Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1-2
pubmed:dateCreated
2003-8-28
pubmed:abstractText
Although it is established that in utero exposure to the antiandrogen flutamide induces alteration of spermatogenesis in the adult rat testis offspring, the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in such an effect remain to be investigated. In the present paper, by using as model adult rats exposed in utero to flutamide (0, 2, 10 mg/kg per day), we have investigated the hypothesis that germ cell alterations could be related to defects of energy metabolism and particularly to defects of the production and transport of lactate. Lactate is a preferential energy substrate produced by Sertoli cells and transported to germ cells by monocarboxylate transporters (MCT). A significant decrease (60%, P<0.001) in lactate production was observed in cultured Sertoli cells from rat testes exposed in utero to flutamide from the dose of 2 mg/kg per day. Such a decrease is concurrent to a decrease in lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) mRNA levels (evaluated through semiquantitative RT-PCR) and LDHA4 activity. The decrease in LDHA mRNA levels (to 64 +/- 9% of the control, P<0.05) was observed with the lowest dose (2 mg/kg per day) of flutamide tested. The decrease in LDHA mRNA levels was observed in both the whole testis and in isolated Sertoli cells, suggesting that such a decrease in LDHA expression occurred also in the (Sertoli) cells producing lactate. Lactate is transported from Sertoli cells to germ cells via MCT1 and MCT2. We immunolocalized MCT1 to all the different germ cell types and MCT2 exclusively to elongated spermatids. In the adult testis exposed in utero to flutamide, MCT1 (53 +/- 8%, P<0.02) and MCT2 (52 +/- 9%, P<0.02) mRNA levels were significantly reduced indicating that lactate transport to germ cells could be also altered. Together, these data support (i) the existence of a relationship between the antiandrogen activity and the energy metabolism in the testis and (ii) the concept of an androgen-dependent programming, occurring early in the fetal life in relation to the expression of some of the key genes involved in the production and transport of lactate in the seminiferous tubules.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0303-7207
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
29
pubmed:volume
206
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
137-46
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2003
pubmed:articleTitle
Alteration of lactate production and transport in the adult rat testis exposed in utero to flutamide.
pubmed:affiliation
Faculté de Médicine, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM U407), Lyon-Sud, BP 12, F-69921 Oullins cedex, France.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't