Effects of gamma radiation on luteinizing hormone (LH) receptor expression, signal transduction and steroidogenesis in cultured rat Leydig cells

Purpose: To investigate the dose-dependent effects of gamma radiation on rat Leydig cell luteinizing hormone (LH) receptor expression, signal transduction and steroidogenesis.Materials and methods: Leydig cells isolated from testicles of adult male albino rats were cultured and exposed to different doses (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 Gy) of fractioned gamma radiation for three days. Normal as well as irradiated cells were used for the quantification of cell surface LH receptor or LH/cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) stimulation test or total ribonucleic acid (RNA) isolation to study the LH receptor messenger RNA (mRNA) expression by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Results: Radiation was found to have dose-dependent effects on rat Leydig cell surface LH receptor, basal and LH-stimulated cAMP production, basal, LH and cAMP-stimulated steroidogenesis. Lower doses (2 and 4 Gy) of radiation did not induce any change, whereas higher doses (6, 8 and 10 Gy) of radiation exposure diminished the a...