AIM To investigate the activation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) and its function in the corticosterone (CORT)-induced apoptosis of rat Leydig cells. METHODS NFAT in rat Leydig cells was detected by Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. Cyclosporin A (CsA) was used to evaluate potential involvement of NFAT in the CORT-induced apoptosis of Leydig cells. Intracel...

Renin and angiotensins coexist in various tissues. The mode of control of the extrarenal renin-angiotensin system is not clear. Whether it is renin or angiotensin that is secreted has not been identified. We have investigated gonadotropin-dependent synthesis and subsequent release of the components of the intracellular renin-angiotensin system in a cloned and cultured mouse Leydig tumor cell li...

Chicken Ovalbumin Upstream Promoter-Transcription Factor II (COUP-TFII; also known as NR2F2), is an orphan nuclear receptor of the steroid/thyroid hormone receptor superfamily. COUP-TFII-null mice die during the early embryonic development due to angiogenesis and cardiovascular defects. To circumvent the early embryonic lethality and investigate the physiological function of COUP-TFII, we knock...

AIM To investigate the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) and its function in glucocorticoid-induced Leydig cell apoptosis. METHODS The Leydig cells were isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats (90 days of age) and were incubated with corticosterone (CORT, glucocorticoid in rat) for 6 h, 12 h and 24 h, respectively. The P65 subunit of NF-kappa B (NF-kappa B/P65) in nuclei and th...

malignant germ-cell tumors (mgct) are rare tumors of childhood accounting for less than 3% of pediatric malignancies. endodermal sinus tumor (est) forms the most common histologic subtype of mgct. the vagina is an extremely rare site for gcts. an 8-month-old female was admitted with a short history of vaginal bleeding, and a mass protruding from the vagina. she was pale and a mass was palpable ...