A transformed murine Leydig cell line expresses the ETA receptor subtype.

We recently demonstrated that transformed murine Leydig cells (MA-10) responded to endothelin-1 (ET-1) via increased steroidogenesis. This study addresses the endothelin receptor subtype present on this cell line and whether or not the cells produce ET-1. The expression of the preproendothelin-1 (PPET-1) gene was investigated by Northern blot analysis, and PPET-1 mRNA was found to be < 0.2% of that present in pulmonary endothelial cells. The medium from MA-10 cells, maintained under serum-free conditions, was analyzed by radio-immunoassay to determine immunoreactive-ET-1 production and ET-1 levels were found to be below the sensitivity of the assay (< 10 pg/ml). The data from competitive binding experiments with [125I]ET-1 and unlabeled ET-1, ET-3 and receptor subtype selective ligands yielded a single class of high affinity binding sites with ETA receptor subtype characteristics. The results of this study demonstrate that MA-10 cells possess the ETA receptor subtype but do not produce significant quantities of ET-1 under basal conditions.