Expression of cubilin in mouse testes and Leydig cells

Cubilin (cubn) is a receptor for vitamins and various protein ligands. Cubn lacks a transmembrane domain but anchors to apical membranes by forming complexes with Amnionless or Megalin. In an effort to better understand the uptake of nutrients in testis, we analysed cubn expression in the developing mice testes. In testes, cubn mRNA increased from birth to adulthood. In the inter-stitium and isolated seminiferous tubules, neonatal increase in cubn mRNA until 14 days post-partum (pp) was followed by a marked increase at puberty (28 days pp). Cubn was found in the gonocytes, spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids in the developing testes. In adult testes, strong Cubn immunoreactivity was found in the elongating spermatids, suggesting the role of Cubn in endocytosis during early spermiogenesis. In Sertoli cells and peritubular cells, Cubn immunoreactivity was weak throughout the testis development. In the inter-stitium, Cubn immunoreactivity was found in foetal Leydig cells, was weak to negligible in the stem cells and progenitor Leydig cells and was strong in immature and adult Leydig cells, demonstrating a positive association between Cubn and steroidogenic activity of Leydig cells. Collectively, these results suggest that Cubn may participate in the endocytotic uptake of nutrients in germ cells and somatic cells, supporting the spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis in mouse testes.