Decreased Protein Expression of StAR but not P450scc in the Testis of Sickle Mice
To evaluate whether testosterone deficiency in Sickle mice involves decreased expressions of major proteins involved in steroid production, we measured protein levels of P450scc and StAR in testes of Sickle, Hemi, and WT mice by Western blot analysis. Protein expression of P450scc did not differ (P>0.05) among the Sickle, Hemi, and WT testes (Fig 5A). Protein expression of StAR was significantly (P