Alpha-L-fucosidase in rat testis during sexual maturity

alpha-L-fucosidase (EC 3.2.1.51) activity, concentration of testosterone (T), and its metabolite dihydrotestosterone (DHT) were tested in rat testis during the onset of puberty. This study was also carried out in testes of rats treated with 17-beta-N,N-diethylcarbamoyl-4-methyl-4-aza-5-alpha-androstane-3-one (DMAA), an inhibitor of the 5-alpha-reductase-mediated conversion of T into DHT. alpha-L-fucosidase activity in seminiferous tubules of control and DMAA-treated rats was found to be relatively high on the 25th day after birth (approximately 24 units) but decreased and remained relatively constant the following days (approximately 10 units). In contrast, alpha-L-fucosidase activity was nearly undetectable in the immature interstitium of the control rats but sharply increased the following days. A maximum was reached at the 55th day, followed by a rapid decrease. alpha-L-fucosidase activity evolved in parallel with an increase and decrease of DHT concentration. In DMAA-treated rats with DHT levels and an alpha-L-fucosidase activity significantly lower than in the control rats between the 55th and the 65th days, this parallelism existed as well.