Abstract
Androgens are essential in fetal life for development of the male phenotype (1) and in the adult for maintenance of normal spermatogenesis (2). Androgen action is mediated by a specific intracellular receptor expressed in target tissues that binds testosterone and dihydrotestosterone with high affinity (3). Ligand binding is essential for activation of the receptor, which then binds to specific targets on DNA resulting in modulation of the level of gene expression (4). Recently we have successfully used immunocytochemistry, following microwave antigen retrieval, to demonstrate that androgen receptor (AR) expression in adult rat Sertoli cells (SC) occurs predominantly at stages II-VII of the spermatogenic cycle, with highest levels at stage VII (5)—results in agreement with other investigators (6). In our study AR immunostaining was also detectable in peritubular myoid cells, arterioles, and Leydig cells, but not in germ cells (5).
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Saunders, P.T.K. et al. (1996). Testicular Androgen Receptor Protein: Distribution and Control of Expression. In: Desjardins, C. (eds) Cellular and Molecular Regulation of Testicular Cells. Serono Symposia USA Norwell, Massachusetts. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2374-0_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2374-0_14
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