The synthesis and role of taurine in the Japanese eel testis

In teleost fish, the progestin 17 alpha, 20 beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP) is an essential component of the spermatogenesis pathway. In a series of investigations on the mechanisms underlying progestin-stimulated spermatogenesis, we have found that DHP up-regulates the expression of cysteine dioxygenase1 (CDO1) in the Japanese eel testis. CDO1 is one of the enzymes involved in the taurine biosynthesis pathway. To evaluate whether taurine is synthesized in the eel testis, cysteine sulfinate decarboxylase (CSD), another enzyme involved in taurine synthesis, was isolated from this species. RT-PCR and in vitro eel testicular culture revealed that although CSD was also expressed in eel testis, neither DHP nor other sex steroids affect CSD mRNA expression in a similar manner to CDO1. Using an in vitro eel testicular culture system, we further investigated the effects of DHP on taurine synthesis in the eel testis. HPLC analysis showed that DHP treatment significantly increases the taurine levels in the eel testis. These results suggest that DHP promotes taurine synthesis via the up-regulation of CDO1 mRNA expression during eel spermatogenesis. Furthermore, we observed from our analysis that although taurine does not induce complete spermatogenesis, it promotes spermatogonial DNA synthesis and the expression of Spo11, a meiosis-specific marker. These data thus suggest that taurine augments the effects of sex steroids in the promotion of spermatogonial proliferation and/or meiosis and hence that taurine plays important roles in spermatogenesis.