LANCL1 (LanC-like protein 1) is related to the bacterial LanC (lanthionine synthetase C) family, which is involved in the biosynthesis of antimicrobial peptides. Highest expression levels of LANCL1 are found in testes and brain, two organs that exist behind blood-tissue barriers. In the mouse, the establishment of an impermeable blood-testis barrier occurs between day 10-16 post natal (pn). Differential display analysis showed that the expression level of LANCL1 mRNA in mouse testes was very low until day 16 pn, but increased gradually from day 16 pn to reach a maximum on days 22- 24 pn followed by a slight reduction from day 26 pn to adult animals. Thus, the expression of LANCL1 mRNA is initiated following the establishment of the blood-testis barrier. In situ hybridisation revealed that LANCL1 mRNA was induced in diplotene spermatocytes, which appear for the first time in mouse testes between days 18 and 20 pn, verifying the expression profile determined by differential display. LANCL1 mRNA level remained high in the meiotic division phase and in early round spermatids, but was down regulated in elongating spermatids and it was undetectable in step 9 elongating spermatids in stage IX (as defined by Russel et al., 1990). The steady decrease in expression level from round spermatids in stage I to elongating spermatids in stage IX suggested that LANCL1 mRNA was not transcribed in spermatids. LANCL1 expression in rat testes was initiated already in pachytene spermatocytes in stage IX, but otherwise similar to mouse

Context:The endocrine function of human fetal adrenals (HFAs) is activated already during first trimester, but adrenal steroidogenesis during fetal life is not well characterized.Objective: This study aimed to investigate HFA steroidogenesis by analyzing adrenal glands from first and second trimesters.Design and Setting: Male and female HFA from gestational weeks (GWs) 8 to 19 were examined, including a total of 101 samples from 83 fetuses.Main Outcome Measure(s): Expression level of steroidogenic genes and protein expression/ localization were determined by quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively, and intra-adrenal steroid levels were quantified by LC-MS/MS.Results: Transcriptional levels of StAR, CYP11A1, CYP17A1, CYP21A2, CYP11B1/2, and SULT2A1 were significantly higher in second trimester compared to first trimester (P , 0.05), whereas expression levels of 3b-HSD2 and ARK1C3 were unaltered between GWs 8 and 19. All investigated steroidogenic proteins were expressed in a distinct pattern throughout the investigated period, with most enzymes expressed primarily in the fetal zone, except 3b-HSD1/2, which was expressed mainly in the definitive zone. Abundant steroidogenic enzyme expression was reflected in overall high intra-adrenal tissue concentrations of mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids, and androgens; cortisol was the most abundant (1071 to 2723 ng/g tissue), and testosterone levels were the lowest (2 to 14 ng/g tissue).Conclusions: The expression profiles of HFA steroidogenic enzymes are distinct from first to second trimester, with no major differences between male and female samples. Intra-adrenal steroid hormone concentrations confirm that cortisol is produced throughout first and second trimesters, suggesting continued regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis during this entire period.