Immunohistochemical study of intermediate filament and neuroendocrin markers expression on Leydig cells in laboratory rodents.

ORTEGA HH; LORENTE JA; SALVETTI NR

ANATOMIA HISTOLOGIA EMBRYOLOGIA-JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE SERIES C

Blackwell

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2004 vol. 33 p. 309 - 315

0340-2096

The aims of this study were to detect the expression of intermediate filaments and to verify the existence of marker substances for neuronal and neuroendocrine cells within the interstitial Leydig cells of laboratory rodent’s testes, such as it has been described in other species. Adult male rats, mice, gerbils, syrian hamsters and guinea pigs were used and the localization of the differents markers was achieved by the streptoavidin-peroxidase immunohistochemical method. The present study demonstrates in all rodents studied a similar pattern of localization in Leydig cells of intermediate filaments (vimentin, cytokeratin, NF-200 and GFAP) and other marker substances (S-100, Chro A, Substance P and NSE), which are typical of neuroendocrine (APUD-cells or paraneurons) and glial cells. The expression of these substances, related to neurotransmitters or neurohomones and other proteins characteristics of neuroendocrine cells, could suggest that it is a neural crest derived cell. Although this study provides more evidences about the immunoexpression of neuronal and glial markers in Leydig cells, this fact cannot be related directly with their embryological origin, since the current data support the hypothesis of a mesenchymal origin of the Leydig cells.