Stimulation of polyamine biosynthesis by follicle-stimulating hormone in serum-free cultures of rat Sertoli cells.

Sertoli cells derived from 21-day-old rats were cultured in serum-free Ham's F-10 medium to allow a direct investigation of the effects of FSH on polyamine (PA) biosynthesis in a defined culture system. After 48 h in culture, the basal cellular content consisted predominantly of spermine (1.1 nmol/mg protein) with substantially lower amounts of spermidine (0.1 nmol/mg protein) and undetectable amounts of putrescine. Upon the addition of ovine FSH (3 X 10(-9) M), cellular spermine content became significantly elevated above the control value as early as 1 h after treatment, reaching a 2.5-fold stimulation by 4 h. Spermidine was also elevated by 4 h after FSH treatment, but remained less than 20% of the spermine concentration. At no time did the cellular content of putrescine increase to measurable levels. Extended time-course studies demonstrated that the FSH-induced cellular increase in spermine and spermidine content persisted up to 24 h during the continuous presence of FSH. Bu2cAMP (5 mM) invoked similar changes in PA levels when measured at 4, 8, and 24 h. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity, which catalyzes the production of putrescine, was increased by FSH in a temporal fashion similar to that of spermine production. Addition of alpha-difluoromethylornithine, an irreversible inhibitor of ODC, blocked increases in both ODC activity and PA in cells stimulated with FSH or Bu2cAMP. Pulse-chase experiments using [3H]ornithine demonstrate that putrescine is initially synthesized, and is subsequently converted to spermidine and spermine. These studies suggest that regulation of PA biosynthesis by FSH is largely expressed as increases in spermine, and to a lesser extent spermidine, suggesting that the more complex PAs may be involved in the regulation of Sertoli cell function.