Fig. 6. Expression profile of resistin gene in seminiferous tubules segments at different stages of the seminiferous epithelial cycle, in basal conditions and after stimulation with FSH. A representative RT-PCR assay of the expression levels of resistin mRNA in tubule preparations at stages II-VI, VII-VIII, IX-XII, and XIII-I of the cycle, in three experimental situations: immediately after isolation (C-0), after 24-hour culture in the presence of medium alone (C-24), or after 24-hour culture in the presence of FSH (10 ng/ml) (FSH-24). Semi-quantitative values are the mean±s.e.m. of at least four independent determinations. a,b and c denote groups that are statistically different (P<0.01; ANOVA followed by Tukey's test).