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. 2020 Nov 27;15:9499–9514. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S276606

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© 2020 Liu et al.

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The effect of AuNPs on testosterone production in TM3 cells. (A) Testosterone concentration in the culture medium of TM3 cells after 24-h incubation with indicated concentration of AuNPs in the presence or absence of HCG. (B) Representative Western blot showing the expression of StAR and 17α-hydroxylase in TM3 cells after 24-h incubation with AuNPs. Actin was used as an internal control. The densitometric analysis of 17-hydroxylase (C) and StAR (D) expression relative to Actin in the Western blot. Results are shown as mean ± SD (n = 3). * P < 0.05, *** P < 0.001, compared to the PBS control. (E) Schematic diagram of testosterone synthesis in Leydig cells. StAR and 17α-hydroxylase are two of key proteins involved in the testosterone synthesis.