Autophagy regulates testosterone synthesis by facilitating cholesterol uptake in Leydig cells.

ABSTRACT: Testosterone is indispensable for sexual development and maintaining male characteristics, and deficiency of this hormone results in primary or late-onset hypogonadism (LOH). Testosterone is primarily produced in Leydig cells, where autophagy has been reported to be extremely active. However, the functional role of autophagy in testosterone synthesis remains unknown. In this study, we show that steroidogenic cell-specific disruption of autophagy influenced the sexual behavior of aging male mice because of a reduction in serum testosterone, which is similar to the symptoms of LOH. The decline in testosterone was caused mainly by a defect in cholesterol uptake in autophagy-deficient Leydig cells. Further studies revealed that once autophagic flux was disrupted, Na⁺/H⁺ e

SUBMITTER: Gao F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5987723 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature