Corticosteroids suppress plasminogen activation in the bovine Sertoli cell

Bovine FSH stimulated a six fold increase in secretion of plasminogen activator by immature bovine Sertoli cells with half-maximum response (ED50) at 145 ng/ml. Treatment with FSH and either dexamethasone, cortisol or corticosterone produced a dose-dependent suppression of PA activity, with ED50 values of 35, 320 and greater than 650 nmol/l respectively. Effects of dexamethasone required over 6 h incubation to become significant (P less than 0.001), and were blocked by inhibitors of RNA synthesis and translation. These data demonstrate direct effects of corticosteroids on Sertoli cells, resulting in the synthesis of antiprotease factors which antagonize the actions of FSH.