H₂ S catalysed by CBS regulates testosterone synthesis through affecting the sulfhydrylation of PDE

Testosterone deficiency resulted in increased mortality in men. Our previous work found that hydrogen sulphide (H₂ S) significantly alleviated the spermatogenesis disorder. To investigate whether H₂ S could regulate testosterone synthesis and the relative signalling pathways. Disorder model of testosterone synthesis was constructed in vitro and in vivo. The cell viability was detected using CCK-8 method. The concentration of H₂ S and testosterone were examined using ELISA kits. The relative mRNA and protein expression of CBS, PDE4A, PDE8A and proteins related to testosterone synthesis were detected by RT-qPCR and western blotting. PAS staining was used to detect the inflammatory status of testis. The sulfhydryl level of PDE4A and PDE8A was determined by Biotin Switch Technique. CBS overexpression inhibited while knockdown promoted LPS + H₂ O₂ induced injury in testosterone synthesis of MLTC-1 cells, though regulating the level of H₂ S. The LPS + H₂ O₂ induced inhibition on cAMP and p-PKA was recovered by CBS overexpression, while addition of the specific inhibitor of PKA had opposite effects. CBS overexpression alleviated the inflammation status in testis and promoted the expression of StAR, P450scc, P450c17 and 3β-HSD. CBS could also exhibit its protective role through promoting sulfhydrylation of PDE4A and PDE8A. H₂ S catalysed by CBS could recover testosterone synthesis in vitro and in vivo through inhibiting PDE expression via sulfhydryl modification and activating cAMP/PKA pathway.