Effects of luteinizing hormone and androgen on the development of rat progenitor Leydig cells in vitro and in vivo

Progenitor Leydig cells are derived from stem cells. The proliferation and differentiation of progenitor Leydig cells significantly contributes to Leydig cell number during puberty. However, the regulation of these processes remains unclear. The objective of the present study was to determine whether luteinizing hormone （LH） or androgen contributes to the proliferation and differentiation of progenitor Leydig cells. Fourteen-day-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated for 7 days with NalGlu, which is a gonadotropin- releasing hormone antagonist, to reduce the secretion of LH in the pituitary and thus, androgen in the testis. Rats were co-administered with LH or 7a-methyl-nortestosterone （MENT）, which is an androgen resistant to metabolism by 5a-reductase 1 in progenitor Leydig cells, and the subsequent effects of LH or androgen were measured. 3H-Thymidine was also intravenously injected into rats to study thymidine incorporation in progenitor Leydig cells. Progenitor Leydig cells were examined. NalGlu administration reduced progenitor Leydig cell proliferation by 83%. In addition, LH or MENT treatment restored Leydig cell proliferative capacity to 73% or 50% of control, respectively. The messenger RNA levels of proliferation-related genes were measured using real-time PCR. The expression levels of Igfl, Lifr, Pdgfra, Bcl2, Ccnd3and Pcnawere upregulated by MENT, and those of Pdgfra, Ccnd3and Pcnawere upregulated by LH. Both LH and MENT stimulated the differentiation of progenitor Leydig cells in vitro. We concluded that both LH and MENT were involved in regulating the development of progenitor Leydig cells.