Effect of gossypol on macromolecular synthesis in rat testis. An in vitro study.

Gossypol at a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml has been reported to be a specific inhibitor of DNA synthesis in mammalian cells in vitro. The present study investigates the in vitro effect of different concentrations of gossypol on rat testis tissue. In the presence of gossypol at a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml, DNA - as well as RNA - and protein synthesis were decreased to about 35% of the activity of controls. From these results it can be assumed that in rat testis tissue, gossypol acts as a more general inhibitor of macromolecular synthesis, an effect which may be at some common mechanism such as transport of precursors into the cells rather than a specific effect on the individual processes.