Sertoli and Leydig cells, the two major somatic cell types in the testis, have different morphologies and functions. Both are essential for gonad development and spermatogenesis. However, whether these cells are derived from the same progenitor cells and the mechanism regulating the differentiation between these two cell types during gonad development remains unclear. A previous study showed th...

Sertoli leydig cell tumors are exceedingly uncommon tumors of the ovary accounting for less than 0.5% of all ovarian neoplasms and 1% of sex cord tumors. These tumors are functional and secrete testosterone and only rarely they are estrogenic. Hence the patients present with virilization features. Most of the tumors are unilateral and bilaterality is extremely rare. Here we report an unusual ca...

In the present study, we investigated the effects of oral dosing of atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-s-triazine) to peripubertal male rats (50 and 200 mg/kg body weight daily from postnatal days 23-50) on ex vivo Leydig cell steroidogenesis. Leydig cells from treated rats were characterised by significant decline in mRNA transcripts of several genes responsible for steroidogenes...

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of acute (2 h daily) and repeated (2 h daily for 2 or 10 consecutive days) immobilization stress (IMO) on: 1) the steroidogenic machinery homeostasis; 2) cAMP signaling; and the expression of receptors for main markers of 3) adrenergic and 4) glucocorticoid signaling in Leydig cells of adult rats. The results showed that acute IMO inhibited steroid...

Therapeutic, accidental, and experimental radiation exposures decreased serum testosterone in males, leading to various sexual problems. Since testicular Leydig cells are the predominant source of circulating testosterone, findings on the direct effects of radiation on Leydig cell steroidogenesis and the mechanism behind such effects would be of greater importance to the use of safer radiation ...

We previously reported a strain-related difference in basal 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-isomerase (3betaHSD) activity in response to testosterone in cultured Leydig cells. The data suggested that the response to testosterone was androgen receptor mediated and that testosterone was acting via a trans-acting factor distal to the androgen receptor to regulate Leydig cell basal 3betaHSD acti...

11 -Hydroxy (11 -OH) derivatives of certain steroids function as inhibitors of 11 -hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase isoform 1 (11 HSD1), an enzyme expressed in Leydig cells that catalyzes the reversible oxidation of biologically active glucocorticoids to inactive 11-dehydro metabolites. 11 -Hydroxylase is an adrenal enzyme responsible for glucocorticoid biosynthesis, catalyzing 11 -hydroxylation of...

Rat Leydig cells possess functional high affinity receptors for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). CRF inhibited human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-induced androgen production in cultured fetal and adult Leydig cells in a dose-dependent manner, but it had no effect on basal testosterone secretion. Comparable inhibitory effects of CRF were observed in the presence or absence of 3-isobutyl-1-m...

Background: Extratesticular Leydig cell tumor is a relatively rare kind of tumor, especially involving the testis. Case presentation: We report a case of a 7-year-old boy with extratesticular Leydig cell tumor next to the testis. An intraoperative biopsy revealed that a painless mass was presented in the left scrotum. The ultrasonography identified the left varicocele and an enlarged left testi...

Leydig cell testicular tumors are a rare cause of precocious pseudopuberty in boys. Surgery is the main therapy and shows good overall prognosis. The physical signs of precocious puberty are expected to disappear shortly after surgical removal of the mass. We report two children, 7.5 and 7.7 year-old boys, who underwent testis-sparing surgery for a Leydig cell testicular tumor causing precociou...