Fig. 9

Overexpression of LHR alleviated the reduction in StAR, steroidogenic enzymes and testosterone levels induced by PS-MPs treatment in primary Leydig cells. A Primary cells were infected with LHR or empty vector with lentivirus for 72 h. The mRNA levels of LHR were tested by qRT-PCR (n = 3; ***P < 0.001 vs. LV-NC group). B Primary cells were infected with LHR or empty vector with lentivirus for 72 h. Then, the cells were exposed to 0.5 μm PS-MPs at a concentration of 0.2 mg/mL for 24 h. The testosterone content in the supernatant was examined by ELISA (n = 3; ***P < 0.001 vs. LV-NC group; ^##P < 0.01 vs. LV-NC + PS-MPs group). C, D Primary cells were infected with LHR or empty vector with lentivirus for 72 h. Then, the cells were treated with 0.5 μm PS-MPs with a concentration at 0.2 mg/mL for 24 h. The expression of 3β-HSD, 17β-HSD, P450scc, P450c17, StAR, and LHR in cells was measured by western blotting. The expression levels were quantified with ImageJ (n = 3; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 vs. LV-NC group; ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01, ^###P < 0.01 vs. LV-NC + PS-MPs group)