Testosterone production by a Leydig tumor cell line is suppressed by hyperthermia-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress in mice

摘要

Aims: Leydig cells arc characterized by their ability to produce testosterone. When the Leydig cells arc unable to produce enough testosterone, spermatogenesis fails completely. Considering this, it is of great interest to investigate whether the expressions of steroidogenic enzymes arc affected by testicular heat stress. This study aimed to demonstrate that heat induced ER-stress significantly influences steroidogenic enzyme expression and testosterone production in the Leydig cells.