Herein we summarize important discoveries made over many years about Leydig cell
function and regulation. Fetal Leydig cells produce the high levels of androgen (testosterone …

More than 90% of cases of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH, the inherited inability to
synthesize cortisol) are caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency. Females with severe, classic …

Steroid hormones regulate diverse physiological functions such as reproduction, blood salt
balance, maintenance of secondary sexual characteristics, response to stress, neuronal …

Although systemic androgen deprivation prolongs life in advanced prostate cancer,
remissions are temporary because patients almost uniformly progress to a state of a …

▪ Abstract Steroid hormone biosynthesis is acutely regulated by pituitary trophic hormones
and other steroidogenic stimuli. This regulation requires the synthesis of a protein whose …

Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disorder with an enigmatic etiopathogenesis.
Although it has been proposed that endometriosis is a hormonal disease, an autoimmune …

The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) regulates acute steroidogenesis in the
adrenal cortex and gonads by promoting the translocation of cholesterol to the mitochondrial …

Masculinization depends on adequate production of testosterone by the fetal testis within a
specific “masculinization programming window.” Disorders resulting from subtle deficiencies …

This article reviews results on diVerentiation, structure, and regulation of Leydig cells in the
testes of rodents and men. Two different populations—fetal and adult Leydig cells—can be …

Recent reports demonstrate that many currently used pesticides have the capacity to disrupt
reproductive function in animals. Although this reproductive dysfunction is typically …