Expression of follistatin messenger ribonucleic acid in Sertoli cell-enriched cultures: regulation by epidermal growth factor and protein kinase C-dependent pathway but not by follicle-stimulating hormone and protein kinase A-dependent pathway.

In this study the localization and regulation of steady-state follistatin messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels in testicular cell cultures were examined with a solution-hybridization assay using a specific 32P-labelled cytosolic RNA antisense probe for follistatin and a 35S-labelled cytosolic RNA antisense probe for cyclophilin as internal standard. Testes from immature rats were dispersed with collagenase and fractionated in Sertoli and Leydig cell-enriched cultures. Follistatin mRNA was mainly localized to the Sertoli cell-enriched fraction and the expression of follistatin mRNA could be stimulated in vitro with fetal calf serum, epidermal growth factor or phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (an activator of protein kinase C), whereas follicle-stimulating hormone and forskolin (an activator of protein kinase A) had no effect. Neither prostaglandin E2, the synthetic glucocorticoid RU 28362 or all-trans-retinoic acid, which all regulate follistatin mRNA levels in non-testicular cell types, nor extracellular adenosine triphosphate (a purinergic receptor agonist) or testosterone had any obvious influence on follistatin mRNA levels in Sertoli cell-enriched cultures. From this study it is concluded that Sertoli cells are likely to be the source of follistatin expression in the rat testis, that follistatin mRNA levels in Sertoli cell-enriched cultures are subjected to regulation by epidermal growth factor and the protein kinase C-dependent pathway but are not regulated by extracellular adenosine triphosphate, follicle-stimulating hormone, all-trans-retinoic acid, prostaglandin E2, forskolin, testosterone or the glucocorticoid RU 28362 and that the regulation of follistatin mRNA is sex- and tissue-specific.