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Age changes in the mitochondria and succinoxidase system of the Leydig cell

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Summary

The succinic dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase content of the Leydig cell were studied by histochemical means in the mouse during the first ten weeks of postnatal life; ultrastructural details of Leydig mitochondria were examined at the same time.

Both enzymes appear at the end of the third week; mitochondria are present at all ages and do not change with advancing maturity. All three constituents increase with age, the increase is most marked during the 4th–6th weeks of life, and all increase at a compound rate of about 12% per day. The three components are closely related, though some succinic dehydrogenase may have an extra-mitochondrial locus; their increase is thought to be merely an expression of Leydig tissue growth and does not represent a true rise in cellular or mitochondrial enzyme concentrations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow, Scotland

    A. H. Baillie

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  1. A. H. Baillie
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Acknowledgment. The author is grateful for the research facilities provided in the Anatomy Department of the University of Glasgow.

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Baillie, A.H. Age changes in the mitochondria and succinoxidase system of the Leydig cell. Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 62, 72–79 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339052

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00339052

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