Involvement of angiotensin II receptor subtypes during testicular development in rats

Expression of testicular angiotensin II (AT2) receptors in Sprague-Dawley rats at various stages of development (1 and 5 days, 2, 3, 4 and 7 weeks postnatal) were studied by in vitro autoradiography and Northern blot analysis. The receptors were labelled with 125I-[Sar1, Ile8]AT2 and differentiated into two subtypes according to their susceptibility to AT1 (losartan, 5 microM) or AT2 (PD123319, 5 microM) antagonist. Total AT2 receptor binding in the testis was highest at 1 day of age (8.12 +/- 0.35 fmol/mg protein, mean +/- secEM, n = 8) and decreased gradually thereafter (5 days: 6.9 +/- 0.41, 2 weeks: 2.85 +/- 0.10, 3 weeks: 1.64 +/- 0.19, 4 weeks: 0.76 +/- 0.09, 6 weeks: 0.77 +/- 0.09 fmol/mg protein, n = 8-11). AT2 receptor binding was strikingly abundant in 1-day-old rat testis (6.98 +/- 0.34 fmol/mg protein), while considerably less AT1 receptor binding (1.46 +/- 0.19 fmol/mg protein) was observed. The relative amounts of each subtype did not change for the first 3 weeks but the 4-week-old rat testis contained almost exclusively AT1 receptors (0.63 +/- 0.05 fmol/mg protein). Northern blot analysis showed that mRNA expression of both AT1 and AT2 types decreased with age. Microscopic emulsion autoradiography was undertaken to clarify the localization of binding. At 10 days of age, both AT1 and AT2 receptors were present in the interstitial area, whereas seminiferous tubules contained mainly AT2 receptors. At 7 weeks of age, no significant binding was observed in the seminiferous tubule and the interstitial area contained AT1 receptors exclusively. These results demonstrate expression of AT2 receptors in the rapidly growing testis and suggest that change in the levels of AT2 receptor subtypes may be relevant to development and/or growth of the testis.