Event Abstract Back to Event Testosterone acts at the cell surface to induce teleost granulosa/theca cell death via an apoptotic pathway Chenan Zhang1* and Peter Thomas1 1 University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, United States The teleost ovarian follicle undergoes extensive remodeling and regression during the reproductive cycle—a process involving apoptosis and cell death. However, the hormonal regulation of these processes remains unclear. In the current study the role of testosterone in regulating regression of Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) ovarian follicles was investigated in co-cultured granulosa/theca (G/T) cells. Testosterone (T) treatment enhanced serum starvation-induced cell death and apoptosis of G/T cells. This effect was mimicked by a cell-impermeable T conjugate, T-bovine serum albumin, indicating that this androgen action is initiated at the cell surface. Previously, an androgen binding moiety with the features of a membrane androgen receptor was biochemically characterized on croaker ovarian membranes. Mibolerone, a nuclear androgen receptor agonist, was ineffective in promoting apoptosis and cell death, which suggests that T actions are independent from the nuclear receptor. Together, the data suggests that T-induction of apoptosis and cell death are through a novel membrane androgen receptor in the croaker ovary. T treatment also increased expression of a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 gene family, Bax, and two Bax upstream regulators, JNK and p53. These results suggest that T induces cell death of G/T cells in croaker through the apoptotic pathway involving JNK, p53 and Bax. By examining the role of T in croaker follicle cell death and elucidating the corresponding basic mechanisms of androgen action, we are learning more about the regulatory components involved in the breakdown and remodeling stages of the teleost reproductive cycle. Keywords: androgen, Apoptosis, Cell Death, Membrane androgen receptor, Ovary, teleost, Testosterone Conference: NASCE 2011: The inaugural meeting of the North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology, Ann Arbor, United States, 13 Jul - 16 Jul, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Membrane receptors Citation: Zhang C and Thomas P (2011). Testosterone acts at the cell surface to induce teleost granulosa/theca cell death via an apoptotic pathway. Front. Endocrinol. Conference Abstract: NASCE 2011: The inaugural meeting of the North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fendo.2011.04.00056 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 22 Jul 2011; Published Online: 09 Aug 2011. * Correspondence: Ms. Chenan Zhang, University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, 78373, TX, United States, chzhang@mail.utexas.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Chenan Zhang Peter Thomas Google Chenan Zhang Peter Thomas Google Scholar Chenan Zhang Peter Thomas PubMed Chenan Zhang Peter Thomas Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.