TEMPORAL CHANGES IN SULFATED GLYCOPROTEIN-2 (CLUSTERIN) AND ORNITHINEDECARBOXYLASE MESSENGER-RNA LEVELS IN THE RAT TESTIS AFTER ETHANE-DIMETHANE SULFONATE-INDUCED DEGENERATION OF LEYDIG-CELLS
A. Frasoldati et al., TEMPORAL CHANGES IN SULFATED GLYCOPROTEIN-2 (CLUSTERIN) AND ORNITHINEDECARBOXYLASE MESSENGER-RNA LEVELS IN THE RAT TESTIS AFTER ETHANE-DIMETHANE SULFONATE-INDUCED DEGENERATION OF LEYDIG-CELLS, International journal of andrology, 18(1), 1995, pp. 46-54
Short- (3-24 h) and long-term (4-50 days) changes in sulphated glycopr
otein-2 (SGP3) and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) mRNA levels in the ad
ult rat testis were studied following a single dose of ethane-dimethan
e sulphonate (EDS), to destroy the Leydig cells. Distribution patterns
of SGP-2 and ODC labelling were consistent with prevailing expression
of the two transcripts in Sertoli cells and germ cells, respectively
This pattern did not show appreciable changes following EDS administra
tion. No labelling of SGP-2 mRNA was noted in the interstitium of cont
rol and EDS-treated rats. This finding indicates that Leydig cell deat
h induced by EDS is not associated with increased SGP-2 mRNA levels, a
phenomenon related to apoptotic cell death in many tissues. Semi-quan
titative densitometric analysis of the preparations demonstrated diffe
rential changes in SGP-2 and ODC mRNA levels in:the tubular compartmen
t following EDS treatment. At 6, but not at 3 and 12, h following EDS
administration, SGP-2 mRNA levels showed a significant increase, possi
bly secondary to a direct effect of the alkylating agent on Sertoli ce
lls. A significant decrease in ODC mRNA levels was observed from day 7
to day 28, matching degenerative changes in the seminiferous epitheli
um. In contrast, a decrease in SGP-2 transcript levels was observed fr
om days 21-35 after treatment. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate
that SGP3 mRNA, a putative marker of apoptosis, is not altered in the
testicular interstitium during EDS-induced degeneration of Leydig cel
ls. In the tubular compartment, the content of both ODC and SGP-2 mRNA
s following EDS administration appears to be dependent mostly on the i
ntegrity of the germ cell complement and not to be influenced directly
by changes in testosterone levels.