title: The changed immunolocalization of START-domain-containing 6 (StarD6) during the development of testes in rat perinatal hypothyroidism.
abstract: Thyroid hormones have an essential role in maintaining the normal developmental structure of testes during the neonatal stage. START-domain-containing 6 (StarD6) is exclusively expressed in germ cells during spermatogenesis; however, its biological role in rat perinatal hypothyroidism is not clear. After hypothyroidism was induced by daily administration of 0.05% 6-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU), the pattern of StarD6 immunolocalization was examined from gestation day 15 to postnatal day 49. In normal rats, the labelling of StarD6 was confined to the germ cells from the third-week postpartum. In contrast, its immunoreactivity in hypothyroidal rats was not detected until the fourth-week postpartum. The immunolocalization pattern of StarD6 differed from that of normal adult rats during the seventh-week postpartum. StarD6 was clearly detected in the Leydig cells of the perinatal hypothyroid rats from the fifth-week postpartum. Therefore, StarD6 may play a pivotal role, not only in the spermatogenesis of normal rats, but also in the steroidogenesis of Leydig cells under perinatal hypothyroidism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Chosun University School of Medicine, 375 Seosuk-Dong, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: In-Youb
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Song Yub
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jung Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jae Mun
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jin Sook
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Peter I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Sang Pil
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Yoon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003409:Congenital Hypothyroidism / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D013737:Testis / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; C523101:StarD6 protein, rat; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin