Human Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Resides in Detergent Resistant Membranes

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is an anterior pituitary glycoprotein hormone crucial for proper spermatogenesis in males and oocyte development in females. The follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) is a G‐protein coupled receptor found exclusively on the membranes of Sertoli cells in the testes and granulosa cells in the ovaries. It has been proposed that FSHR localizes to detergent resistant portions of the membranes called lipid rafts, areas of the cell membrane with high percent composition of cholesterol and sphingolipids. To determine where FSHR resides in the cell membrane, weak detergents were used to extract and isolate detergent resistant membranes. Prior to extraction, cells were treated with FSH and/or the cholesterol depleting drug methyl‐ β‐ cylcodextrin (M β CD) and western blot analysis was conducted. FSHR was observed in both the detergent soluble and insoluble portions of the membrane. FSH treatment resulted in increased FSHR localization to lipid rafts. Understanding FSHR localization in the plasma membrane may lead to greater understanding of its signaling pathways.