CICS-UBI-Health Sciences Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-506 Covilhã, Portugal.
Biosci Rep. 2012 Feb;32(1):61-9. doi: 10.1042/BSR20110030.
Sertoli cells actively metabolize glucose that is converted into lactate, which is used by developing germ cells for their energy metabolism. Androgens and oestrogens have general metabolic roles that reach far beyond reproductive processes. Hence, the main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sex hormones on metabolite secretion/consumption in primary cultures of rat Sertoli cells. Sertoli cell-enriched cultures were maintained in a defined medium for 50 h. Glucose and pyruvate consumption, and lactate and alanine secretion were determined, by 1H-NMR (proton NMR) spectra analysis, in the presence or absence of 100 nM E2 (17β-oestradiol) or 100 nM 5α-DHT (dihydrotestosterone). Cells cultured in the absence (control) or presence of E2 consumed the same amount of glucose (29±2 pmol/cell) at similar rates during the 50 h. After 25 h of treatment with DHT, glucose consumption and glucose consumption rate significantly increased. Control and E2-treated cells secreted similar amounts of lactate during the 50 h, while the amount of lactate secreted by DHT-treated cells was significantly lower. Such a decrease was concomitant with a significant decrease in LDH A [LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) chain A] and MCT4 [MCT (monocarboxylate transporter) isoform 4] mRNA levels after 50 h treatment in hormonally treated groups, being more pronounced in DHT-treated groups. Finally, alanine production was significantly increased in E2-treated cells after 25 h treatment, which indicated a lower redox/higher oxidative state for the cells in those conditions. Together, these results support the existence of a relation between sex hormones action and energy metabolism, providing an important assessment of androgens and oestrogens as metabolic modulators in rat Sertoli cells.
支持细胞积极代谢葡萄糖，转化为乳酸，发育中的生殖细胞将其用于能量代谢。雄激素和雌激素具有广泛的代谢作用，远远超出生殖过程。因此，本研究的主要目的是研究性激素对大鼠支持细胞原代培养物中代谢物分泌/消耗的影响。支持细胞富集培养物在定义的培养基中培养 50 小时。通过 1H-NMR（质子 NMR）谱分析，在存在或不存在 100 nM E2（17β-雌二醇）或 100 nM 5α-DHT（二氢睾酮）的情况下，测定葡萄糖和丙酮酸消耗以及乳酸和丙氨酸分泌。在缺乏（对照）或存在 E2 的情况下培养的细胞在 50 小时内以相似的速率消耗相同量的葡萄糖（29±2 pmol/细胞）。用 DHT 处理 25 小时后，葡萄糖消耗和葡萄糖消耗率显着增加。在 50 小时的治疗过程中，对照和 E2 处理的细胞分泌相似量的乳酸，而 DHT 处理的细胞分泌的乳酸量显着降低。这种减少伴随着 LDH A [LDH（乳酸脱氢酶）链 A]和 MCT4 [MCT（单羧酸转运蛋白）同工型 4]mRNA 水平在激素处理组中在 50 小时处理后的显着降低，在 DHT 处理组中更为明显。最后，在 E2 处理的细胞中，丙氨酸的产生在 25 小时处理后显着增加，这表明细胞在这些条件下具有较低的氧化还原/较高的氧化状态。总之，这些结果支持性激素作用与能量代谢之间存在关系，并为雄激素和雌激素作为大鼠支持细胞代谢调节剂提供了重要评估。
