Assessment of hormone levels and mRNA levels encoding steroidogenic proteins.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Intratesticular levels of testosterone and serum levels of LH and FSH in 8–10 weeks old SFP, GF and CBUT mice. (a) Levels of intra-testicular testosterone per gram testis weight measured with RIA. Each bar represents the mean ± SEM (n = 6–9). The actual values were 0.315±0.131 pmol/g for SPF mice, 0.025±0.003 pmol/g for the GF group and 0.739±0.517 pmol/g for CBUT mice *P<0.05, **<0.001 as determined by the Mann-Whitney Rank Sum Test for non-parametric independent data. (b) Levels of serum LH as determined by ELISA. Each bar represents the mean ± SEM. The actual values were 179±19 ng/ml for SPF mice, 105±25 ng/ml for the GF group and 167±50 ng/ml for CBUT mice *P<0.05 as assessed with the Student t-Test for independent data. (c) Levels of serum FSH as determined by ELISA. Each bar represents mean ± SEM. The actual values were 169±18 ng/ml for SPF mice, 95±26 ng/ml for the GF group and 123±9 ng/ml for CBUT mice *P<0.05 as assessed by the Student t-Test for independent data. (B) The relative expression of mRNA species encoding steroidogenic and Leydig cell proteins <b>normalized to the housekeeping levels of </b><b><i>18s rRNA</i></b><b> and </b><b><i>Arbpa/Rplp0</i></b><b> mRNA</b> in the testes of 8–10 weeks SPF, GF and CBUT mice. Each bar represents the mean ± SEM for 6 mice from 3 different litters. <i>cyp11a1:</i> cytochrome P450, family 11, subfamily a, polypeptide 1, <i>cyp19a1:</i> cytochrome P450, family 19, subfamily a, polypeptide 1, <i>Hsd3b1:</i> hydroxy-delta-5-steroid dehydrogenase, 3 beta- and steroid delta-isomerase 1, <i>Hsd17b11</i>: hydroxysteroid (17-beta) dehydrogenase 11 and <i>Insl3:</i> insulin-like 3. <i>Arbpa/Rplp0</i>: ribosomal protein, large, P0.