Stimulationin Vitroby Adenosine-3',5'-Cyclic Monophosphate of Steroidogenesis in Rat Testis

Abstract

The nucleotide adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic 3',5'-AMP) added in vitro to slices of rat testes increased the conversion of cholesterol-7α-³H to testosterone-³H and increased the biosynthesis of testosterone from endogenous precursors. These findings are in accord with the well-known influence of cyclic 3',5'-AMP upon steroidogenesis in adrenal and corpus luteum and with the suggestion that the cyclic nucleotide may play a part in the mechanism by which trophic hormones accelerate steroid production, since the nucleotide, like the trophic hormones, acts beyond cholesterol. The previously reported failure of cyclic 3',5'-AMP to stimulate steroidogenesis in rabbit testes is discussed. (Endocrinology79: 647, 1989)