A prostaglandin D2 system in the human testis

As shown recently, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), the inducible key enzyme for the prostaglandin (PG) biosynthetic pathway, is abundantly present in interstitial cells of testes of men suffering from different forms of impaired spermatogenesis and sub- or infertility, but it is absent in human testes with normal spermatogenesis. Although the spectrum of the downstream products of COX2 action in testis, namely PGs, and their effects are not known, our results show that Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) likely plays a role. We describe (a) PGD2 synthetases, as well as receptors for PGD2 (DP) in testicular interstitial cells of men suffering from spermatogenic damage and infertility, and report that (b) PGD2 is produced by and can affect Leydig cells of an animal model, which expresses testicular COX2 and DP.