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Science 20 January 1989:
Vol. 243. no. 4889, pp. 396 - 398
DOI: 10.1126/science.2492117
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Articles

Science, Vol 243, Issue 4889, 396-398
Copyright © 1989 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Secretion of activin by interstitial cells in the testis

W Lee, AJ Mason, R Schwall, E Szonyi, and JP Mather

Department of Cell Culture, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080.

Activin, a dimer formed by the beta subunits of inhibin, has an effect that is opposite to that of inhibin in a number of biological systems. Which cell types secrete activin in vivo is not known. TM3 cells, a Leydig-derived cell line, contained messenger RNAs that hybridized with human beta A and beta B complementary DNA probes and were similar in size to the porcine messenger RNA for the beta subunits of inhibin. No hybridization to the inhibin alpha subunit was detectable in the TM3 cells. Conditioned medium from TM3 cells and from primary cultures of rat and porcine interstitial cells stimulated the release of follicle-stimulating hormone in a pituitary cell culture assay. It is likely that, in the testis, the Leydig cells secrete activin and the Sertoli cells produce inhibin, or a combination of both.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Reciprocal regulation of activin A and inhibin B by interleukin-1 (IL-1) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in rat Sertoli cells in vitro.
Y Okuma, K Saito, A E O'Connor, D J Phillips, D M de Kretser, and M P Hedger (2005)
J. Endocrinol. 185, 99-110
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Expression and Regulation of Transcription Factors GATA-4 and GATA-6 in Developing Mouse Testis.
I. Ketola, N. Rahman, J. Toppari, M. Bielinska, S. B. Porter-Tinge, J. S. Tapanainen, I. T. Huhtaniemi, D. B. Wilson, and M. Heikinheimo (1999)
Endocrinology 140, 1470-1480
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Testicular GATA-1 Factor Up-Regulates the Promoter Activity of Rat Inhibin {alpha}-Subunit Gene in MA-10 Leydig Tumor Cells.
Z.-M. Feng, A. Z. Wu, and C.-L. C. Chen (1998)
Mol. Endocrinol. 12, 378-390
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Identification, Isolation, and Characterization of a 41-Kilodalton Protein from Rat Germ Cell-Conditioned Medium Exhibiting Concentration-Dependent Dual Biological Activities.
G. R. Aravindan, D. Mruk, W. M. Lee, and C. Y. Cheng (1997)
Endocrinology 138, 3259-3268
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Endocrinology.
M. E. Molitch (1990)
JAMA 263, 2639-2640
   Abstract »    PDF »


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