Shihadeh N. Nayfeh

Sertoli cell origin of testicular androgen-binding protein (ABP)

In this report it is suggested that the specific adrogen-binding protein (ABP), previously shown to originate in the testis of rat and other species, is produced by the Sertoli cells. This suggestion is based upon the following experimental findings: 1) ABP was found in high concentrations in testicular efferent duct fluid but only in trace amounts in inter-tubular lymph. i) ABP could be recovered from crude preparations of testis tubules, but not from Leydig cells from the same testes. 3) Testes whose germinal epithelium had been severly damaged by gamma irradiation showed no decrease in ABP content. The transport of ABP to epididymis was also preserved as judged from the levels of ABP in caput epididymis. 4) Testes that were completely devoid of germ cells following prenatal gamma irradiation showed high levels of ABP, These high levels approached zero following hypophysectomy, but could be restored by FSH administration to the hypophysectomized animals. ABP has been well characterized and now provides a valuable experimental tool as an indicator of Sertoli cell function.

Androgen uptake and binding in rat epididymal nuclei, in,vivo

Abstract Androgen binding in epididymis was studied in mature rats eviscerated and functionally hepatectomized 18 h after castration. 1,2,6,7- 3 H-testosterone injected iv was recovered in 105,000 g supernatant and nuclear fractions largely as labeled dihydrotestosterone ( 3 H-DHT) bound to macromolecules. On sucrose density gradients, both epididymal supernatant and nuclear binding components had sedimentation coefficients of 3–4S. Similar nuclear binding components were found in ventral prostate and seminal vesicle but not in kidney or lung. The temporal relationship between binding in epididymal supernatant and nuclear fractions was consistent with the transfer of 3 H-DHT-macromolecular complexes from the cytoplasm into the nucleus.

Characterization of an androgen binding protein (ABP) in rat testis and epididymis

Abstract An androgen binding protein (ABP) was demonstrated in the 105,000 g supernatant of rat testis homogenate after charcoal extraction of endogenous steroids. Testis ABP proved to be identical to an ABP previously described in rat epididymis. It contained saturable high-affinity sites which exhibited binding specificity for dihydrotestosterone (6) and testosterone when measured by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or by competitive binding using charcoal adsorption. Binding to ABP was not affected by ribonuclease or neuraminidase but was decreased by the disulfide reducing agent, dithiothreitol and the sulfhydryl reagent, N-ethylmaleimide. Binding was abolished by treatment with proteolytic enzyme. The mean molecular radius of ABP was 2.92 nm as determined by the retardation of electrophoretic mobility in polyacrylamide gels of decreasing pore size. Assuming a partial specific volume of 0.66–0.74 the molecular weight was 86,000–91,000 for a spherical molecule. ABP binding was stable after treating at 45° C for 20 min. but was destroyed at 60° C. Binding was maximal between pH 7.5 and 9.0 and decreased at pH below 7.0.

Sex differences in estrogen binding by cytosolic and nuclear components of rat liver

Abstract Specific estrogen receptors are present in male and female liver cytosol in equal amounts and exhibit similar binding characteristics in terms of steroid specificity and affinity. Liver cytosol from mature male rats contains an additional binding protein (male-SBP) exhibiting a high binding capacity for estrogens and androgens. It is either absent or present in small amounts in mature female and immature male and female liver cytosol. Male-SBP sediments in the 4S region of 5–20% sucrose gradients in low ionic strength buffers. Sedimentation studies show that it is not a plasma contaminant. Surgical manipulations demonstrate that the pituitary exerts a superior control in the maintenance of sexual differences in levels of 4S binding in liver cytosol. Under in vitro cell-free conditions both male and female partially purified (30% ammonium sulfate fraction ; not containing male-SBP) estrogen receptors promote nuclear translocation of estradiol to a similar extent. In contrast, the presence of male SBP in whole (unfractionated) cytosol preparations apparently retards translocation during short (20 min) incubations. However, translocation in the male exceeds that in the female during longer (60 min) incubations of nuclei with whole cytosol preparations. These studies indicate that male-SBP and specific estrogen receptors may play a synergistic role in the nuclear translocation of hormone in male liver.

Androgen-binding proteins in rat epididymis: properties of a cytoplasmic receptor for androgen similar to the androgen receptor in ventral prostate and different from androgen-binding protein (ABP)

The cytoplasmic recptor (CR) in rat epididymal 105,000 g supernatant was separated from the androgen-binding protein (ABP) by gel electrophoresis following labeling with [1,2,6,7-3H]-testosterone in vivo. ABP disappeared from epididymal supernatants after castration of hypophysectomy, while CR remained unchanged. CR was evenly distributed between caput and cauda, while much more ABP was present in caput. Properties of CR in epididymis and prostate were similar and distinctly different from ABP. Binding to CR was destroyed by charcoal treatment (1 mg/mg protein) of supernatant for 0 degrees C for 6 h, heating at 50 degrees C for 30 min, or exposure to the sulfhydryl blocking reagent, p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonate (1mM) at 25 degrees C for 30 min, while binding to ABP was unaffected. The isoelectric pH of CR (5.8) was higher than that of ABP (4.6). Dissociation of radioactive 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from CR and nuclear receptors was extremely slow (half-time at 0 degrees C is greater than 2 days), while dissociation from ABP was rapid (half-time at 0 degrees C is similar to 6 min). Cyproterone acetate (250 mg/100 g body weight) inhibited binding to CR both in epididymis and ventral prostate but did not affect binding to ABP. Nuclear uptake was inhibited by cyproterone to the same extent as binding to CR, indicating that nuclear uptake and binding are dependent on CR and independent of ABP. The time-course of uptake and binding in epididymal supernatant and nuclear fractions was essentially the same 1 day after bilateral castration when both CR and ABP were present or 8 days after castration when CR alone was present. It is concluded that the cytoplasmic receptor for androgen in rat epididymis has properties very similar to the androgen receptor in ventral prostate but different from ABP.

Maturational changes in testicular steroidogenesis: Hormonal regulation of 5α-reductase

Abstract Studies were undertaken to compare the capacity of the human and rat testis to convert progesterone-3H (3H-P) both to testosterone (T) and 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol (5α-diol) at various stages of development, and to determine the possible mechanisms regulating the maturational changes in 5a-reductase activity in the rat testis. Testes from 1- and 13-yr-old males converted 3H-P to T (7–13%) and 17-hydroxyprogesterone (3–20%) and several unidentified metabolites. A similar metabolic pattern was obtained when 3H-P was incubated with testicular homogenate of 20-yr-old subjects, with the exception that the formation of T (27%) was higher than in 13-yr-old testis. Very little 5α-reduced androstane products, however, accumulated in these three incubations. Under the same incubation conditions, 90-day-old rat testis converted 3H-P to T, while 28-day-old testis converted 3H-P mainly to 5α-diol (58%). To determine whether 5α-reductase activity is dependent on gonadotropic stimulation, 5α-reductase was measured in seminiferous tubules and interstitial cells following various periods of hypophysectomy. In both testicular compartments, 5α-reductase activity decreased rapidly, reaching a minimal level 7 days following hypophysectomy. Treatment with either FSH or LH (3 days) 2 days following hypophysectomy increased significantly 5α-reductase activity in whole testis. Large doses of testosterone propionate, however, did not appear to increase the activity above the level of the untreated hypophy-sectomized control, indicating that this effect of gonadotropins is not mediated through androgens. These studies clearly demonstrated that neither the immature nor the mature human testis possesses a high level of 5α-reductase activity as compared with the rat testis, and that 5oc-reductase activity in the rat testis is dependent on gonadotropic stimulation, in contrast to the androgen-dependent 5α-reductase in other target tissues.

Testicular Androgen Binding Protein (ABP) — A Parameter of Sertoli Cell Secretory Function

Using ABP as an index of Sertoli cell secretory function, several important features of the Sertoli cell have emerged: 1. The stimulation of ABP production by FSH clearly points to the Sertoli cell as a target cell for FSH (3,4,9-16,21,24). 2. The dramatic effects of androgens on ABP production both in immature and mature rats also suggest that the Sertoli cell is a target cell for androgen (3,12,14,16,25). 3. The striking reduction in ABP production in the cryptorchid testis raises the question whether impairment of Sertoli cell function is the primary reason for the loss of germ cells that occurs in this condition (20). 4. Drugs like nitrofurazone or ethionine, or X-irradiation only slightly affect the secretory function of the Sertoli cells (ABP production), indicating that these treatments most probably have direct effects on the germ cells as well. Thus, measurement of ABP production rate is a very important tool in order to evaluate how hormones, drugs and physical injuries might affect the secretory function of the Sertoli cell. This test system might be of great use in order to study the physiology and hormonal regulation of the Sertoli cells. It might also be valuable in pharmacological and toxicological studies.

Testicular androgen-binding protein (ABP): comparison of abp in rabbit testis and epididymis with a similar androgen-binding protein (TeBG) in rabbit serum

Testicular androgen-binding proteins (ABP) in rabbit testis, caput epididymis and efferent duct fluid (EDF) were compared to a similar androgen-binding protein TeBg) in rabbit serum. The affinity of these proteins for 5alpha-dihydrotesterone (DHT) at 0 degrees C (KaABP = 1.6 X 10(9) M-1 and KaTeBG = 1.9 X 10(9) M-1) and their steroid specificities were similar (DHT greater than androstanediol greater than progesterone and androstenedione). ABP and TeBG had also almost identical Stokes radii (42.8 +/- 1.2 and 43.9 +- 0.8 A, respectively), sedimentation coefficients (4.7 +/- 0.2 S and 4.4 +/- 0.2 S, respectively) and electrophoretic mobility (Rf = 0.4 in 6 1/2% polyacrylamide gels). Calculation of molecular weights from Stokes radii and sedimentation rates indicated a molecular weight of 74,000 (69,000-78,000) for TeBG and 76,000 (71,000-82,000) for ABP. The corresponding frictional ratios were 1.61 for TeBG and 1.55 for ABP assuming a partial specific volume (v) of 0.70 cm3/g. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) at different gel concentrations gave a mean molecular radius of 2.74 nm, also indicating a molecular weight of about 75,000 (v = 0.70 cm3/g. ABP and TeBG could not be separated by PAGE; however, partial separation of ABP and TeBG was achieved by isoelectric focusing and ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. TeBG focused at pH 5.4, whereas ABP formed a distinct peak of bound radioactivity at pH 4.7. Also by ionexchange chromatography, ABP in both testis and epididymal supernatants was shown to have an apparently higher surface charge than TeBG in rabbit serum. The concentration of ABP in efferent duct fluid (2 X 10(-7) M = 60 pmol/mg protien) was much higher than TeBG in male rabbit serum (5.2 X 10(-8) M = 0.7 pmol/mg protein). These findings ruled against the possibility that ABP in the testis and epididymis could have been derived directly from serum. It is concluded that ABP and TeBG are very similar if not identical proteins both serving as transport and carrier proteins in their respective compartments.

Stimulation of inositol phosphate formation in FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells by catecholamines and its relationship to changes in 45Ca2+ efflux and cyclic AMP accumulation

Catecholamines specifically stimulated the rapid formation of inositol phosphates, bisphosphates and trisphosphates in a concentration-dependent manner in FRTL-5 thyroid cells. Further analysis by high performance liquid chromatography revealed the presence of two isomers of inositol trisphosphate, 1,4,5- and 1,3,4-trisphosphate, suggesting that the 1,4,5-trisphosphate of inositol is further metabolized to the 1,3,4-trisphosphate isomer. The alpha 1-adrenoreceptor antagonist, prazosin, inhibited the effects of epinephrine, while the alpha 2-adrenoreceptor antagonist, yohimbine, was without effect. Treatment of FRTL-5 cells with pertussis toxin (to inhibit Ni) did not abolish the epinephrine effect on inositol trisphosphate formation. Carbachol, N6-[L-2-phenylisopropyl]-adenosine and forskolin were without effect on phosphoinositide metabolism. Both epinephrine and the calcium ionophore A23187 stimulated 45Ca2+ efflux from 45Ca2+-loaded FRTL-5 cells. The time-course of the epinephrine effect indicates that inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate formation (t1/2 approximately 1 s) precedes both the efflux of 45Ca2+ (t1/2 approximately 30 s) as well as the reduction of cyclic AMP levels (t1/2 approximately 90 s) in response to epinephrine. These results strongly suggest that inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate has the appropriate properties to act as a second messenger by which alpha 1-adrenergic hormones, through mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ and activation of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, reduce cyclic AMP levels in FRTL-5 cells.

Androgen receptor in nuclei of rat testis

Testis nuclei of hypophysectomized rats selectively accumulate labeled testosterone and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone following the injection of tritiated testosterone in vivo. Testosterone and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone are bound to macromolecules in nuclei and can be extracted with 0.5 M KCl. Accumulation of protein bound radioactive androgens in nuclei of isolated seminiferous tubules is similar to that of whole testis. The relative amounts of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in purified nuclei were similar to the relative amounts bound to cytoplasmic receptors, suggesting that cytoplasmic androgen-receptor complexes may be transported into the nuclei. Binding of labeled androgen is saturable and inhibited by prior injection of unlabeled testosterone or cyproterone acetate. Nuclear binding sites are destroyed by the proteolytic enzyme pronase, but not by DNase. Like the cytoplasmic androgen-receptor complexes in rat testis, nuclear androgen-protein complexes are heat labile and dissociate slowly at 0 degrees C. androgens fail to accumulate in testis nuclei of the Stanley-Gumbreck androgen insensitive rat, a species lacking cytoplasmic androgen receptors in testis and other androgen target tissues.