Testicular growth hormone (GH): GH expression in spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes

Growth hormone (GH) gene expression is not restricted to pituitary somatotrophs and has recently been demonstrated in a variety of extrapituitary sites in mammals and the domestic chicken. The possibility that GH gene expression occurs in the male reproductive system of chickens was therefore examined, since GH has established roles in male reproductive function and GH immunoreactivity is present in the chicken testis. Using RT-PCR and oligonucleotide primers for pituitary GH cDNA, GH mRNA was shown to be present in the testes and vas deferens of adult cockerels. Although testicular GH mRNA was of low abundance (not detectable by Northern blotting), a 690 bp fragment of the amplified testicular GH cDNA was cloned and had a nucleotide sequence 99.6% homologous with pituitary GH cDNA. GH mRNA was localized by in situ hybridization in spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes of the seminiferous tubules, but unlike testicular GH-immunoreactivity, GH mRNA was not present in secondary spermatocytes, spermatids or spermatozoa. The presence of Pit-1 mRNA in the male reproductive tract may indicate Pit-1 involvement in GH expression in these tissues. The presence of GH receptor mRNA in the testis and vas deferens also suggests they are target sites for GH action. These results demonstrate, for the first time, expression of the pituitary GH gene in the testis, in which GH mRNA was discretely localized in primary spermatocytes. The local expression of the GH gene in these cells suggests autocrine or paracrine actions of GH during spermatogenesis.