TESTOSTERONE Δ4-REDUCTASE ACTIVITY IN RAT LIVER: HORMONAL CONTROL IN VIVO

1974 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. PATTERSON ◽  
A. F. CLARK ◽  
C. E. BIRD

SUMMARY The rate-limiting step in the metabolism of testosterone by the liver is reduction of the double bond in ring A. Using a spectrophotometric assay we have studied the effects of some hormonal manipulations on the levels (per mg protein) of testosterone Δ4-reductase activity in rat liver. While the levels of enzyme activity were higher for adult female rat liver than for adult male liver, there were no further changes in livers from female rats at day 15 of gestation. In male rats, castration increased, hypophysectomy decreased and adrenalectomy had no effect on the level of activity. Administration of oestradiol valerate increased the activity in intact and adrenalectomized animals and had no effect in the hypophysectomized or castrated groups. Administration of testosterone enanthate decreased the levels of activity in the castrated and adrenalectomized groups and had no effects in unoperated or hypophysectomized animals. When given together, the two hormones were antagonistic. Prolactin had no significant effects in either intact or hypophysectomized animals. Experiments with actinomycin D and cycloheximide indicated that the synthesis of new protein was involved in the effects of oestradiol in intact rats. All the changes reflected alterations in the microsomal enzyme level.

1985 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. K. Pak ◽  
K. W. K. Tsim ◽  
C. H. K. Cheng

ABSTRACT Hepatic microsomal testosterone 5-reductase activity was approximately fourfold higher in adult female rats than in males. This discrepancy was only partly androgen-dependent since gonadectomy of male rats at 68 days of age resulted in only a partial increase of the enzyme activity. This increase was reversible by the administration of testosterone. Similar treatment, however, produced no effect in the female rat, indicating that there is a sex difference in testosterone responsivity. Castration of newborn male rats resulted in a marked increase in the basal enzyme activity. This increase was not affected by treating the adults with testosterone. Giving testosterone to male rats immediately after neonatal gonadectomy, or to newborn female rats, did not produce the male pattern of both the basal enzyme activity and the testosterone responsivity in adulthood. These results suggest that a brief exposure to neonatal androgen is not critical for the expression of the male type of enzyme activity, but that the continuous presence of the male gonads up to and including the pubertal period is essential. Exposure of pubescent female rats to testosterone during the period from 35 to 50 days of age resulted in a significant increase in testosterone sensitivity when tested at 90 days of age, suggesting that pubertal exposure to androgen is important for the expression of testosterone responsivity in adulthood. The sensitivity was potentiated when the animals were ovariectomized before puberty. Furthermore, the enzyme activity in prepubertally ovariectomized female rats was significantly lower than that in adult gonadectomized animals. The decreased level of activity returned to the control value when oestrogen was replaced during puberty, indicating that peripubertal oestrogen exposure is required for maintaining the high level of activity found in adult female rats. The present findings suggest that the pubertal period represents a sensitive phase during which sex hormones act to regulate the sexual differentiation of testosterone 5-reductase activity in the rat. J. Endocr. (1985) 106, 71–79


1971 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Wenzel

ABSTRACT With the aid of metenolon-17α-T a tritium-transfer to oestrone in rat liver slices was demonstrated. This tritium-transfer from metenolon17α-T to oestrone yielding tritium-labelled oestradiol had a higher efficiency in male than in female rat liver. Correspondingly in the presence of metenolon the relation of oestrone to oestradiol is changed more in male than in female rat liver. Looking for biochemical differences between the anabolic steroid metenolon and testosterone the oxydation at C17 was measured in different organs of the rat using 17α-T-labelled steroids. The highest oxydation rate was found for both steroids in the liver. In the sexual organs of male rats the oxydation rate of testosterone was 50–10 times higher than that of the anabolic steroid. This difference was less in sexual organs of female rats. This result of a greater biochemical difference between both steroids in males than in females leads to the question, whether the dissociation between the anabolic and the androgen effects is higher in males than in females.


1998 ◽  
Vol 335 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. SHERRATT ◽  
Margaret M. MANSON ◽  
Anne M. THOMSON ◽  
Erna A. M. HISSINK ◽  
Gordon E. NEAL ◽  
...  

A characteristic feature of the class Theta glutathione S-transferase (GST) T1-1 is its ability to activate dichloromethane and dibromoethane by catalysing the formation of mutagenic conjugates. The level of the GSTT1 subunit within tissues is an important determinant of susceptibility to the carcinogenic effects of these dihaloalkanes. In the present study it is demonstrated that hepatic GST activity towards these compounds can be elevated significantly in female and male Fischer-344 rats by feeding these animals on diets supplemented with cancer chemopreventive agents. Immunoblotting experiments showed that increased activity towards the dihaloalkanes is associated with elevated levels of the GSTT1 subunit in rat liver. Sex-specific effects were observed in the induction of GSTT1 protein. Amongst the chemopreventive agents tested, indole-3-carbinol proved to be the most potent inducer of hepatic GSTT1 in male rats (6.2-fold), whereas coumarin was the most potent inducer of this subunit in the livers of female rats (3.5-fold). Phenobarbital showed significant induction of GSTT1 only in male rat liver and had little effect in female rat liver. Western blotting showed that class Alpha, Mu and Pi GST subunits are not co-ordinately induced with GSTT1, indicating that the expression of GSTT1 is determined, at least in part, by mechanisms distinct from those that regulate levels of other transferases. The increase in amount of hepatic GSTT1 protein was also reflected by an increase in the steady-state level of mRNA in response to treatment with chemopreventive agents and model inducers. Immunohistochemical detection of GSTT1 in rat liver supported the Western blotting data, but showed, in addition to cytoplasmic staining, significant nuclear localization of the enzyme in hepatocytes from some treated animals, including those fed on an oltipraz-containing diet. Significantly, the hepatic level of cytochrome P-450 2E1, an enzyme which offers a detoxification pathway for dihaloalkanes, was unchanged by the various inducing agents studied. It is concluded that the induction of GSTT1 by dietary components and its localization within cells are important factors that should be considered when assessing the risk dihaloalkanes pose to human health.


1990 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Porsch Hällstöm ◽  
J.-Å. Gustafsson ◽  
A. Blanck

ABSTRACT Expression of the c-myc gene was studied in the livers of male and female Wistar rats. Furthermore, the effects on hepatic c-myc expression of neonatal and adult castration, with or without testosterone supplementation, as well as of continuous administration of GH to intact males, were analysed. Expression of c-myc was low in 6-day-old animals of both sexes, reached a maximum at 35 days of age and declined to the level of adult animals at 70 days. In prepubertal animals, expression was higher in females, but was higher in males after the onset of puberty, the postpubertal female rat liver exhibiting 50–70% of the expression in males. Treatment of adult male rats with bovine GH in osmotic minipumps for 1 week reduced c-myc expression to the level of female rats. Castration, both neonatally and of adults, also feminized hepatic c-myc expression. Testosterone supplementation of the castrated animals increased the expression towards the level in sham-operated controls. These results indicate that the c-myc gene is regulated by the hypothalamo-pituitary-liver axis via the sex-differentiated pattern of GH secretion, in analogy with other sex-differentiated hepatic functions, such as metabolism of steroids and xenobiotics. Neuroendocrine regulation of a gene such as c-myc, which is involved in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation, represents another aspect of the complex influence of GH on various somatic functions.


1993 ◽  
Vol 294 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
P K Srivastava ◽  
D J Waxman

The sex-dependent expression and growth hormone (GH) regulation of rat liver glutathione S-transferase (GST) was examined using oligonucleotide probes that distinguish between closely related class Alpha (Ya1, Ya2, Yc) and class Mu (Yb1, Yb2, Yb3) GST mRNAs [Waxman, Sundseth, Srivastava and Lapenson (1992) Cancer Res. 52, 5797-5802]. Northern-blot analysis revealed that the steady-state levels of GST Ya1, Yb1 and Yb2 mRNAs are 2.5-3-fold higher in male as compared with female rat liver. In contrast, GST Yc and Ya2 mRNAs were expressed at a 2-3-fold higher level in female rat liver. Microsomal GST mRNA did not exhibit significant sex-dependent differences in rat liver. Treatment of male rats with GH by continuous infusion suppressed expression of the male-dominant GST Ya1, Yb1 and Yb2 mRNAs to levels at or below those found in female rat liver. This suppressive effect of GH was liver-specific, insofar as GH treatment did not alter kidney GST Ya1 mRNA levels. Hypophysectomy increased expression of the male-dominant GSTs, particularly in female rats (e.g. 8-fold elevation of GST Ya1 mRNA). GST Yc mRNA was increased approx. 2-fold in hypophysectomized males, indicating that this mRNA is subject to negative regulation by one or more pituitary-dependent factors. Continuous GH treatment of the hypophysectomized rats suppressed the expression of mRNA of GSTs Ya1, Yb1 and Yb2 when given as a continuous infusion, but not when given by an intermittent (twice daily) GH-injection schedule. Combination of continuous exposure to GH with thyroxine treatment resulted in a more complete suppression of GSTs Ya1, Yb1 and Yb2. In contrast, thyroxine increased the expression of GST Yc in hypophysectomized rats. These studies establish that several Alpha and Mu class GSTs are expressed in a sex-dependent fashion in adult rat liver, where they are regulated by multiple pituitary-dependent hormones through pretranslational mechanisms.


1975 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-328
Author(s):  
R. S. Leeuwin ◽  
B. J. Visser ◽  
C. v. d. Meer

ABSTRACT Using the extraction procedure of Schmidt & Thannhauser (1945) and the indole reaction for DNA according to Ceriotti (1952), the DNA content of female rat liver was about one and a half times that of male liver. Castration of male rats, with or without administration of testosterone propionate, had no effect on the liver DNA content. Spaying of female rats (5–6 weeks of age) caused a decrease of the liver DNA content. Substitution with oestradiol benzoate restored the amount of DNA. No significant sex difference was observed in the DNA content of either rat brain, kidney, spleen and thymus, or mouse liver. Dische's diphenylamine reaction showed no significant sex difference in the rat liver DNA content. It was concluded that rat liver may contain a substance which is controlled by oestrogens and which interferes with the indole reaction. The interfering factor is present in the protein fraction of the liver extract. The possible nature of this interfering substance is discussed.


1987 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Norstedt ◽  
B. Husman ◽  
A. Mode ◽  
P. Eneroth ◽  
U.J. Lewis ◽  
...  

Abstract. The sex differentiated binding 125I-human prolactin (PRL) to rat liver membranes was studied and the present results extend our previous studies on induction of hepatic PRL receptors by growth hormone (GH). In prepubertal female rats, PRL receptor levels are low compared with those in mature female rat livers. Infusion of hGH during one week to 17-day-old female rats resulted in a receptor level typical of adult female rats. The time course of receptor disappearance in male rats treated with hGH was also studied. When the receptor-inducing hormone was removed, receptor levels in hGH-treated male rats returned to the normal level characteristic of male rats after approximately 96 h. The specificity of various GH-like and PRL-like hormones in PRL receptor induction was studied in hypophysectomized rats. The PRL-like hormones were identified by measuring their potency to displace 125I-hPRL from a receptor preparation obtained from female rat livers, and the GH-like hormones were identified by their potency to increase body weight in hypophysectomized rats. Using similar doses of hormones it was found that in vivo administration of growth-promoting peptides (rGH, hGH, bGH) induced PRL receptors, whereas lactogenic hormones (rPRL, hPL) had a very small or no effect on PRL receptor induction. This suggests that binding to a type of GH receptor is the first step in PRL receptor induction.


1996 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 556-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Feser ◽  
RS Kerdar H Blode ◽  
R. Reimann

1 We are reporting investigations into the potential of the steroid hormones chlormadinone acetate (CMA), cyproterone acetate (CPA), ethinylestradiol (EE2) gestodene (GEST), megestrol acetate (MGA), norethis terone acetate (NET-Ac), estradiol (E 2), and progester one (P) to form DNA-adducts in rat liver in vivo. 2 Compound-related DNA-adduct spots were detected in male and female rat liver following CMA, CPA, and MGA using the 32P-postlabeling-technique. Substance- specific DNA-adducts were also observed in male rats after administration of E2. The other compounds showed no DNA-adduct formation. After treatment with CMA, CPA or MGA, the relative adduct labeling (RAL) differed sex- and substance-specifically.


1994 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Sakaguchi ◽  
T Ohkubo ◽  
T Sugiyama ◽  
M Tanaka ◽  
H Ushiro ◽  
...  

Abstract Prolactin (PRL) exerts a wide variety of physiological effects on mammalian tissues through its receptor (PRL-R) on the target cells. PRL-R in rat tissue consists of two isoforms, the long and the short form, and the regulatory mechanisms of their mRNA expression in tissues are complex and diverse. The present study reports the differential regulation of PRL-R mRNA expression in rat liver and kidney by testosterone and oestradiol. Using Northern blot analysis, short form PRL-R mRNA was clearly detected in female rat liver and male rat kidney, and long form PRL-R mRNA was faintly observed only in female rat liver. However, the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method enabled efficient analysis of mRNA levels in short and long forms of PRL-R in the liver and kidney of both male and female rats. The mRNA levels for the long and short forms of PRL-R were depressed in the liver of male rats but not in that from female rats during sexual maturation. Castration of male rats resulted in the induction of the mRNAs for these two forms of PRL-R in the liver. Testosterone, but not oestradiol, completely blocked the induction by castration of liver PRL-R gene expression. In kidney, in contrast, mRNA levels for both forms of PRL-R were depressed in female rats but not in male rats after sexual maturation. Administration of oestradiol, but not of testosterone, caused marked repression of short form PRL-R mRNA, particularly in the kidney of male rats. The levels of long form PRL-R mRNA in the kidney was less affected by the administration of oestradiol. These results have suggested that the expression of PRL-R mRNAs in rat liver and kidney is differentially regulated by testosterone and oestrogen. Journal of Endocrinology (1994) 143, 383–392


1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
J J Bergeron ◽  
L Resch ◽  
R Rachubinski ◽  
B A Patel ◽  
B I Posner

Binding and internalization of 125I-ovine prolactin into hepatocytes of female rats was visualized by the in vivo radioautographic method (Bergeron, J. J. M., G. Levine, R. Sikstrom, D. O'Shaughnessey, B. Kopriwa, N. J. Nadler, and B. I. Posner, 1977, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 745:051-5055). Receptor-mediated internalization of label was observed into lipoprotein-filled vesicles in the Golgi/bile canalicular region of the hepatocyte. Colchicine treatment had no effect on the internalization of label into the lipoprotein-filled vesicles. However, the location of the radio-labeled lipoprotein-filled vesicles was altered from the Golgi/bile canalicular region to subsinusoidal. Radioactive content of hepatocytes decreased as a function of time after injection of 125I-prolactin; however, colchicine treatment markedly retarded this loss of label. Subcellular fractionation experiments indicated that colchicine treatment led to decreased levels of 125I-prolactin accumulation in microsomes but augmented the accumulation of label in the L fraction. It is concluded that in normal female rats prolactin is internalized into lipoprotein-filled vesicles in the Golgi region before degradation of the hormone. Colchicine treatment accumulates labeled lipoprotein-containing vesicles in a subsinusoidal region and retards hormone catabolism. The labeled vesicles observed after colchicine treatment may correspond to the unique vesicles previously observed in the L fraction and found to be enriched in prolactin receptors (Khan, M. N., B. I. Posner, A. K. Verma, R. J. Khan, and J. J. M. Bergeron, 1981, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 78:4980-4981).


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