Estrogen receptor binding in regions of the rat hypothalamus and preoptic area after inhibition of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase

Estrogen receptor immunostaining in the preoptic area and medial basal hypothalamus of estradiol benzoate- and prazosin-treated female guinea-pigs

Evidence has accumulated showing that the alpha 1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin decreases nuclear estrogen binding in the hypothalamus of the guinea-pig. In this study we asked if prazosin treatment alters estrogen receptor (ER) protein content as reflected by changes in ER-immunoreactivity. The monoclonal rat antibody H222 directed against ER was used to detect ER-immunoreactive (ER-ir) cells in eight specific preoptic and hypothalamic brain regions of ovariectomized Hartley strain guinea-pigs treated with estradiol benzoate and 1.0 mg/kg prazosin or vehicle. Immunocytochemical parameters which provided optimum conditions for detection of even modest changes in ER-immunoreactivity were first established. Then, using these optimum conditions, we compared 1) the mean number of ER-ir profiles, 2) the mean density of ER-ir staining, and 3) the distribution of ER-ir staining density readings, between conditions within each of the eight brain regions. No differences in any of these measures were found between prazosin- and vehicle-treated females. We also compared the percentage of ER-ir nuclear profiles across the eight cell groups investigated in estradiol benzoate- and vehicle-treated females. The medial preoptic area had by far the highest percentage (48%) of ER-ir profiles (P < 0.05) compared to all seven other brain regions (23% to 32% ER-ir cells). Our data, showing that ER-immunoreactivity is not reduced (6h) after prazosin treatment, suggests that mechanisms other than alterations in ER protein should be considered when interpreting the effects of prazosin on the retention of estradiol by nuclear or cytosolic extracts of hypothalamic lysates.

7 alpha-Methyl-17 alpha-(E-2'-[125I]iodovinyl)-19-nortestosterone: a new radioligand for the detection of androgen receptor

We have synthesized two gamma-emitting, 125I-labeled steroids, E- and Z-7 alpha-methyl-17 alpha-(2'-[125I]iodovinyl)-19-nortestosterone [125I](E- and Z-MIVNT) for specific labeling of androgen receptors. [125I]E- and [125I]Z-MIVNT were synthesized stereospecifically from E- and Z-7 alpha-methyl-17 alpha-(2'-tri-n-butylstannyl-vinyl)-19-nortestosterone. The tin adducts were prepared by addition of tri-n-butyltin hydride to 7 alpha-methyl-17 alpha-ethynyl-19-nortestosterone, and after purification they were converted in high yield to the [125I]MIVNT isomers by reaction with 125I (generated in situ by oxidation of [125I]iodide with chloramine T). The 125I-labeled products were purified by high-performance liquid chromatography, and their mass determined with an ultraviolet detector (specific activity of both, approximately 2,200 Ci/mmol). In rat prostate cytosol, [125I]E-MIVNT bound with high affinity to a single class of binding sites. Nonspecific binding in the presence of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone was relatively low, and compared favorably with that obtained in parallel studies with [3H]methyltrienolone (R1881). The E-isomer bound prostate cytosol with at least twice the affinity of the Z-isomer; therefore, the interaction of the E-isomer with the androgen receptor as well as other steroid receptors was studied in greater detail. Complexes of the androgen receptor with [125I]E-MIVNT as well as [3H]R1881 dissociate very slowly at 4C (kdiss for both = 0.04 h-1). Displacement studies showed that the interaction of [125I]E-MIVNT with the androgen receptor is highly specific. Competition studies showed that unlabeled E-MIVNT binds poorly to other steroid receptors in rat tissue cytosols. These binding properties make [125I]E-MIVNT a promising ligand for study of the androgen receptor, and [123I]E-MIVNT a potential imaging agent for the detection of androgen-dependent tumors, such as prostate cancer.