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Harrison SM, Bush NC, Wang Y, Mucher ZR, Lorenzo AJ, Grimsby GM, Schlomer BJ, Büllesbach EE, Baker LA. Insulin-Like Peptide 3 (INSL3) Serum Concentration During Human Male Fetal Life. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2019; 10:596. [PMID: 31611843 PMCID: PMC6737488 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Context: Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3), a protein hormone produced by Leydig cells, may play a crucial role in testicular descent as male INSL3 knockout mice have bilateral cryptorchidism. Previous studies have measured human fetal INSL3 levels in amniotic fluid only. Objective: To measure INSL3 serum levels and mRNA in fetal umbilical cord blood and fetal testes, respectively. Design: INSL3 concentrations were assayed on 50 μl of serum from male human fetal umbilical cord blood by a non-commercial highly sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay. For secondary confirmation, quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure INSL3 relative mRNA expression in 7 age-matched human fetal testes. Setting: UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX and Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Patients or other Participants: Twelve human male umbilical cord blood samples and 7 human male testes were obtained from fetuses 14-21 weeks gestation. Male sex was verified by leukocyte genomic DNA SRY PCR. Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures: Human male fetal INSL3 cord blood serum concentrations and testicular relative mRNA expression. Results: INSL3 serum concentrations during human male gestational weeks 15-20 were 2-4 times higher than published prepubertal male levels and were 5-100 times higher than previous reports of INSL3 concentrations obtained from amniotic fluid. Testicular fetal INSL3 mRNA relative expression was low from weeks 14-16, rose significantly weeks 17 and 18, and returned to low levels at week 21. Conclusions: These findings further support the role of INSL3 in human testicular descent and could prove relevant in uncovering the pathophysiology of cryptorchidism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven M. Harrison
- Clinical R&D Sequencing Platform, Broad Institute, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | | | - Yi Wang
- Endocrinology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zachary R. Mucher
- Department of Urology, Memorial Hermann Health System, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Armando J. Lorenzo
- Department of Pediatric Urology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | - Bruce J. Schlomer
- Division of Pediatric Urology, Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
| | - Erika E. Büllesbach
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States
| | - Linda A. Baker
- John W. Duckett MD Laboratory in Pediatric Urology, Division of Pediatric Urology, Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Linda A. Baker
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