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Expression of P-450 aromatase, estrogen receptor α and β, and α-inhibin in the fetal baboon testis after estrogen suppression during the second half of gestation

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Abstract

Expression of the molecules that modulate the synthesis and action of estrogen in, or reflect function of, Sertoli cells was determined in the fetal testis of baboons in which estrogen levels were suppressed in the second half of gestation to determine whether this may account for the previously reported alteration in fetal testis germ cell development. P-450 aromatase, estrogen receptor (ER) β, and α-inhibin protein assessed by immunocytochemistry was abundantly expressed in Sertoli cells of the fetal baboon testis, but unaltered in baboons in which estrogen levels were suppressed by letrozole administration. Moreover, P-450 aromatase and ERα and β mRNA levels, assessed by real-time RT-PCR, were similar in germ/Sertoli cells and interstitial cells isolated from the fetal testis of untreated and letrozole-treated baboons. These results indicate that expression of the proteins that modulate the formation and action of estrogen in, and function of, Sertoli cells is not responsible for the changes in germ cell development in the fetal testis of estrogen-deprived baboons.

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Acknowledgments

The study is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD/NIH through Cooperative Agreement U54 HD36207 to the University of Maryland as part of the Specialized Cooperative Centers Program in Reproduction and Infertility Research. The secretarial assistance of Mrs. Wanda James with preparation of the manuscript is greatly appreciated. We thank Novartis Pharma (Basel, Switzerland) for generously providing the aromatase inhibitor letrozole to conduct this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences, and Physiology, Center for Studies in Reproduction, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Bressler Research Laboratories 11-019, 655 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Thomas W. Bonagura, Hui Zhou, Jeffery S. Babischkin & Eugene D. Albrecht

  2. Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Gerald J. Pepe

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  1. Thomas W. Bonagura
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  2. Hui Zhou
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  3. Jeffery S. Babischkin
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  4. Gerald J. Pepe
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  5. Eugene D. Albrecht
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Correspondence to Eugene D. Albrecht.

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Bonagura, T.W., Zhou, H., Babischkin, J.S. et al. Expression of P-450 aromatase, estrogen receptor α and β, and α-inhibin in the fetal baboon testis after estrogen suppression during the second half of gestation. Endocr 39, 75–82 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-010-9414-5

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