Effects of Cordyceps sinensis on testosterone production in normal mouse Leydig cells

The stimulatory effect of Cordyceps sinensis (CS) on MA-10 mouse Leydig tum or cell steroidogenesis was previously demonstrated in our laboratory. In t he present studies, we further determined the effect of CS on steroidogenes is in purified normal mouse Leydig cells. Different concentrations of CS (0 .1-10 mg/ml) were added to Leydig cells without or with human chorionic gon adotropin (hCG) (50 ng/ml), and the steroid production was determined by ra dioimmunoassay (RIA). The results illustrated that CS stimulated normal mou se Leydig cell steroidogenesis in a dose-dependent relationship. CS at 3 mg /ml significantly stimulated testosterone production (p <0.05). Concerning the temporal relationship, CS at 3 mg/ml stimulated maximal testosterone pr oduction between 2 to 3 hr. Interestingly, hCG-stimulated testosterone prod uctions were suppressed by CS in a dose-dependent relationship. CS also red uced dbcAMP-stimulated testosterone productions, which indicated that CS af fected signal transduction pathway of steroidogenesis after the formation o f cyclic AMP. Moreover, cycloheximide inhibited CS-treated mouse Leydig cel l testosterone production, suggesting that new protein synthesis was requir ed for CS-stimulated steroidogenesis. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All ri ghts reserved.