title: Studies with purified immature porcine Leydig cells in primary culture.
abstract: The steroidogenic capacity of purified immature porcine Leydig cells in culture was studied over several days. The cells were obtained by fractionating crude testicular interstitial cell suspensions on a discontinuous Percoll gradient (d = 1.037, 1.042, 1.052, 1.098 g/ml), and characterized by specific binding of 125I-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), testosterone (T) and cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cAMP) production in response to hCG, and the enzymatic determination of delta 5-3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3 beta-HSD) activity. The Leydig cells were recovered in a density band between 1.052-1.068 g/ml and grown in a chemically defined medium (Mather et al., 1981). In the absence of hCG, T production was low throughout the 6 days of culture. However, in response to hCG (10 mIU/ml), the cultured Leydig cells showed a progressive increase in T synthesis, which reached a maximum at Days 3-4. 8-Br-cAMP (1 mM) induced a comparable rise in T production to that obtained with hCG throughout the culture period. In contrast, 8-Br-cAMP induced a near maximal increase in dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) production from Day 1. This paper demonstrates that purified immature porcine Leydig cells in primary culture are a valuable model to study the ontogeny of Leydig cell function.
mesh_terms: D015096:3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D007985:Leydig Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D011974:Receptors, LH; D013552:Swine; D013739:Testosterone / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D011974:Receptors, LH; D013739:Testosterone; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D015096:3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases