ArticleMolecular endocrinology (Baltimore, Md.)2013
Contribution of Leydig and Sertoli cells to testosterone production in mouse fetal testes.
Article in Molecular endocrinology (Baltimore, Md.), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 108 papers.
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108 citing papers in PubMed, 284 citations in OpenAlex.
- A porcine model of chronic hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection identifies male reproductive glands as sites of viral persistence.Virulence · 2026Article
- Post-translational modification of proteins in the human testis development pathway.Human reproduction update · 2026Review
- Trimester Specific Anatomical and Histological Characterization of Testicular Descent and Development in Sheep Foetuses.Veterinary medicine and science · 2026Article
- YAP/TEAD complex restricts H3K27ac deposition to suppress testosterone synthesis in adult Leydig cells.Histochemistry and cell biology · 2026Article
- Androgen signaling is dispensable for fetal testis formation: decoupling testis organogenesis from fetal masculinization programming.Molecular human reproduction · 2026Review
- Black Phosphorus Nanosheets Penetrate the Blood-Testis Barrier and Induce Reproductive Toxicity in Male Mice.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Supporting-like cells constitute an alternative steroidogenic lineage conserved in amniotes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Seminiferous tubule-inspired coaxial bioprinting-derived extracellular vesicles restore Leydig cell steroidogenesis through modulation of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Article
- C2orf74 orchestrates germ-Leydig crosstalk to inhibit white adipose tissue browning in male mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha regulates fetal testis differentiation via an ERK-CREB axis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Single-cell atlas of rhesus monkey testis reveals aging- and season-dependent regulation of spermatogenesis and microenvironment homeostasis.International journal of biological sciences · 2026Article
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- Single-cell resolution uncovers neighboring cell subtypes that share steroidogenic capacity during fetal testis development.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Effect of Inhibin Immunization on Reproductive Hormones and Testicular Morphology of Dezhou Donkeys During the Non-Breeding Season.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- A dynamic transcriptional cell atlas of testes development after birth in Hu sheep.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Transcriptomic dynamics and cell-to-cell communication during the transition of prospermatogonia to spermatogonia revealed at single-cell resolution.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Potential effect of FLASH radiotherapy on testicular damage: a review of current evidence.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- scRNA-Seq-Based Transcriptome Profiling and Relevant Bioinformatics Approaches to Uncover Novel Insights in Studying Human Spermatogenesis.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025Review
- Sertoli cells as a hub in testicular development and male reproductive.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Review
48 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Testosterone is a final product of androgenic hormone biosynthesis, and Leydig cells are known to be the primary source of androgens. In the mammalian testis, two distinct populations of Leydig cells, the fetal and the adult Leydig cells, develop sequentially, and these two cell types differ both morphologically and functionally. It is well known that the adult Leydig cells maintain male reproductive function by producing testosterone. However, it has been controversial whether fetal Leydig cells can produce testosterone, and the synthetic pathway of testosterone in the fetal testis is not fully understood. In the present study, we generated transgenic mice in which enhanced green fluorescence protein was expressed under the control of a fetal Leydig cell-specific enhancer of the Ad4BP/SF-1 (Nr5a1) gene. The transgene construct was prepared by mutating the LIM homeodomain transcription factor (LHX9)-binding sequence in the promoter, which abolished promoter activity in the undifferentiated testicular cells. These transgenic mice were used to collect highly pure fetal Leydig cells. Gene expression and steroidogenic enzyme activities in the fetal Leydig cells as well as in the fetal Sertoli cells and adult Leydig cells were analyzed. Our results revealed that the fetal Leydig cells synthesize only androstenedione because they lack expression of Hsd17b3, and fetal Sertoli cells convert androstenedione to testosterone, whereas adult Leydig cells synthesize testosterone by themselves. The current study demonstrated that both Leydig and Sertoli cells are required for testosterone synthesis in the mouse fetal testis.
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