Question

Leydig cells secrete
A) Oestrogen
B) Progesterone
C) Testosterone
D) Corticosterone

Answer 1

Hint: It is one of the most important male reproductive hormones. It causes production of sperms. It affects a man’s external appearance (growth of facial hair) and sexual development.

Complete Answer:
1) The region outside the seminiferous tubules in testes is known as interstitial spaces. It contains small blood vessels and interstitial cells. These interstitial cells are called Leydig cells. Leydig cells constitute the endocrine tissue of testes. It synthesizes and secretes testicular hormones called androgens. Androgens consists of a group of male sex hormones, mainly testosterone.
2) Oestrogen is one of the main female sex hormones. While both women and men produce oestrogen, it plays a much bigger role in women's bodies. Oestrogen is produced by the hormonal (endocrine) system and moves in the body through the bloodstream. In the human body , oestrogen is required for puberty.
3) Progesterone is a medication and naturally occurring steroid hormone. It is a progestogen and is employed together with estrogens mainly in hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms and low steroid hormone levels in women. It is also utilized in women to support pregnancy and fertility and to treat gynecological disorders.
4) Corticosterone, also known to be 17-deoxycortisol and 11β,21-dihydroxyprogesterone, could also be a 21-carbon steroid of the corticosteroid type produced in the cortex of the adrenal glands.

Thus, the correct answer is option C (Testosterone).

Additional information: Fetal Leydig cells produce the increased levels of androgen (testosterone or androstenedione, depending upon the species) which is essential for differentiation of male genitalia and brain masculinization. Androgen production declines with loss of those cells, reaching a nadir at postpartum. Testosterone gradually increases to high levels when the adult Leydig cell develops from the stem cells.

Note: The male phenotype mainly depends on the expression of the fetal hormones anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH),produced by fetal Sertoli cells, and androgen and INSL3, produced by fetal Leydig cells.