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→Regulation of Male Sex Hormones
Leydig cells produce testosterone using cholesterol as a base molecule. Leydig cells contain various enzymes such as 18-hydroxylase that facilitate the production of steroid hormones. In some species such as pigs, the testes also produce '''androstenone''' which acts as a pheromone and is secreted via the saliva, often producing a copulatory position from sows in oestrous. Androstenone is also responsible for bore taint.
Leydig cells produce testosterone using cholesterol as a base molecule. Leydig cells contain various enzymes such as 18-hydroxylase that facilitate the production of steroid hormones. In some species such as pigs, the testes also produce '''androstenone''' which acts as a pheromone and is secreted via the saliva, often producing a copulatory position from sows in oestrous. Androstenone is also responsible for bore taint.
===Regulation of Male Sex Hormones===
===Regulation of Male Sex Hormones===
When LH binds to the Leydig cells, it stimulates the cellular messenger '''cAMP''' to '''activate protein kinase A'''. Protein kinase A undergoes a series of phosphorylations that in turn activate a series of enzymes that synthesis testosterone from the cholesterol base molecule. A portion of the testosterone produced in the Leydig cells diffuses into the Sertoli cells that are positioned adjacent to the Leydig cells in the testes but seperated by a basal lamina.
When LH binds to the Leydig cells, it stimulates the cellular messenger '''cAMP''' to '''activate protein kinase A'''. Protein kinase A undergoes a series of phosphorylations that in turn activate a series of enzymes that synthesis testosterone from the cholesterol base molecule. A portion of the testosterone produced in the Leydig cells diffuses into the Sertoli cells that are positioned adjacent to the Leydig cells in the testes but seperated by a basal lamina. This secreted testosterone is converted to to the female sex hormone estradiol in the Sertoli cell and as with the testosterone, a proportion diffuses into the blood, becoming part of the negative feedback system for LH.
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Testosterone inhibits the secretion of GnRH from the hypothalamus and therefore secretion of LH from the pituitary gland.
===Effects of Male Sex Hormones===
===Effects of Male Sex Hormones===