cells. Then, the effects of NE and Ach on the differentiation and proliferation of Leydig cells were analyzed. The results showed that NE and Ach at 10 μM significantly increased the number of 3β-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase- (3β-HSD-) positive Leydig cells and improved the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in Leydig cells on postnatal day (PD) 15 (). NE and Ach at 10 μM had no impact on the expression of PCNA mRNA (), but reduced the expression of 3β-HSD mRNA in adult Leydig cells and a murine Leydig tumor cell line (MLTC-1) (). Therefore, a conclusion may be reached that NE and Ach participated in stimulating the development of Leydig cells in mice from prepuberty to adult stage.
Keywords
Funding Information
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University (2011BAD34B02)
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