PURPOSE Although most Leydig cell tumors are benign, radical orchiectomy is currently considered the standard therapy. We retrospectively analyzed the long-term followup of a series of patients with Leydig cell tumors electively treated with testis sparing surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS Between November 1990 and December 2005, 17 consecutive patients with Leydig cell tumors underwent testis s...

Galectin-1 (Gal-1), a beta galactoside-binding lectin, is involved in multiple biological functions, such as cell adhesion, apoptosis, and metastasis. On the basis of its ability to interact with extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoproteins, we investigated the Gal-1 effect on Leydig cells, which express and are influenced by ECM proteins. In this study, Gal-1 was identified in Leydig cell cultures...

Maternal exposure to estrogenic xenobiotics or phthalates has been implicated in the distortion of early male reproductive development, referred to in humans as the testicular dysgenesis syndrome. It is not known, however, whether such early gestational and/or lactational exposure can influence the later adult-type Leydig cell phenotype. In this study, Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to dibuty...

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether glucocorticoid induces apoptosis in rat Leydig cells. To determine whether there are developmental differences in glucocorticoid sensitivity, Leydig cells were isolated at distinct stages of their differentiation [mesenchymal-like progenitors (PLC), immature Leydig cells (ILC), and adult Leydig cells (ALC)] from 21-, 35-, and 90-d-old Spra...

The effects of human choriogonadotropin (HCG) stimulation on lipid composition in the murine Leydig cell tumor M5480 grown subcutaneously were determined. The main lipids of the Leydig cell tumor were found to be largely triacylglycerols and phospholipids. Daily in vivo administration of human choriogonadotropin to tumor-bearing mice for 3 days increased the phospholipid content and altered the...

It has been shown that testicular germ cell development is critically dependent upon somatic cell activity but, conversely, the extent to which germ cells normally regulate somatic cell function is less clear. This study was designed, therefore, to examine the effect of germ cell depletion on Sertoli cell and Leydig cell transcript levels. Mice were treated with busulphan to deplete the germ ce...

Leydig cell tumor as a sex-cord stromal tumor is a relatively uncommon ovarian tumorin bitch. A 10-year-old female German Shepherd dog was presented because of protrusion of a large tumor-like mass of 16 × 14 × 7 cm in dimensions from her vagina. After stabilization of the patient, the mass was removed surgically and concurrent ovariohysterectomy was also performed. Macroscopically, the healthy...

The Leydigioma is a rare tumor of the testicle. It develops from the proliferation of the interstitial cells or Leydig cells, and compete with the endocrine activity of this organ.[1] It usually arises between 20 year and 50 year of life, and rarely reported in children.[2] International literature is rich about the management of testicular tumors in adults and often recommends radical orchidec...

The present studies were performed to evaluate the role of steroid precursors and plasma lipoproteins in gonadal tissue steroidogenesis. Leydig cell suspension isolated from rat testes responded to hCG. Bt2cAMP, 8 Br-cAMP and cholera toxin with an increase in testosterone response. Administration of 4-aminopyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine (4-APP) reduced the plasma cholesterol and testosterone levels ...