Fig. 15

Effect of FSH treatment on alternatively spliced Fshr-1 and Fshr-3 transcripts by qRT-PCR under different experimental conditions. Various treatment groups showed higher upregulation of Fshr-3 compared to canonical Fshr-1, which was minimally regulated. Intact (PMSG 10 IU) (A) and chemoablated (rFSH 10 IU) (B) testis and total cells isolated from intact (C) and chemoablated (D) testis. Note > 100-fold increase in Fshr3 in cells in vitro from chemoablated testis. Sertoli cells also respond to FSH treatment, and both Fshr-1 (> 8 fold) and Fshr-3 (> 16 fold) transcripts are upregulated. SCA-1 sorted cells showed > 80 fold increase in Fshr3 compared to minimal increase in Fshr-1. Fshr-3 appears to be the more predominant transcript through which FSH exerts its action on the stem cells [52]