Detection of leptin and leptin receptor mRNA expression in thebovine testis

Leptin, hormonal product of the ob gene, is known to regulate food intake, energymetabolism and reproductive functions in mammals. the mechanism by which leptin affectmale reproductive system, in contrast to its well proven effects in female fertility, has been amatter of debate. expression of leptin and its receptor in some reproductive organs suggest thatleptin has both endocrine and paracrine/autocrine effects on reproduction. various evidenceshave pointed to a direct role of leptin in the control of rodent testicular function such assteroidogenesis and spermatogenesis. so, detection of leptin and leptin receptor mrna inbovine testis will be the first crucial step to an understanding of its paracrine/autocrine effect ontestes in cattle. in the present study, we showed the expression of leptin mrna as well as itsfunctional receptor (ob-rb) mrna in whole testis of holstein cattle using reverse transcriptionand polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) analysis. to confirm the first results, rt-pcrproducts were amplified with nested pcr using inner leptin primer pairs designed on differentexons. based on our results, although we could not determine the exact cell source of leptin intestis, it suggests that besides its primary actions at the hypothalamic-pituitary level, leptin canalso involved in autocrine and/or paracrine mechanisms in testicular physiology in cattle.