Journal of Andrology, Vol 22, Issue 6 953-960, Copyright © 2001 by The American Society of Andrology

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Inhibins in the male Gottingen miniature pig: Leydig cells are the predominant source of inhibin B

W. Jin, K. Y. Arai, C. B. Herath, M. Kondo, H. Ishi, Y. Tanioka, G. Watanabe, N. P. Groome and K. Taya
Department of Basic Veterinary Science, The United Graduate School of Veterinary Science, Gifu University, Japan.

The expression of inhibin subunits in the testes of the Gottingen miniature pig was examined by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. In addition, the major forms were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Strong positive immunostaining for the inhibin alpha subunit was observed in Sertoli and late-stage germ cells, but it was weak in Leydig cells. However, Leydig cells showed strong positive staining for the betaA subunit, but Sertoli cells and spermatogonia showed a weak reaction. Strong positive immunostaining for the betaB subunit was observed in Leydig cells but spermatogonia showed weak staining for it. In contrast to the staining specificity of inhibin alpha and betaA subunits, the betaB subunit did not exhibit positive staining in Sertoli cells. In situ hybridization revealed that although the a subunit mRNA signal was highly expressed in all cell types, the reaction appeared to be stronger in Sertoli cells and spermatogonia than in Leydig cells. betaA subunit mRNA expression was somewhat identical to that of the alpha subunit, however, germ cells showed a weak stain for it. A strong, positive mRNA signal for the betaB subunit was confined to Leydig cells and late-stage germ cells. ELISA results showed that concentrations of inhibin B and inhibin pro-alphaC were high in the circulation and testes. In contrast, inhibin A levels in both plasma and testes were undetectable. The present results strongly suggest that inhibin B is the major form of circulating inhibin and that Leydig cells are the predominant source of this dimeric inhibin in male Gottingen miniature pigs. Furthermore, the germ cells also appear to be an important source of circulating inhibins.

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