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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Isolation of Sertoli Cells and Peritubular Cells from Rat Testes
Published on: February 8, 2016
Steroid-sensitive gene-1 is an androgen-regulated gene expressed in prostatic smooth muscle cells in vivo
D Marcantonio1, L E Chalifour, M A Alaoui-Jamali And H T Huynh
1Department of Medicine, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, 3755, Chemin Côte Ste Catherine, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3T 1E2.
Abstract:
Steroid-sensitive gene-1 (SSG1) is a novel gene we cloned, found regulated by 17beta-estradiol in the rat uterus and mammary gland, and over-expressed in 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced rat mammary tumors. We show here that SSG1 mRNA and protein expression are regulated by androgens in the rat ventral prostate. Increases in SSG1 mRNA levels were detected by Northern blotting after 24 h and reached a 27-fold peak 96 h following castration, relative to SSG1 mRNA expression in sham-operated rats. Dihydrotestosterone or testosterone supplementation of castrated rats prevented this rise in SSG1 mRNA. In contrast with SSG1 mRNA expression, SSG1 protein was decreased 16-fold 2 weeks following castration but was at control levels in the prostates of castrated rats receiving dihydrotestosterone or testosterone. Although SSG1 is regulated by androgens in vivo, treatment of LnCap cells with dihydrotestosterone, cyproterone acetate or flutamide did not result in the regulation of SSG1 protein levels in vitro. Immunofluorescence studies show that SSG1 is mainly expressed in prostatic smooth muscle cells. These results indicate that SSG1 is an androgen-regulated gene that is expressed in the smooth muscle component of the rat ventral prostate in vivo.
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