Ethane 1,2-dimethane sulfonate(EDS)은 Leydig cells(LC)만을 선별적 사멸을 유도하는 약물로서 가역적인 테스토스테론(testosterone, T) 결핍 흰쥐 모델을 만드는데 널리 사용된다. 본 연구에서는 수컷 흰쥐 뇌하수체의 생식소자극호르몬인 LH와 FSH의 발현에 미치는 EDS 투여 효과를 조사하였다. 성숙한 수컷 흰쥐(SD strain, B.W.)에 EDS(75 mg/kg, i.p.)를 1회 복강주사하고 주사 후
Ethane 1,2-dimethane sulfonate(EDS), a toxin which specifically kills Leydig cells(LC), has been widely used to prepare the reversible testosterone(T) depletion rat model. In the present study, we monitored the gene expression profiles of pituitary gonadotropins, LH and FSH, up to 7 weeks after EDS injection. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats( B.W.) were injected with a single dose of EDS(75 mg/kg i.p.) and sacrificed on weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Total RNAs were purified from each pituitary, and the message levels of common alpha subunit() of pituitary glycoprotein hormones, LH beta subunit(), FSH beta subunit() and GnRH receptor(GnRH-R) were evaluated by semi-quantitative RT-PCRs. The message levels of increased sharply during weeks 1-4, then return to the control level on week 5. The mRNA levels of were elevated after week 2, reached the peak at week 4, then declined to the control level after week 5. The message levels of were elevated after week 2, reached the peak at week 3, then declined to the nadir at week 5. Similarly, the mRNA levels of GnRH-R were elevated after week 2, reached the peak at week 3, then gradually declined to the control level after week 5. The present study indicated that EDS treatment could induce reversible alterations in the transcriptional activities of gonadotropin subunits and GnRH-R in the anterior pituitary from male rats. EDS injection model might be useful to understand the mechanism of hormonal regulation of hypothalamus- pituitary neuroendocrine axis in male rats.