Organotin Compounds Suppress Testosterone Production in Leydig Cells from Neonatal Pig Testes

Abstract

The in vitro effects of exposure to tributyltin chloride (TBT), dibutyltin dichloride (DBT), and triphenyltin chloride (TPT) on testosterone production in isolated Leydig cells from neonatal pig testes were examined. These organotin compounds strongly suppressed human chorionic gonadotropin (10 IU/ml) or 8-bromo-cAMP (0.1 mM) induced testosterone production when the cells were exposed to nontoxic concentrations. The suppression of testosterone production was dose-dependent over the concentration range of 0.03-0.3 μM for TBT and DBT, and 0.01-0.3 μM for TPT. These effective concentrations for the suppression of testosterone production were lower than that of the cytotoxic concentrations of the organotin compounds in Leydig cells and were equivalent to the accumulated concentration levels that were previously reported in marine organisms.