Abstract
A new role for fat supplements, in particular conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), has been delineated in steroidogenesis, although the underlying molecular mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. The aims of the present study were to identify the pathway stimulated by CLA supplementation using a cell culture model and to determine whether this same pathway is also stimulated in vivo by CLA supplementation associated with exercise. In vitro, Leydig tumour rat cells (R2C) supplemented with different concentrations of CLA exhibited increasing testosterone biosynthesis accompanied by increasing levels of CYP17A1 mRNA and protein. In vivo, trained mice showed an increase in free plasma testosterone and an up-regulation of CYP17A1 mRNA and protein. The effect of training on CYP17A1 expression and testosterone biosynthesis was significantly higher in the trained mice supplemented with CLA compared to the placebo. The results of the present study demonstrated that CLA stimulates testosterone biosynthesis via CYP17A1, and endurance training led to the synthesis of testosterone in vivo by inducing the overexpression of CYP17A1 mRNA and protein in the Leydig cells of the testis. This effect was enhanced by CLA supplementation. Therefore, CLA-associated physical activity may be used for its steroidogenic property in different fields, such as alimentary industry, human reproductive medicine, sport science, and anti-muscle wasting.
Citation: Barone R, Macaluso F, Catanese P, Marino Gammazza A, Rizzuto L, Marozzi P, et al. (2013) Endurance Exercise and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) Supplementation Up-Regulate CYP17A1 and Stimulate Testosterone Biosynthesis. PLoS ONE 8(11):
e79686.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0079686
Editor: Renping Zhou, Rutgers University, United States of America
Received: June 13, 2013; Accepted: September 24, 2013; Published: November 5, 2013
Copyright: © 2013 Barone et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This Study was partly funded by the Ministero dell’Istruzione dell’Università e della Ricerca; PRIN2009 - Prof. Zummo; prot. 2009WBFZYM_003. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Description
This study investigates the effects of CLA supplementation and endurance exercise on testosterone biosynthesis.