scholarly journals Genes Involved in the Adrenal Pathway of Glucocorticoid Synthesis Are Transiently Expressed in the Developing Lung

Endocrinology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 146 (5) ◽  
pp. 2239-2245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre R. Provost ◽  
Yves Tremblay

Abstract We have studied the expression of genes involved in glucocorticoid synthesis in the developing lungs of male and female mouse fetuses on gestation days (GD) 15–18 (surge of surfactant, GD 17; term, GD 19). High levels of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, cytochrome P450 cholesterol side chain cleavage, 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1, 21- hydroxylase, and 11β-hydroxylase mRNAs were observed in three of the six litters studied on GD 15 and in none of the 14 litters analyzed between GD 16 and 18. Of these three litters, two showed high expression levels for these five genes in lung tissues from female fetuses only, whereas in the remaining litter, only tissues from male fetuses presented high expression of these genes. In contrast, 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 mRNA level was very low on GD 15 and presented a gradual increase between GD 15 and 18 with no sex difference. Our data indicate that, like the mature adrenal, the fetal lung expresses all genes required in glucocorticoid synthesis from cholesterol. In addition, our results demonstrate that transient expression of these genes on GD 15 in the fetal lung occurs for both male and female fetuses, 2 d before the surge of surfactant synthesis, which is stimulated by glucocorticoids.

2017 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Fang Du ◽  
Qing Yu ◽  
Kai Chuan ◽  
Chang-Lin Ye ◽  
Ze-Jia He ◽  
...  

Exercise training is advocated for treating chronic inflammation and obesity-related metabolic syndromes. Glucocorticoids (GCs), the anti-inflammatory hormones, are synthesized or metabolized in extra-adrenal organs. This study aims to examine whether exercise training affects obesity-associated pulmonary inflammation by regulating local GC synthesis or metabolism. We found that sedentary obese ( ob/ob) mice exhibited increased levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, and leukocyte infiltration in lung tissues compared with lean mice, which was alleviated by 6 wk of exercise training. Pulmonary corticosterone levels were decreased in ob/ob mice. Exercise training increased pulmonary corticosterone levels in both lean and ob/ob mice. Pulmonary corticosterone levels were negatively correlated with IL-1β, IL-18, and MCP-1. Immunohistochemical staining of the adult mouse lung sections revealed positive immunoreactivities for the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (CYP11A1), the steroid 21-hydroxylase (CYP21), 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD), and type 1 and type 2 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) but not for 11β-hydroxylase (CYP11B1). Exercise training significantly increased pulmonary 11β-HSD1 expression in both lean and ob/ob mice. In contrast, exercise training per se had no effect on pulmonary 11β-HSD2 expression, although pulmonary 11β-HSD2 levels in ob/ob mice were significantly higher than in lean mice. RU486, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, blocked the anti-inflammatory effects of exercise training in lung tissues of obese mice and increased inflammatory cytokines in lean exercised mice. These findings indicate that exercise training increases pulmonary expression of 11β-HSD1, thus contributing to local GC activation and suppression of pulmonary inflammation in obese mice. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Treadmill training leads to a significant increase in pulmonary corticosterone levels in ob/ob mice, which is in parallel with the favorable effects of exercise on obesity-associated pulmonary inflammation. Exercise training increases pulmonary 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) expression but has no significant effect on 11β-HSD2 expression in both lean and ob/ob mice. These findings indicate that exercise training increases pulmonary expression of 11β-HSD1, thus contributing to local glucocorticoid activation and suppression of pulmonary inflammation in obese mice.


2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (3) ◽  
pp. R711-R719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Alsop ◽  
Mathilakath M. Vijayan

Using zebrafish embryos and larvae, we examined the temporal patterns of cortisol and expression of genes involved in corticosteroid synthesis and signaling. Embryonic cortisol levels decreased ∼70% from 1.5 h postfertilization (hpf) to hatch (∼42 hpf) and then increased 27-fold by 146 hpf. The mRNA abundances of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, 11β-hydroxylase and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, increased severalfold after hatch and preceded the rise of cortisol levels. In contrast to other teleosts that possess two glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and one mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), only one GR and MR were identified in zebrafish, which were cloned and sequenced. GR mRNA abundance decreased from 1.5 to 25 hpf, rebounded, and then was stable from 49 to 146 hpf. MR transcripts increased continuously from 1.5 hpf and were 52-fold higher by 97 hpf. An acute cortisol response to a stressor was not detected until 97 hpf, whereas melanocortin type 2 receptor mRNA increased between 25 and 49 hpf. Collectively, the patterns of cortisol and the expression of cortisol biosynthetic genes and melanocortin type 2 receptor suggest that the corticoid stress axis in zebrafish is fully developed only after hatch. The temporal differences in GR, MR, and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 gene expression lead us to propose a key role for MR signaling by maternal cortisol during embryogenesis, whereas cortisol secretion after hatch may be regulating GR expression and signaling in zebrafish.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (2) ◽  
pp. E466-E473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Hanafusa ◽  
Tomoatsu Mune ◽  
Tetsuya Tanahashi ◽  
Yukinori Isomura ◽  
Tetsuya Suwa ◽  
...  

To evaluate the effects of altered corticosteroid metabolism on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, we examined rats treated with glycyrrhizic acid (G rats) or rifampicin (R rats) for 7 days. The half-life of exogenously administered hydrocortisone as a substitute for corticosterone was longer in G rats and shorter in R rats, with no differences in basal plasma levels of ACTH or corticosterone. The ACTH responses to human corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) or insulin-induced hypoglycemia were greater in G rats and tended to be smaller in R rats compared with those in the control rats, whereas the corticosterone response was similar. No difference was observed in the content and mRNA level of hypothalamic CRF among the groups. The number and mRNA level of CRF receptor and type 1 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11-HSD1) mRNA level in the pituitary were increased in G rats but not changed in R rats, suggesting that chronically increased intrapituitary corticosterone upregulates pituitary CRF receptor expression. In contrast, CRF mRNA levels in the pituitary were increased in R rats. Our data indicate novel mechanisms of corticosteroid metabolic modulation and the involvement of pituitary 11-HSD1 and CRF in glucocorticoid feedback physiology.


Endocrinology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
pp. 1599-1607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Le Roy ◽  
J. Yuan Li ◽  
Douglas M. Stocco ◽  
Dominique Langlois ◽  
José M. Saez

Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time-course effect of a 36-h treatment with ACTH (10−8m), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1; 10−10m), angiotensin II (AngII; 10−7m), and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I; 10−8m) on the steroidogenic capacity of bovine adrenocortical cells (BAC) and on messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of ACTH receptor, cytochrome P450c17, 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3βHSD), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), and StAR protein. ACTH and IGF-I enhanced, in a time-dependent manner, the acute 2-h ACTH-induced cortisol production, whereas TGFβ1 and AngII markedly reduced it. ACTH, IGF-I, and AngII increased ACTH receptor mRNA, but the opposite was observed after TGFβ1 treatment. ACTH and IGF-I increased P450c17 and 3βHSD mRNAs, whereas AngII and TGFβ1 had the opposite effects. However, the effects of the four peptides on ACTH-induced cortisol production appeared before any significant alterations of the mRNA levels occurred. The most marked and rapid effect of the four peptides was on StAR mRNA. The stimulatory effect of ACTH was seen within 1.5 h, peaked at 4–6 h, and declined thereafter, but at the end of the 36-h pretreatment, the levels of StAR mRNA and protein were higher than those in control cells. IGF-I also enhanced StAR mRNA levels within 1.5 h, and these levels remained fairly constant. The effects of AngII on StAR mRNA expression were biphasic, with a peak within 1.5–3 h, followed by a rapid decline to almost undetectable levels of both mRNA and protein. TGFβ1 had no significant effect during the first 3 h, but thereafter StAR mRNA declined, and at the end of the experiment the StAR mRNA and protein were almost undetectable. Similar results were observed when cells were treated with ACTH plus TGFβ1. A 2-h acute ACTH stimulation at the end of the 36-h pretreatment caused a higher increase in StAR mRNA and protein in ACTH- or IGF-I-pretreated cells than in control cells, which, in turn, had higher levels than cells pretreated with TGFβ1, ACTH plus TGFβ1, or AngII. These results and the fact that the stimulatory (IGF-I) or inhibitory (AngII and TGFβ1) effects on ACTH-induced cortisol production were more pronounced than those on the ability of cells to transform pregnenolone into cortisol strongly suggest that regulation of StAR expression is one of the main factors, but not the only one, involved in the positive (IGF-I) or negative (TGFβ1 and AngII) regulation of BAC for ACTH steroidogenic responsiveness. A high correlation between steady state mRNA level and acute ACTH-induced cortisol production favors this conclusion.


Endocrinology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 147 (9) ◽  
pp. 4476-4485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica B. Frungieri ◽  
Silvia I. Gonzalez-Calvar ◽  
Fernanda Parborell ◽  
Martin Albrecht ◽  
Artur Mayerhofer ◽  
...  

We have previously found that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of prostaglandins (PGs), is present in the testicular interstitial cells of infertile men, whereas it is absent in human testes with no evident morphological changes or abnormalities. To find an animal model for further investigating COX-2 and its role in testicular steroidogenesis, we screened testes from adult species ranging from mice to monkeys. By using immunohistochemical assays, we found COX-2 expression only in Leydig cells of the reproductively active (peripubertal, pubertal, and adult) seasonal breeder Syrian hamster. COX-2 expression in hamster Leydig cells was confirmed by RT-PCR. In contrast, COX-1 expression was not detected in hamster testes. Because COX-2 expression implies PG synthesis, we investigated the effect of various PGs on testosterone production and found that PGF2α stood out because it significantly reduced human chorionic gonadotropin-stimulated testosterone release from isolated hamster Leydig cells in a dose-dependent manner. This mechanism involves a decreased expression of testicular steroidogenic acute regulatory protein and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Testicular concentration and content of PGF2α in reproductively active hamsters as well as production of PGF2α from isolated hamster Leydig cells were also determined. Moreover, PGF2α receptors were localized in Leydig cells of hamsters and testicular biopsies from patients with Sertoli cell only and germ arrest syndromes. Thus, in this study, we described a COX-2-initiated pathway that via PGF2α production, PGF2α receptors, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase represents a physiological local inhibitory system of human chorionic gonadotropin-stimulated testosterone production in the Syrian hamster testes.


Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (11) ◽  
pp. 5600-5611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Wang ◽  
Ji Young Kim ◽  
Kai Xue ◽  
Jia-yin Liu ◽  
Arthur Leader ◽  
...  

Abstract Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous syndrome associated with follicle growth arrest, minimal granulosa cell proliferation, dysregulated sex hormone profile, hyperthecosis, and insulin resistance. Using a 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced rat model that recapitulates the reproductive and metabolic phenotypes of human PCOS, we have examined the steroidogenic capability of granulosa cells from DHT-treated rats. Gene expression of several key steroidogenic enzymes including p450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (p450scc), aromatase, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-17β, and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-3β were markedly lower in DHT-treated rats than the controls, although the responsiveness of their granulosa cells to FSH was higher. Expression of the adipokine chemerin and its receptor, chemokine receptor-like 1, was evident in control and DHT-treated rats, with significantly higher ovarian mRNA abundances and protein contents of chemerin and its receptor. Recombinant chemerin decreases basal estradiol secretion in granulosa cells from DHT-treated rats. When the inhibitory role of chemerin on steroidogenesis was further examined in vitro, chemerin suppressed FSH-induced progesterone and estradiol secretion in cultured preantral follicles and granulosa cells. Chemerin also inhibits FSH-induced aromatase and p450scc expression in granulosa cells. Overexpression of nuclear receptors NR5a1 and NR5a2 promotes p450scc and aromatase expression, respectively, which is suppressed by chemerin. These findings suggest that chemerin is a novel negative regulator of FSH-induced follicular steroidogenesis and may contribute to the pathogenesis of PCOS.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinshan Bai ◽  
Cui Zhu ◽  
Meiying Feng ◽  
Bo Pan ◽  
Shouquan Zhang ◽  
...  

Granulosa cells (GCs) are the key components of ovarian follicles for regulating oocyte maturation. Previous established GC lines have allowed prolonged proliferation, but lost some physiological features owing to long-term immortalization. This study was to establish an induced immortal porcine GC line with reversible proliferation status by the tetracycline inducible (Tet-on) 3G system. Our conditional immortal porcine GCs (CIPGCs) line steadily propagated for at least six months and displayed primary GC morphology when cultured in the presence of 50 ng/mL doxycycline [Dox (+)]. Upon Dox withdrawal [Dox (–)], Large T-antigen expression, reflected by mCherry fluorescence, gradually became undetectable within 48 h, accompanied by less proliferation and size increase. The levels of estradiol and progesterone, and the expression of genes associated with steroid production, such as CYP11A1 (cytochrome P450 family 11), 3β-HSD (3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase), StAR (steroidogenic acute regulatory protein), and CYP19A1 (cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily a member 1), were all significantly higher in the Dox (–) group than Dox (+) group. The CIPGCs could switch into a proliferative state upon Dox induction. Interestingly, the expression of StAR and CYP19A1 in the CIPGCs (–Dox) was significantly increased by adding porcine follicular fluid (PFF) to mimic an ovary follicle environment. Moreover, PFF priming the CIPGCs in Dox (–) group resulted in similar estradiol production as that of primary GC, and enabled this cell line to respond to gonadotrophins in estradiol production. Collectively, we have established an inducible immortal porcine GC line, which offers a unique and valuable model for future research on the regulation of ovarian functions.


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