scholarly journals Short term regulation of aldosterone secretion after stimulation and suppression experiments in mice

2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 407-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariadni Spyroglou ◽  
Jenny Manolopoulou ◽  
Sibylle Wagner ◽  
Martin Bidlingmaier ◽  
Martin Reincke ◽  
...  

Aldosterone is synthesized acutely from the zona glomerulosa cells upon stimulation by the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. Several enzymes are involved in this steroidogenic process including the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), P450 side chain cleavage enzyme (Cyp11a1), and aldosterone synthase (Cyp11b2) which has been demonstrated to be transcriptionally regulated by the nuclear transcription factors NGF1-B and Nurr1. We investigated the short time transcriptional regulation of these genes in wild-type mice at 10 min intervals for 1 h following application of 0.2 nmol angiotensin II (ANGII) or sodium chloride in comparison sham injections. Using real-time PCR a fast upregulation of adrenal Cyp11b2 expression (53±5% increase over baseline) could be observed 10 min after sham injection which was accompanied by a transient increase in aldosterone secretion while StAR and Cyp11a1 upregulation was delayed and more sustained. ANGII caused an increase of StAR and Cyp11a1 expression similar to that observed after sham injection while Cyp11b2 upregulation was more pronounced (10 min, 236±39%) and reflected ANGII induced stimulation of aldosterone output. Sodium challenge was followed by a sustained reduction of all three genes examined (Cyp11b2, 20 min, −63±6%) which was accompanied by a significant suppression of aldosterone secretion detectable after 60 min. While increases in NGF1-B mRNA levels were similar between the treatment groups, Nurr1 expression levels were induced only upon ANGII administration. These data suggest that acute regulation of aldosterone synthesis is accompanied by fast transcriptional modulation of steroidogenic enzymes and transcription factors that are likely to be involved in aldosterone secretion.

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunny O. Abarikwu ◽  
Ebenezer O. Farombi ◽  
Aditya B. Pant

We sought to explore the mechanism by which kolaviron (Kol) protects against atrazine (ATZ)-induced toxicity of cultured interstitial Leydig cells (ILCs). In our experiments, treatment with Kol improved Leydig cell viability and significantly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Further investigations revealed a reduction in glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and elevation of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD-1) and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD-2) as measured by messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. Additionally, the ATZ-induced alterations in the mRNA transcript copy numbers of steroidogenesis genes: steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (CYP11A1), and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) were shifted toward the control values by Kol. Taken together, these findings indicate that Kol protects ILCs from ATZ-induced toxicity via the reduction in ROS and MDA levels and induce normalization of mRNA levels of all the tested genes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 179 (3) ◽  
pp. R125-R141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter L Miller

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of genetic disorders of adrenal steroidogenesis that impair cortisol synthesis, with compensatory increases in ACTH leading to hyperplastic adrenals. The term ‘CAH’ is generally used to mean ‘steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency’ (21OHD) as 21OHD accounts for about 95% of CAH in most populations; the incidences of the rare forms of CAH vary with ethnicity and geography. These forms of CAH are easily understood on the basis of the biochemistry of steroidogenesis. Defects in the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, StAR, disrupt all steroidogenesis and are the second-most common form of CAH in Japan and Korea; very rare defects in the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme, P450scc, are clinically indistinguishable from StAR defects. Defects in 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, which also causes disordered sexual development, were once thought to be fairly common, but genetic analyses show that steroid measurements are generally unreliable for this disorder. Defects in 17-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase ablate synthesis of sex steroids and also cause mineralocorticoid hypertension; these are common in Brazil and in China. Isolated 17,20-lyase deficiency can be caused by rare mutations in at least three different proteins. P450 oxidoreductase (POR) is a co-factor used by 21-hydroxylase, 17-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase and aromatase; various POR defects, found in different populations, affect these enzymes differently. 11-Hydroxylase deficiency is the second-most common form of CAH in European populations but the retention of aldosterone synthesis distinguishes it from 21OHD. Aldosterone synthase deficiency is a rare salt-losing disorder. Mild, ‘non-classic’ defects in all of these factors have been described. Both the severe and non-classic disorders can be treated if recognized.


1997 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 1511-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Himangshu S. Bose ◽  
Ora Hirsch Pescovitz ◽  
Walter L. Miller

Abstract The most severe form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is lipoid CAH. It was once thought that this disease was due to mutations in the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme system, thus eliminating the ability to convert cholesterol to pregnenolone, causing a complete absence of steroid hormone production. We recently showed that lipoid CAH is due to mutations in the steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein, thus preventing acutely stimulated adrenal and gonadal responses to tropic stimulation. However, this lesion may permit low levels of StAR-independent steroidogenesis to persist until the accumulation of intracellular lipid deposits destroys steroidogenic capacity. This model would predict that the steroidogenic cells of the ovaries of affected 46,XX females should remain undamaged until puberty, at which time low levels of StAR-independent estrogen biosynthesis should be detectable. We describe a 15.5-yr-old 46,XX female with a classic history of lipoid CAH who underwent spontaneous feminization and cyclical vaginal bleeding beginning at age 13. Genetic analysis of the patient and her parents showed that she was homozygous for the novel StAR frameshift mutation 261delT. This is the first adolescent female with lipoid CAH who has undergone spontaneous feminization and who has been analyzed genetically. Finding an inactive StAR gene in this patient confirms our two-hit model of the pathogenesis of lipoid CAH, in which loss of StAR activity initially preserves StAR-independent steroidogenesis, which is lost only after cells undergo chronic tropic stimulation and subsequent damage from accumulation of cholesterol esters.


2009 ◽  
Vol 234 (8) ◽  
pp. 880-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly A. LaVoie ◽  
Steven R. King

Expression of the genes that mediate the first steps in steroidogenesis, the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STARD1), the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme, cytochrome P450scc (CYP11A1) and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ5-Δ4 isomerase (HSD3B), is tightly controlled by a battery of transcription factors in the adrenal cortex, the gonads and the placenta. These genes generally respond to the same hormones that stimulate steroid production through common pathways such as cAMP signaling and common actions on their promoters by proteins such as NR5A and GATA family members. However, there are distinct temporal, tissue and species-specific differences in expression between the genes that are defined by combinatorial regulation and unique promoter elements. This review will provide an overview of the hormonal and transcriptional regulation of the STARD1, CYP11A1 and specific steroidogenic HSD3B genes in the adrenal, testis, ovary and placenta and discuss the current knowledge regarding the key transcriptional factors involved.


Endocrinology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 156 (7) ◽  
pp. 2693-2703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Daems ◽  
Mickaël Di-Luoffo ◽  
Élise Paradis ◽  
Jacques J. Tremblay

In Leydig cells, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR) participates in cholesterol shuttling from the outer to the inner mitochondrial membrane, the rate-limiting step in steroidogenesis. Steroid hormone biosynthesis and steroidogenic gene expression are regulated by LH, which activates various signaling pathways and transcription factors, including cAMP/Ca2+/CAMK (Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase)–myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2). The 4 MEF2 transcription factors are essential regulators of cell differentiation and organogenesis in numerous tissues. Recently, MEF2 was identified in Sertoli and Leydig cells of the testis. Here, we report that MEF2 regulates steroidogenesis in mouse MA-10 Leydig cells by acting on the Star gene. In MA-10 cells depleted of MEF2 using siRNAs (small interfering RNAs), STAR protein levels, Star mRNA levels, and promoter activity were significantly decreased. On its own, MEF2 did not activate the mouse Star promoter but was found to cooperate with forskolin/cAMP. By chromatin immunoprecipitation and DNA precipitation assays, we confirmed MEF2 binding to a consensus element located at −232 bp of the Star promoter. Mutation or deletion of the MEF2 element reduced but did not abrogate the MEF2/cAMP cooperation, indicating that MEF2 cooperates with other DNA-bound transcription factor(s). We identified GATA4 (GATA binding protein 4) as a partner for MEF2 in Leydig cells, because mutation of the GATA element abrogated the MEF2/cAMP cooperation on a reporter lacking a MEF2 element. MEF2 and GATA4 interact as revealed by coimmunoprecipitation, and MEF2 and GATA4 transcriptionally cooperate on the Star promoter. Altogether, our results define MEF2 as a novel regulator of steroidogenesis and Star transcription in Leydig cells and identify GATA4 as a key partner for MEF2-mediated action.


2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1264-1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing-zi Lin ◽  
Hiroshi Takemori ◽  
Yoshiko Katoh ◽  
Junko Doi ◽  
Nanao Horike ◽  
...  

Abstract The involvement of salt-inducible kinase, a recently cloned protein serine/threonine kinase, in adrenal steroidogenesis was investigated. When Y1 mouse adrenocortical tumor cells were stimulated by ACTH, the cellular content of salt-inducible kinase mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity changed rapidly. Its level reached the highest point in 1–2 h and returned to the initial level after 8 h. The mRNA levels of cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, on the other hand, began to rise after a few hours, reaching the highest levels after 8 h. The salt-inducible kinase mRNA level in ACTH-, forskolin-, or 8-bromo-cAMP-treated Kin-7 cells, mutant Y1 with less cAMP-dependent PKA activity, remained low. However, Kin-7 cells, when transfected with a PKA expression vector, expressed salt-inducible kinase mRNA. Y1 cells that overexpressed salt-inducible kinase were isolated, and the mRNA levels of steroidogenic genes in these cells were compared with those in the parent Y1. The level of cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 mRNA in the salt-inducible kinase-overexpressing cells was markedly low compared with that in the parent, while the levels of Ad4BP/steroidogenic factor-1-, ACTH receptor-, and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein-mRNAs in the former were similar to those in the latter. The ACTH-dependent expression of cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450- and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein-mRNAs in the salt-inducible kinase-overexpressing cells was significantly repressed. The promoter activity of the cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 gene was assayed by using Y1 cells transfected with a human cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 promoter-linked reporter gene. Addition of forskolin to the culture medium enhanced the cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 promoter activity, but the forskolin-dependently activated promoter activity was inhibited when the cells were transfected with a salt-inducible kinase expression vector. This inhibition did not occur when the cells were transfected with a salt-inducible kinase (K56M) vector that encoded an inactive kinase. The salt-inducible kinase’s inhibitory effect was also observed when nonsteroidogenic, nonAd4BP/steroidogenic factor-1 -expressing, NIH3T3 cells were used for the promoter assays. These results suggested that salt-inducible kinase might play an important role(s) in the cAMP-dependent, but Ad4BP/steroidogenic factor-1-independent, gene expression of cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450 in adrenocortical cells.


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