Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Stimulates the Biosynthesis of Pregnenolone Sulfate and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate in the Hypothalamus

The sulfated neurosteroids pregnenolone sulfate (Δ5PS) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) are known to play a role in the control of reproductive behavior. In the frog Pelophylax ridibundus, the enzyme hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase (HST), responsible for the biosynthesis of Δ5PS and DHEAS, is expressed in the magnocellular nucleus and the anterior preoptic area, two hypothalamic regions that are richly innervated by GnRH1-containing fibers. This observation suggests that GnRH1 may regulate the formation of sulfated neurosteroids to control sexual activity. Double labeling of frog brain slices with HST and GnRH1 antibodies revealed that GnRH1-immunoreactive fibers are located in close vicinity of HST-positive neurons. The cDNAs encoding 3 GnRH receptors (designated riGnRHR-1, -2, and -3) were cloned from the frog brain. RT-PCR analyses revealed that riGnRHR-1 is strongly expressed in the hypothalamus and the pituitary whereas riGnRHR-2 and -3 are primarily expressed in the brain. In situ hybridization histochemistry indicated that GnRHR-1 and GnRHR-3 mRNAs are particularly abundant in preoptic area and magnocellular nucleus whereas the concentration of GnRHR-2 mRNA in these 2 nuclei is much lower. Pulse-chase experiments using tritiated Δ5P and DHEA as steroid precursors, and 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate as a sulfonate moiety donor, showed that GnRH1 stimulates, in a dose-dependent manner, the biosynthesis of Δ5PS and DHEAS in frog diencephalic explants. Because Δ5PS and DHEAS, like GnRH, stimulate sexual activity, our data strongly suggest that some of the behavioral effects of GnRH could be mediated via the modulation of sulfated neurosteroid production.