Therefore, we
concluded that Sertoli cell proliferation can be enhanced
through different activational pathways, in part characterized
by differences in the time course of the response. The response
to flutamide in this study was as rapid as hemicastration,
suggesting that, unlike the response to estrogen deprivation, the
responses to androgen receptor antagonism and hemicastration
likely share a similar activational pathway at some level. Since
antagonism of the androgen receptor initially prevented the hemicastration response, we conclude that the hemicastration
response is also dependent on androgen receptor activation.
Hemicastration immediately halves testicular mass, but any
reduction in circulating androgen was so short term that it was
not detectable at the next blood sampling.