Assessment of the role of L-glutamine in the regulation of Sertoli cell proliferation

GALARDO M NOEL; GORGA AGOSTINA; RINDONE GUSTAVO MARCELO; PELLIZZARI ELIANA H; CAMBEROS MARIA C; CIGORRAGA SELVA B; RIERA MARÍA F; MERONI SILVINA B

Congreso; LXIII Reunion Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clinica; 2018

The final number of Sertoli cells (SC) reached during the proliferative periods determines sperm production capacity in adulthood. On the other hand, it is well known that nutrient availability plays a pivotal role in the decision of a cell to commit to cell proliferation. Crucial to the decision process is the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), whose activity is controlled by, besides hormones such as FSH, the presence of amino acids (aa). L-glutamine (gln), the most abundant aa in the blood, plays an important role in proliferation in many cell types. However, the role of gln in the regulation of SC proliferation has not been studied yet. The aim of this work was to investigate whether SC depends on the presence of gln to proliferate. SC obtained from 8-day old rats were maintained in the absence or presence of gln (2.5mM) and stimulated with FSH 100ng/ml. BrdU incorporation, cyclin D2 (CCND2) expression by RT-qPCR and phosphorylated mTOR (P-mTOR) levels by western blot were evaluated. Results are expressed as mean±SD of three independent experiments (different letters indicate statistically significant differences, P