Biochemical consequences of follicle-stimulating hormone binding to testicular macrophages in culture.

The present studies demonstrate that testicular macrophages respond to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) by: 1) stimulating the rate of incorporation of amino acids into secreted proteins; 2) increasing the rate of incorporation of uridine into RNA; and 3) enhancing the accumulation of intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP; which was potentiated by the addition of 1 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine; MIX). In addition, dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) enhanced the incorporation of amino acids into secreted proteins; however, this cAMP analog had no effect on the incorporation of uridine into RNA. Finally, it was demonstrated that testicular macrophages possess specific receptors with a high affinity for FSH.