FSH stimulation of DNA synthesis in Sertoli cells in culture.

The incorporation of [2H]thymidine into nuclear DNA was investigated in cultured Sertoli cells prepared from testes of 20-day-old rats. Addition of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or dibutyryl cyclic, 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (DBCAMP) to the culture medium greatly increased incorporation, expressed either as total amounts of [3H]thymidine incorporated per mug DNA or as the percentage of Sertoli cells with labeled nuclear DNA. No stimulation was observed in cells cultured in the presence of testosterone, insulin or cyclic 3',5'-GMP (cGMP). Light and electron microscopic autoradiographic analysis was employed to establish the identity of Sertoli cells having labeled nuclear DNA. Contaminating spermatogonia, which also took up labeled [3H]thymidine, were excluded from cell counts. In addition, Sertoli cells prepared from testes of irradiated 20-day-old germinal cell depleted rats were also observed to incorporate more [3H]thymidine into nuclear DNA when cultured in a chemically defined medium in the presence of FSH. DNA synthesis was abolished by prior treatment of cells with cytosine arabinoside. In separate experiments, the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA of peritubular myoid cells was shown to be independent of FSH or dbcAMP.