GESCHLECHTSSPEZIFIKA DER BIOSYNTHESE VON STEROIDGLUCURONIDEN IN DER MIT TESTOSTERON PERFUNDIERTEN RATTENLEBER

1970 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert Schriefers ◽  
Rüdiger Ghraf ◽  
Mathilde Brodesser

ABSTRACT In order to reveal contingent sex specificities regarding the biosynthesis of steroid glucuronides perfusion experiments with rat liver and [4-14C] testosterone** as substrate were carried out. 75% (male rats) respectively 89% (female rats) of the chromatographically isolated aglucones could be identified. In the course of one single passage of the substrate the female liver retains significantly more (factor 1.4) 14C-activity than the male. Since this phenomenon is not due to a sex different capacity of the liver for the synthesis of steroid glucuronides, it must be regarded as a sex characteristic sui generis. The aglucone pattern exhibits the following sex differences: The quantitatively predominant aglucones are testosterone (47%) and hydroxylated Δ4-3-ketosteroids in male rats and ring A hydrogenated products of the type C19O2 (80.7%) in females. Within the group of ring A hydrogenated C19O2-aglucones the biologically inactive 5β-compounds (5β-androsterone, 17β-hydroxy-5β-androstan-3-one, 5β-androstane-3α, 17β-diol) prevail in the male sex, and the biologically active 5α-compounds (5α-androsterone, 17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one, 5α-androstane-3α, 17β-diol) in the female sex. With either sex the percentage share of 5α- and 5β-androsterone and 5α- and 5β-androstane-3α,17β-diol in the glucuronide fraction is extremely higher than in the fraction of free steroids though the affinity of the UDP-glucuronyl transferase of the rat liver is considerably lower for these four metabolites than for the 4,5-dihydro-testosterone derivatives which, however, for their part are nearly equally distributed between the glucuronide and the free steroid fraction. Therefore, it can be postulated that the glucuronides of the above mentioned androsterones and androstanediols derive mainly from the hydrogenation of testosterone glucuronide and only for the minor part from direct conjugation of the hydrogenation products with glucuronic acid.

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.


1960 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. KORNER

SUMMARY 1. Microsomes, isolated from rat liver a day after adrenalectomy, incorporate more radioactive amino acid into their protein in vitro than microsomes from normal rat liver. This enhanced rate of incorporation progressively declines with time after adrenalectomy until it reaches a plateau level which is below the normal rate of incorporation. 2. Following adrenalectomy microsomes isolated from liver of male rats show a greater rise in incorporating ability than those from liver of female rats, and maintain it longer. 3. Most of the increased incorporation observed in the in vitro system soon after adrenalectomy of the rat, and most of the decreased incorporation observed in rats adrenalectomized for some time, results from alterations in the microsomes which change their ability to incorporate activated amino acids into proteins. 4. Treatment of rats with cortisol acetate results in an increase in the ability of liver microsomes to incorporate amino acid into protein. This heightened incorporating ability is probably a secondary result of the breakdown of extrahepatic tissue protein which is stimulated by cortisol. 5. Somewhat similar responses to acute adrenalectomy and to treatment with cortisol were found in hypophysectomized rats. 6. The protein anabolic response of adrenalectomized rats to treatment with insulin, and of adrenalectomized-hypophysectomized rats to treatment with insulin or growth hormone, is greater than that shown by rats which possess adrenal glands.


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.


1977 ◽  
Vol 162 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
G S Rao ◽  
G Haueter ◽  
M L Rao ◽  
H Breuer

1. Microsomal preparations from rat liver, kidney and intestine were tested for UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity by using oestrone, oestradiol-17 beta, oestriol, testosterone, cortisol, cortisone, corticosterone, aldosterone, tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone as substrates. The microsomal preparation from the liver glucuronidated oestrone, oestradiol-17 beta and testosterone. 2. The specific activity of the enzyme was significantly higher in livers from female rats than in those from male rats. 3. Testosterone was actively glucuronidated by both sexes. Cortisol, cortisone, corticosterone, aldosterone, tetrahydrocortisol and tetrahydrocortisone were not glucuronidated by any of the three tissues. 4. The non-ionic detergent Lubrol WX activates liver microsomal UDP-glucuronyltransferase 2-3-fold with oestrone and testosterone as substrates. 5. Oestrone glucuronyltransferase was inhibited by oestradiol-17 beta, predominantly competitively and by testosterone non-competitively. Bilirubin was a non-competitive inhibitor of oestrone glucuronidation. p-Nitrophenol had no effect. 6. Oestrone glucuronyltransferase could not be stimulated by either acute or prolonged treatment of animals with phenobarbital, whereas a single dose of 3-methylcholanthrene led to a moderate stimulation. 7. Ovariectomy leads to a 56% decrease in oestrone glucuronyltransferase activity; administration of oestradiol-17 beta induces the enzyme to normal activity after 12 days, and after 15 days the activity is twice the control value. Actinomycin D and cycloheximide block the oestradiol-17 beta-induced increase in enzyme activity. 8. Castration has no effect on the activity of testosterone glucuronyltransferase, nor does administration of testosterone influence enzyme activity. The results provide strong evidence for the existence of multiple steroid glucuronyltransferases in the liver of the rat.


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.


1993 ◽  
Vol 289 (3) ◽  
pp. 719-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
E B Borthwick ◽  
A Burchell ◽  
M W Coughtrie

Sulphation of oestrogens represents an important regulatory mechanism for these biologically active compounds. We have characterized and purified a form of rat liver sulphotransferase (ST), existing as a 32,500 Da monomer, which sulphates oestrogens, and have used this preparation to produce antibodies against oestrogen ST. The enzyme was active against oestrone, oestriol and beta-oestradiol, but not towards androgens. Using the antibody as a probe for immunoblotting, it was determined that the enzyme is expressed solely in male rats, and predominantly in the liver. Of the tissues examined, the only major extrahepatic tissue found to have any oestrogen ST was the brain (although the levels were very low), indicating that there might be a role for the sulphation of oestrogens in the brain. Examination of human liver and platelet cytosols by immunoblotting showed that the antibody recognized two major proteins of 32 and 34 kDa, which were presumed to correspond to the two principal phenol ST isoenzymes present in man.


1988 ◽  
Vol 251 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Saarem ◽  
J I Pedersen

In a previous study we found that liver mitochondrial side-chain hydroxylation of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and of 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha,7 alpha,12 alpha-triol was higher in female than in male rats [Saarem & Pedersen (1987) Biochem. J. 247, 73-78]. The present paper describes the effects of age, gonadectomy and hypophysectomy on these activities. The sex difference became manifest above the age of 7 weeks. Ovariectomy and/or injection of oestradiol valerate had no effect on the hydroxylase activities in adult females. Castration increased, and subsequent testosterone treatment decreased, the hydroxylase activities in adult males. Hypophysectomy had no effect in females, but increased the hydroxylase activities in males. Testosterone treatment had no effect in hypophysectomized females or males. Injection of oestradiol valerate had no effect on the hydroxylase activities in hypophysectomized females. In hypophysectomized males this treatment had no effect on the vitamin D3 25-hydroxylase activity, but decreased the C27-steroid 27-hydroxylase activity in males. Microsomal 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 25-hydroxylase activity was lower in females than in males in all age groups. Castration or hypophysectomy decreased the activity in male rats. It is concluded that, in adult female rats, the mitochondrial side-chain hydroxylation of vitamin D3 and of 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha,7 alpha,12 alpha-triol is independent of sex hormones. In males these activities are regulated by influence of sex hormones on the hypophysis, probably by the presence of androgens in the neonatal period. Different effects on the two hydroxylases indicate the presence of at least two different cytochromes P-450 in rat liver mitochondria.


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