The effects and mechanism of c-jun on testosterone secretion in isolated rat Leydig cells

Objectives: To investigate the effects and mechanism of c-jun on hCG induced testosterone secretion in isolated rat Leydig cells (LC) by antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ASODNs). Methods: hCG was used to induce the testosterone secretion of LC, c-jun ASODNs were used to antagonise the effects of c-jun, then cAMP were added and testosterone was measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: The testosterone secretion of LC in vitro could be induced by hCG, which was a good model for the functional study of LC. c-jun ASODNs decreased hCG-induced testosterone secretion of LC in a dose-dependent manner and cAMP increased the testosterone secretion (P <0.01). Conclusion: It is suggested that c-jun proto-oncogene enhanced the testosterone secretion of LC and the expression of c-jun is possibly connected with cAMP.