大鼠睾丸雄激素受体表达的增龄变化

应用免疫细胞化学及图像分析等方法,对出生到生后25月龄各发育阶段SD大鼠睾丸内雄激素受体(AR)的表达变化进行了系统的研究。发现(1)睾丸间质细胞：从出生到生后3周龄,AR阳性表达强度较弱;到生后1月龄,AR阳性表达强度显著增强,并达到峰值;在生后2月龄,AR阳性表达强度显著减弱,此后AR阳性表达又呈增强趋势。(2)肌样细胞：从出生到生后2周龄,AR阳性表达强度较弱;到生后3周龄,AR阳性表达强度显著增强,并一直维持到生后2月龄;从生后3月龄,AR阳性表达强度呈减弱趋势,到生后25月龄达到最低水平。(3)血管内皮细胞：从生后3周龄到生后2月龄AR阳性表达较强;生后3月龄,AR阳性表达强度明显减弱;生后25月龄,AR阳性表达强度与生后3月龄相比变化不明显。(4)支持细胞：在生后1月龄出现AR阳性表达,到性成熟后,支持细胞AR阳性表达随生精周期变化而变化,在生后25月龄未见AR阳性表达的支持细胞。(5)生精细胞：出生组,前精原细胞内有AR阳性表达;生后2周龄,精子细胞开始出现AR阳性表达;生后1月龄,精原细胞开始出现AR阳性表达;生后2月龄出现阳性表达的精子,生后25月龄未见阳性表达的生精细胞。     

Characterization of an androgen binding protein (ABP) in rat testis and epididymis

An androgen binding protein (ABP) was demonstrated in the 105,000 g supernatant of rat testis homogenate after charcoal extraction of endogenous steroids. Testis ABP proved to be identical to an ABP previously described in rat epididymis. It contained saturable high-affinity sites which exhibited binding specificity for dihydrotestosterone (6) and testosterone when measured by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or by competitive binding using charcoal adsorption. Binding to ABP was not affected by ribonuclease or neuraminidase but was decreased by the disulfide reducing agent, dithiothreitol and the sulfhydryl reagent, N-ethylmaleimide. Binding was abolished by treatment with proteolytic enzyme. The mean molecular radius of ABP was 2.92 nm as determined by the retardation of electrophoretic mobility in polyacrylamide gels of decreasing pore size. Assuming a partial specific volume of 0.66–0.74 the molecular weight was 86,000–91,000 for a spherical molecule. ABP binding was stable after treating at 45° C for 20 min. but was destroyed at 60° C. Binding was maximal between pH 7.5 and 9.0 and decreased at pH below 7.0.     

Studies on the characterization of rat prostate androgen receptors

Summary Choline used as the sole carbon or carbon and nitrogen source induces in Pseudomonas aeruginosa an active transport system. The induction of the choline uptake is repressed by succinate independently of the presence of ammonium ion in the culture medium. The repression mediated by succinate was insensitive to cyclic AMP. Substitution for dibutyryl-cyclic AMP was without effect. Choline metabolites that also support the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were poor inducer agents of the choline transport. Kinetic evidence and the employment of choline metabolites as effectors indicated that the choline uptake system of this bacterium is formed by at least two components: one of high affinity (Km=3 µM) and another of low affinity (Km=400 µM). Contrary to what occurs in the synaptosome system, the high affinity form for the choline uptake was not dependent on Na⁺ ions and is not inhibited by hemicholinium-3. Since Pseudomonas aeruginosa can utilize choline as the sole carbon and nitrogen source, the induction of the choline transport with two components in this bacterium may be related to its own strategy to survive and grow in an adverse environment.     

Distribution of sodium-potassium ATPase in the rat testis and epididymis.

Sodium-potassium ATPase (Na+K(+)-ATPase) is a ubiquitous plasma membrane enzyme which uses the hydrolysis of ATP to regulate cellular Na+ and K+ levels and fluid volume. This ion pumping action is also thought to be involved in fluid movement across certain epithelia. There are several different genes for this enzyme, some of which are tissue specific. Using an antibody specific for the catalytic subunit of canine kidney Na+K(+)-ATPase, we have localized immunoreactivity in the seminiferous and epididymal epithelium of rats of various ages. There was no specific staining of 10-day-old rat testis. Faint staining was detected at 13 days and appeared to be associated with the borders of Sertoli cells. At 16 days prominent apical and lateral staining but no basal staining of Sertoli cell membranes was observed. This type of distribution continued until spermatids were present in the epithelium. In the adult rat testis, specific staining was detected in Sertoli cell crypts associated with elongating spermatids, and on the apical and lateral Sertoli cell membrane. In some instances immunoreactivity was concentrated at presumed sites of junctional specializations. In the excurrent ducts of immature and mature rats, Na+K(+)-ATPase staining was heavy in the efferent ducts and somewhat lighter in the epididymis. In all regions, the staining was basolateral although there were variations in intensity among the different parts of the epididymis. These results show 1) that rat testis and epididymal Na+K(+)-ATPase share some immunological determinants with the canine enzyme; 2) that the epididymal enzyme is located in the conventional basolateral position; and 3) that the distribution of Sertoli cell Na+K(+)-ATPase is probably apical and lateral rather than basal.     

Evidence for the rapid internalization and recycling of lutropin receptors in rat testis Leydig cells.

A study into the binding of 125I-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to the lutropin (LH) receptor in rat testis Leydig cells, and subsequent internalization of the hormone-receptor complex, has been carried out. The results show that there is rapid internalization of the hormone-receptor complex; 240 receptors/cell (from a total of approx. 4000 receptors/cell) were internalized each minute in the first hour after exposure to hCG. Radioactivity was released from the cell 1 h after internalization and was found to be associated with highly degraded hCG. The endocytic process was found to have two temperature-sensitive steps. At 4 degrees C, movement of the hormone-receptor complex inside the cell did not occur, and at 21 degrees C hormone accumulated within the cytoplasm but was not degraded or released from the cell. At 34 degrees C, internalization, degradation and loss of the degraded hormone from the cell occurred. These processes appeared to reach a steady state after 2 h. Even though there is rapid internalization of the hormone-receptor complex following exposure to hCG, the binding sites on the cell surface were maintained for at least 4 h. The number of binding sites on the cell surface was not decreased by a protein synthesis inhibitor but was reduced to undetectable levels by monensin. This compound inhibits acidification of endocytic vesicles, which is known to be an important prerequisite to receptor cycling. It is concluded that, in the rat testis Leydig cells, following binding of hCG to the LH receptor there is rapid internalization of the complex and that recycling of the receptor occurs to the cell surface. This process may be essential in maintaining the capacity of the Leydig cell to bind fresh hormone.     

DNA and protein components of nuclear acceptor sites for androgen receptors in the rat prostate

Androgen receptor-acceptor complexes in nuclei from rat ventral prostates were cross-linked in situ with formaldehyde and partially purified using affinity chromatography. To isolate acceptor DNA, the cross-linked receptor-acceptor complexes in formaldehyde-treated chromatin samples were adsorbed to dihydrotestosterone-17 beta-succinyl agarose, eluted with 75 microM dihydrotestosterone-1% SDS, digested with proteinase K and extracted with phenol-chloroform. After 32P end-labelling and PAGE, this DNA contained two distinct bands of DNA (about 300 and 400 base pairs respectively) which were unique relative to the total prostatic DNA. As an alternative approach for characterizing acceptor DNA, the DNA in prostatic nuclei and cross-linked chromatin was labelled with 32P by nick translation and analysed in glycerol density gradients for associations with cross-linked androgen receptors. A symmetrical 7s peak of 32P-DNA with a small amount of coincident receptor was observed in the gradients after mild trypsin treatment. In the absence of trypsin treatment, both the cross-linked receptors and the labelled DNA sedimented to the bottom of the gradients. Isolation of acceptor proteins involved iodination of cross-linked chromatin with 125I and androgen affinity chromatography. A comparison of the relative efficiency of retention and elution of 125I-proteins from different affinity columns revealed that testosterone-17 beta-succinyl agarose was potentially most suitable for purification of acceptor proteins. After electrophoresis on SDS-polyacrylamide gels, the eluates from this type of affinity matrix were found to contain two major peaks of 125I-labelled proteins--one corresponding to a protein with a similar molecular weight as the nuclear androgen receptor (33,000 Da); the other having a molecular weight of 20,000 Da. While the precise identity of this latter entity is unknown, its enrichment and retention by the affinity gel implies that it is closely associated with the androgen receptor and may be a component of the acceptor sites.     

Radioimmunoassay measurements of nuclear dihydrotestosterone in rat prostate. Relationship to androgen receptors and androgen-regulated responses.

The concentration of dihydrotestosterone was measured by radioimmunoassay in nuclear and cytoplasmic extracts from rat ventral prostates. In the regenerating prostates of castrated rats treated with dihydrotestosterone for 4 days, the nuclear concentration of this steroid increased from approx. 70nM to 800nM as a linear function of the injected dose, whereas the cytoplasmic concentration remained relatively constant (70-130nM). Isotope-exchange measurements of nuclear androgen receptors by using [3H]methyltrienolone indicated that, although the concentration of nuclear dihydrotestosterone was several-fold higher than the concentration of androgen receptors, they were logarithmically related. The recruitment of prostatic cells into the growth fraction and the stimulation of 5 alpha-reductase activity were more directly correlated to the nuclear concentration of androgen receptors than to the total nuclear concentration of dihydrotestosterone. Maximal restoration of a specific isoenzyme of acid phosphatase ws achieved when approx. 2000 androgen receptors were present in the prostatic nuclei; higher concentrations of nuclear androgen receptors were associated with decreased amounts of this enzyme. Hence the results imply, first, that the total amount of dihydrotestosterone accumulated by nuclei is not a direct consequence of carrier-mediated transport by androgen receptors, and, secondly, that, whereas acid phosphatase may be differentially controlled by androgens in the regenerating prostate, increases in the amount of cell proliferation and 5 alpha-reductase activity directly parallel increases in the nuclear concentration of androgen receptors.     

Binding of glucocorticoid antagonists to androgen and glucocorticoid hormone receptors in rat skeletal muscle

The binding of ten steroids possessing antiglucocorticoid activity has been studied in rat skeletal muscle cytosol. The affinity of these steroids for both the androgen and the glucocorticoid receptors was determined by competition with radioactive R1881 (methyltrienolone, metribolone) and dexamethasone, respectively. The antiglucocorticoid activity of these compounds was assessed in rat hepatoma (HTC) cells by measuring their inhibitory effect on the glucocorticoid-induced tyrosine aminotransferase activity. This led to identification of five novel in vitro glucocorticoid antagonists. All the steroids tested bound to both the glucocorticoid and the androgen receptors in muscle. Four steroids had an affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor higher than for the androgen receptor. The assumption is made that the steroids tested also behave as antagonists when binding to the glucocorticoid receptor in muscle and behave as agonists when binding to the androgen receptor. On this basis, the data allow one to compute a potential anticatabolic (PAG) and a potential anabolic (PAA) index for each compound. These indices might be of predictive value to determine whether these steroids exert their anabolic action in muscle through the glucocorticoid receptor or through the androgen receptor. The data also make it unlikely that satellite cells are a preferential target for anabolic steroids in muscle.     

Peroxisomes and ether lipid biosynthesis in rat testis and epididymis

Plasmalogens are a main component of the spermatozoon membrane, playing a crucial role in their maturation. The initial steps in plasmalogen biosynthesis are catalyzed by two peroxisomal enzymes, dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase and alkyl-dihydroxyacetonephosphate synthase. The localization of both enzymes in the membrane of peroxisomes implies that plasmalogen-producing cells should contain this organelle. To unravel the putative source of spermatozoan plasmalogens we investigated which cell types in the testis and epididymis are endowed with peroxisomes. To this extent, testicular and epididymal tissue was analyzed at the protein and RNA levels by means of light and electron microscopical immunocytochemistry as well as by Western and Northern blotting. Proteins and mRNAs of peroxisomal enzymes, especially those of dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase and alkyl-dihydroxyacetonephosphate synthase, were detected in the testis and epididymis. In the testis, peroxisomes were localized exclusively in Leydig cells and not in cells of the seminiferous tubules, implying that the latter do not contribute to the biosynthesis of plasmalogens of the sperm membrane. In contrast, peroxisomes could be clearly visualized in the epithelial cells of the epididymis. The results suggest that peroxisomes in epithelial cells of the rat epididymis play a pivotal role in the biosynthesis of plasmalogens destined for delivery to the sperm plasma membrane.     

Effects of radiation-ecological conditions and experimental hyperthyroid states on indicators of testis and prostate androgen receptors in rats

Dose-dependent changes of the molecular characteristics on androgen receptor (AR) systems in gonads of male rats were studied at experimental L-thyroxine-induced states after low doses irradiation exposures in different reference points of 10-km Chernobyl zone. The data obtained suggest a generalized working mechanism of "oscillatorous changes" for contents, affinities and cooperative properties of AR to its natural ligands as a "mirror" reflecting some adaptational reactions in target cells that modulates their androgen-controlled biochemical activity.     

Androgen receptors in rat testis

Testosterone (T) and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one; DHT) are bound to specific cytoplasmic receptors (CR) in 105, 000 × g supernatant fractions of seminiferous tubules from hypophysectomized rats following the intravenous injection of [1, 2-³h]testosterone. CR is clearly different from the testicular androgen binding protein (ABP) by electrophoretic mobility, temperature stability and rate of dissociation of steroid-CR complex, but very similar to the cytoplasmic receptors of epididymis and ventral prostate. Under these labeling conditions, the nuclei of seminiferous tubules also contain radioactive T and DHT bound to protein. These androgen-protein complexes, which can be extracted with 0.4 M ? 1 M KC1, have a sedimentation coefficient of 3–4 S. Binding of radioactive T and DHT to both cytoplasmic and nuclear receptors $\text{in vivo}$ is specific for androgen target tissues and abolished by simultaneous injection of unlabeled T, DHT and cyproterone acetate (1, 2-α-methylene-6-chloro-pregn-4, 6-diene-17α-o1–3, 20-diene-17-acetate), but not by cortisol. It is suggested that receptors for testosterone and DHT in the seminiferous tubules are involved in the mediation of the androgenic stimulus to the germ cells.     

Expression and localization of PMCA4 in rat testis and epididymis

It has recently been shown in mice that the plasma membrane Ca²⁺-ATPase isoform 4 (PMCA4) is essential for sperm fertilization capacity. We analyzed whether sperm PMCA4 is formed in the rat during spermatogenesis or is synthesized in the epididymis and transferred onto sperm during sperm maturation. We could show that PMCA4 is conserved in sperm from testis to epididymis. In testis, PMCA4 mRNA was restricted to spermatogonia and early spermatocytes, while the PMCA4 protein was detected in spermatogonia, late spermatocytes, spermatids and in epididymal sperm. In epididymis PMCA4 mRNA was localized in basolateral plasma membranes of epithelial cells of the caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis. In contrast, the protein was only detectable in the epithelial cells of the caput, indicating that PMCA4 mRNA is only translated into protein in caput epithelium. In the epididymal corpus and cauda, PMCA4 mRNA and protein, respectively, was localized and in peritubular cells. Furthermore, we detected an identical distribution of PMCA4a and b splice variants in rat testis, epididymal corpus and cauda. In the caput epididymidis, where PMCA4 is located in the epithelium splice variant 4b was more prominent. Further experiments have to clarify the functional importance of the differences in the PMCA4 distribution.     

Androgen receptors in rat testis

Testosterone (T) and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one; DHT) are bound to specific cytoplasmic receptors (CR) in 105,000 × g supernatant fractions of seminiferous tubules from hypophysectomized rats following the intravenous injection of [1,2-³H]testosterone. CR is clearly different from the testicular androgen binding protein (ABP) by electrophoretic mobility, temperature stability and rate of dissociation of steroid-CR complex, but very similar to the cytoplasmic receptors of epididymis and ventral prostate. Under these labeling conditions, the nuclei of seminiferous tubules also contain radioactive T and DHT bound to protein. These androgen-protein complexes, which can be extracted with 0.4 M — 1 M KC1, have a sedimentation coefficient of 3–4 S. Binding of radioactive T and DHT to both cytoplasmic and nuclear receptors $\text{in vivo}$ is specific for androgen target tissues and abolished by simultaneous injection of unlabeled T, DHT and cyproterone acetate (1,2-α-methylene-6-chloro-pregn-4, 6-diene-17α-ol-3,20-diene-17-acetate), but not by cortisol. It is suggested that receptors for testosterone and DHT in the seminiferous tubules are involved in the mediation of the androgenic stimulus to the germ cells.     

Androgen receptors in the rat epididymis and their hormonal control.

The concentrations of cytoplasmic receptor sites for androgens in the caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis, and the effect of ligation of the efferent ducts and testosterone treatment after bilateral castration on the concentration of receptors in the caput have been measured. Androgen receptors in the ventral prostate have been measured in the same animals for comparison. The caput has the highest concentration of receptor sites, the corpus the lowest. The ligation of the efferent ducts has no effect on this concentration which is dependent on testicular androgens. The present data do not yet allow explanation of the differential response of the different regions of the epididymis and of the other accessory glands to the administration of androgens.     

Binding of permixon,a new treatment for prostatic benign hyperplasia,to the cytosolic androgen receptor in the rat prostate

The benign hyperplasia of the prostate is a manifestation of aging, involving the accumulation, within the gland, of dihydrotestosterone, the probable mediator of the hyperplasia. Binding studies were performed on the cytosolic androgenic receptor of the rat prostate using [³H]methyltrienolone as a ligand. The binding of [³H]methyltrienolone at 5 nM, was inhibited by various drugs, such as methyltrienolone and cyproterone acetate. Permixon, a liposterolic extract of the plant, Serenoa Repens B, inhibits competitively the binding to the cytosolic receptor of the rat prostate. Various vegetable and mineral oils, the plant steroid: β sitosterol and the antiprostatic drug: Tadenan, were all found to be inactive. The antiprostatic activity of Permixon shown in animal studies and controlled clinical trials, may thus result from a direct action at the cytosolic receptor.     

An androgen binding protein in the testis cytosol fraction of adult rats. Comparison with the androgen binding protein in the epididymis

The cytosol fraction of rat testicular homogenates contained a specific androgen binding protein (t-ABP), indistinguishable from, the androgen binding protean in. the epididymis(e-ABP) in terms of its chromatographic behaviour by gel filtration, sedimentation rate, mobility on polyacrylamide electrophoresis and steroid specificity(5α-diaydrotestosterone(DHT) > testosterone > estradiol-17β > parogesterone and estradiol-17α).The stability of t-ABP as well was similar to that of e-ABP. The aBP-DHT complexes were stable between pH 6.5–10, exhibiting the highest degree of binding between pH 8–9. The binding activity persisted after heating at 50°C for 30 min., whereas heating at 60°C for 30 min. completely destroyed the binding. DHT did not significantly increase the stability towards pH and temperature denaturation. Binding activity was not reduced by 1 mM p-chloro-mercuri-phenyl-sulphonate (PCMPS), whereas similar treatment with 1 nM N-ethyl-maleimide(NEM) or 1 mM Ellman's reagent reduced it by some 10–50 per cent. Exposure to 10 mM β-mercaptoethanol(βME) reduced the binding by 60–70 per cent. These studies strongly indicate that t-ABP and e-ABP are identical proteins.Hemicastration for 4 weeks eliminated the ABP from the epididymal cytosol fraction on the castrated side, indicating that this protein is produced by the testis.     

Postnatal development of lectin-binding pattern in the rat testis and epididymis

Seven rhodamine-conjugated lectins were utilized to study the distribution of glycoproteins in the developing rat testis and epididymis. In the testis a clear developmental pattern was found in Leydig cells and the cell boundaries between Sertoli and spermatogenic cells, as well as during acrosome formation. Some of the first degenerating meiotic cells and the apical extensions of the Sertoli cells at the time of spermiation also displayed a characteristic lectin binding. The epididymal differentiation was characterized by an increasing lectin binding of the subapical Golgi zone and apical surface, and intratubular secretion prior to the arrival of sperm. After the accumulation of tubular secretion and sperm some epithelial cells were transformed into narrow (initial segment) and light cells (distal caput, cauda) with a strong affinity for some lectins. These cells appeared to be responsible for the absorption and digestion of tubular material derived from the testis and of surplus secretion and/or sperm structures.     

Immunolocalization of estrogen and androgen receptors and steroid concentrations in the stallion epididymis

The presence of steroids and their receptors throughout development, specifically androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta), in the epididymis of a high estrogen producing species like the stallion has not been determined. Epididymal and testicular samples were collected for analysis of testosterone and estradiol-17beta (E(2)) concentrations and for immunolocalization of AR, ERalpha and ERbeta. The concentration of testosterone in the testis and epididymis were not different among age groups (P>0.05). AR was localized in the principal cells of the caput, corpus and cauda in all four age groups. This lack of change in testosterone concentration and receptor localization suggests that testosterone is important for both development and maintenance of epididymal function. There was an age-related increase in E(2) concentrations in all regions of the epididymis (P<0.05), suggesting that E(2) is also important for adult function. ERbeta was localized in the principal cells of the caput, corpus and cauda in all four age groups, but the localization of ERalpha was regional and age dependent. In peri-pubertal animals, ERalpha immunostaining was most prominent and estradiol was similarly present in all three epididymal regions; this suggests that estradiol also plays a key role in the maturation of the stallion epididymis during the pubertal transition when sperm first arrive in the epididymis. In conclusion, these results suggest that the stallion epididymis is regulated by both androgens and estrogens throughout development and that estradiol is more important to epididymal function in the stallion than previously believed.