Effects of hypoxia on testosterone release in rat Leydig cells

The aim of this study was to explore the effect and action mechanisms of intermittent hypoxia on the production of testosterone both in vivo and in vitro. Male rats were housed in a hypoxic chamber (12% O2 + 88% N2, 1.5 l/ml) 8 h/day for 4 days. Normoxic rats were used as control. In an in vivo experiment, hypoxic and normoxic rats were euthanized and the blood samples collected. In the in vitro experiment, the enzymatically dispersed rat Leydig cells were prepared and challenged with forskolin (an adenylyl cyclase activator, 10−4 M), 8-Br-cAMP (a membrane-permeable analog of cAMP, 10−4 M), hCG (0.05 IU), the precursors of the biosynthesis testosterone, including 25-OH-C (10−5 M), pregnenolone (10−7 M), progesterone (10−7 M), 17-OH-progesterone (10−7 M), and androstendione (10−7-10−5 M), nifedipine (L-type Ca2+ channel blocker, 10−6-10−4 M), nimodipine (L-type Ca2+ channel blocker, 10−5 M), tetrandrine (L-type Ca2+ channel blocker, 10−5 M), and NAADP (calcium-signaling messenger causing release of calcium...