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Asian Journal of Andrology (2012) 14, 643-648; doi:10.1038/aja.2011.183; published online 21 May 2012
Chronic stress induces ageing-associated degeneration in rat Leydig cells
Fei-Fei Wang, Qian Wang, Yong Chen, Qiang Lin, Hui-Bao Gao and Ping Zhang
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200025, China
Correspondence: Dr P Zhang, (ssmuzp@yahoo.com.cn)
Received 23 July 2011; Revised 30 November 2011; Accepted 13 December 2011
Advance online publication 21 May 2012.
| Abstract |
Several studies have suggested that stress and ageing exert inhibitory effects on rat Leydig cells. In a pattern similar to the normal process of Leydig cell ageing, stress-mediated increases in glucocorticoid levels inhibit steroidogenic enzyme expression that then results in decreased testosterone secretion. We hypothesized that chronic stress accelerates the degenerative changes associated with ageing in Leydig cells. To test this hypothesis, we established a model of chronic stress to evaluate stress-induced morphological and functional alterations in Brown Norway rat Leydig cells; additionally, intracellular lipofuscin levels, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and DNA damage were assessed. The results showed that chronic stress accelerated ageing-related changes: ultrastructural alterations associated with ageing, cellular lipofuscin accumulation, increased ROS levels and more extensive DNA damage were observed. Additionally, testosterone levels were decreased. This study sheds new light on the idea that chronic stress contributes to the degenerative changes associated with ageing in rat Leydig cells in vivo.
Keywords: Ageing; chronic stress; DNA damage; Leydig cells; reactive oxygen species |
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