ea0031p292 | Pituitary | SFEBES2013
Kilcoyne Karen
, Atanossova Nina
, Franca Luiz Renato de
, Lara Nathalia
, Gendt Karel De
, Verhoeven Guido
, McKinnell Chris
, Macpherson Sheila
, Driesche Sander van den
, Smith Lee
, Sharpe Richard M
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...