The ultrastructural and biosynthetic characteristics of steroidogenic cells in the gonad of Monopterus albus (Teleostei) during natural sex reversal.

The ultrastructural and biosynthetic characteristics of the steroid cells in the gonad of Monopterus albus have been studied. Ultrastructural features related to steroidogenesis have been identified in the interstitial Leydig cells, Sertoli cells, granulosa cells and thecal cells, and are especially abundant in the Leydig cells during the mid-intersexual phase. Steroidogenic ultrastructures in the Sertoli cells develop only during the maturation of the spermatogenic cysts, whereas in the granulosa and thecal cells, these features become obvious only during the maturation of the large oocytes. EM evidence also suggests a nutritive function for the Sertoli cells and the granulosa cells. Results of in vitro steroidogenic studies, using either testosterone or progesterone as a precursor, show a predominant conversion to androstenedione and 5 alpha-reduced compounds, and suggest a change in biosynthesis from 5 alpha-reduced products to androstenedione during sex reversal. 11-Ketotestosterone (11KT) has been identified, but not 11 beta-hydroxytestosterone. Production of 11KT is high in the late intersexual and the male phases, but a lack of a marked variation in 11KT production between the early and the mid-intersexual phase suggests that this steroid is not a trigger for natural sex reversal in Monopterus.