MacCalman C D, Getsios S, Farookhi R, Blaschuk O W
Department of Surgery, McGill University, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Endocrinology. 1997 Jan;138(1):41-8. doi: 10.1210/endo.138.1.4831.
Gonadal steroids and FSH are key regulators of Sertoli cell function. N-Cadherin (N-cad) is a calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecule that mediates Sertoli cell-germ cell interactions. We recently demonstrated that steroids, in particular estradiol, are potent regulators of testicular N-cad messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in vivo. In view of the cooperative effects of steroids and FSH on Sertoli cell-germ cell interactions, we examined the combined effects of these hormones on N-cad mRNA levels in cultured mouse Sertoli cells. FSH was capable of increasing N-cad mRNA levels 2-fold in these cells. The effects of FSH on N-cad mRNA levels in cultured Sertoli cells were mimicked by cAMP-inducing agents. Treatment of the Sertoli cell cultures with FSH and estradiol stimulated N-cad mRNA levels 3-fold, whereas steroids alone had no effect on N-cad mRNA levels. These studies demonstrate that FSH and estradiol in combination are required to achieve maximal N-cad mRNA levels in cultured Sertoli cells. The results obtained from these studies substantiate the hypothesis that estrogens play a pivotal role in regulating spermatogenesis.
性腺类固醇激素和促卵泡激素（FSH）是支持细胞功能的关键调节因子。N-钙黏蛋白（N-cad）是一种钙依赖性细胞黏附分子，介导支持细胞与生殖细胞间的相互作用。我们最近证明，类固醇激素，尤其是雌二醇，是体内睾丸N-钙黏蛋白信使核糖核酸（mRNA）水平的有效调节因子。鉴于类固醇激素和FSH对支持细胞与生殖细胞间相互作用具有协同效应，我们研究了这些激素对培养的小鼠支持细胞中N-cad mRNA水平的联合作用。FSH能够使这些细胞中的N-cad mRNA水平提高2倍。环磷酸腺苷（cAMP）诱导剂可模拟FSH对培养的支持细胞中N-cad mRNA水平的作用。用FSH和雌二醇处理支持细胞培养物可使N-cad mRNA水平提高3倍，而单独使用类固醇激素对N-cad mRNA水平没有影响。这些研究表明，FSH和雌二醇联合作用对于在培养的支持细胞中实现最大N-cad mRNA水平是必需的。这些研究结果证实了雌激素在调节精子发生过程中起关键作用这一假说。
