Changes in glucocorticoid receptor immunoreactivity after adrenalectomy and corticosterone treatment in the rat testis

The distribution of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in the rat testis was investigated by means of immunocytochemistry (IR) and computer-assisted image analysis. A monoclonal antibody against rat liver GR showed the presence of GR IR selectively in the nuclei of interstitial and tubular cells. The semiquantitative microdensitometry of GR IR revealed that 77% of the specific staining was localized in the tubular compartment of rat testis. After adrenalectomy, GR IR was greatly reduced both in interstitial and tubular cells, roughly at the same degree. Corticosterone treatment (50 mg/kg, for 5 d) of adrenalectomized animals yielded a recovery of nuclear immunopositivity without changing the cellular distribution of GR, as observed in control rats. Nevertheless, the high dose of corticosterone administered produced a significant (p<0.01) decrease of GR IR with respect to control rats. These results provide evidence for a prevalent nuclear binding of GR in the tubular compartment in basal conditions. On the other hand, adrenalectomy or repeated corticosterone treatment seem to affect GR similarly in all positive cells without changing significantly the proportion of GR IR in the different testicular compartments. This uneven distribution of GR IR suggests that tubular cells can be a major target of corticosterone when affecting directly testicular functions in the rat.