Endocrine Abstracts

Fetal events can affect adult testosterone levels but how this occurs is unknown, as adult Leydig cells (ALC) do not differentiate until puberty. Qin et al. 2008 (PLos ONE) identified that chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factor II (COUP-TFII) is essential postnatally for ALC development. We hypothesized that: i) COUP-TFII+ non-Leydig interstitial cells are progenitors for ALC and are present in the fetal testis, ii) these ‘pr...

Transforming growth factor β1 has a critical role in the regulation of testicular function. Transgenic male mice over expressing α and β subunits of hCG (hCG+) are infertile and testicular steroidogenesis is enhanced showing high levels of testosterone and progesterone (P4). The chronic hCG hyperstimulation leads to Leydig cell (LC) hypertrophy/hyperplasia in prepubertal mice.Aims: To analyze: i) the expression of the TGF-β...