A Novel Model Using AAV9-Cre to Knockout Adult Leydig Cell Gene Expression Reveals a Physiological Role of Glucocorticoid Receptor Signalling in Leydig Cell Function
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Darbey, Annalucia LL
Chensee, Grace
Lawrence, Ben MM
O'Donnell, Liza
Kelso, Joanna
Reed, Natalie
Parameswaran, Shanmathi
Smith, Sarah
Smith, Lee BB
Rebourcet, Diane
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Abstract
Glucocorticoids are steroids involved in key physiological processes such as development, metabolism, inflammatory and stress responses and are mostly used exogenously as medications to treat various inflammation-based conditions. They act via the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expressed in most cells. Exogenous glucocorticoids can negatively impact the function of the Leydig cells in the testis, leading to decreased androgen production. However, endogenous glucocorticoids are produced by the adrenal and within the testis, but whether their action on GR in Leydig cells regulates steroidogenesis is unknown. This study aimed to define the role of endogenous GR signalling in adult Leydig cells. We developed and compared two models; an inducible Cre transgene driven by expression of the Cyp17a1 steroidogenic gene (Cyp17-iCre) that depletes GR during development and a viral vector-driven Cre (AAV9-Cre) to deplete GR in adulthood. The delivery of AAV9-Cre ablated GR in adult mouse Leydig cells depleted Leydig cell GR more efficiently than the Cyp17-iCre model. Importantly, adult depletion of GR in Leydig cells caused reduced expression of luteinising hormone receptor (Lhcgr) and of steroidogenic enzymes required for normal androgen production. These findings reveal that Leydig cell GR signalling plays a physiological role in the testis and highlight that a normal balance of glucocorticoid activity in the testis is important for steroidogenesis.
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International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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23
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23
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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Endocrinology
Biochemistry and cell biology
Microbiology
Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Physical Sciences
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
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Gannon, A-L; Darbey, ALL; Chensee, G; Lawrence, BMM; O'Donnell, L; Kelso, J; Reed, N; Parameswaran, S; Smith, S; Smith, LBB; Rebourcet, D, A Novel Model Using AAV9-Cre to Knockout Adult Leydig Cell Gene Expression Reveals a Physiological Role of Glucocorticoid Receptor Signalling in Leydig Cell Function, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022, 23 (23), pp. 15015