Abstract
In porcine Leydig cell culture, incubation with natural or recombinant human interferon-α (IFN-α), or recombinant porcine IFN-γ preparations were effective in inhibiting basal and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-stimulated testosterone production in a dose-dependent manner. Combined treatment with any of the human IFN-α preparations plus recombinant porcine IFN-γ at the maximal inhibitory dose (1,000 pmoles/liter) further increased the inhibitory effect of any single IFN preparation on hCG-stimulated testosterone production. These results show that in porcine Leydig cells, both human IFN-α and porcine IFN-γ are able to inhibit testosterone production and that the inhibitory action can be enhanced significantly by combined treatment with these types of IFNs. The enhancement of the inhibitory effect by combined treatment is consistent with the known presence of distinct cell membrane receptors for IFN-α and IFN-γ.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.