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Retinoic Acid Receptors and Retinoid X Receptors in the Rat Testis During Fetal and Postnatal Development: Immunolocalization and Implication in the Control of the Number of Gonocytes¹

^a Université Paris 7—INSERM-INRA U 418, Paris, France ^b INSERM-INRA U 418, Hôpital Debrousse, Lyon, France

Retinoids have pleiotropic effects on embryonic development and are essential for spermatogenesis in the adult, where they act via nuclear retinoid receptors: retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs). We used immunohistochemistry to examine the cellular localization of RARs and RXRs in the rat testis from Day 13.5 postconception (13.5 dpc) until Day 8 postpartum (8 dpp), and these findings were compared with those for immature and adult testes. RAR and RARß were detected in the interstitial tissue from 14.5 dpc, with intense staining in the gonocytes from 20.5 dpc to 8 dpp. The nuclei of all cell types stained faintly for RAR from 8 dpp. Immunoreactivity for RXR was intense in the gonocytes from 13.5 dpc and in the Leydig cells from 16.5 dpc, and persisted throughout the period studied. RXRß was always detected in the Leydig cells and during a short neonatal period in the gonocytes. RXR gave a faint reaction in the nuclei of all cell types from 20.5 dpc. Unexpectedly, immunostaining for all the receptors tested, except RAR and RXR, was detected in the cytoplasmic compartment of the cells of fetal and neonatal testes, while it was found in the nuclei in immature and adult testes. In cultures of dispersed testicular cells from 3 dpp pups, retinoic acid had a dose-dependent deleterious effect on the survival of the gonocytes and, to a lesser extent, of the somatic cells. These results suggest that retinoids act on the testicular development, especially on germ cells, via RARs and/or RXRs.

¹ This work was supported by INSERM and Université Paris 7.

² Correspondence: C. Levacher, INSERM-INRA U 418/Université Paris 7, Case 7126, 2 Place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France. FAX: 33 1 44 27 56 11; levacher{at}paris7.jussieu.fr

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