Human kidney steroid receptors

A cohort study of reproductive and hormonal factors and renal cell cancer risk in women

We examined the association of reproductive and hormonal factors with renal cell cancer risk in a cohort study of 89 835 Canadian women. Compared with nulliparous women, parous women were at increased risk (hazard ratio (HR) 1.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02-3.09), and there was a significant gradient of risk with increasing levels of parity: relative to nulliparous women, women who had > or =5 pregnancies lasting 4 months or more had a 2.4-fold risk (HR=2.41, 95% CI=1.27-4.59, P for trend 0.01). Ever use of oral contraceptives was associated with a modest reduction in risk. No associations were observed for age at first live birth or use of hormone replacement therapy. The present study provides evidence that high parity may be associated with increased risk of renal cell cancer, and that oral contraceptive use may be associated with reduced risk.

Pregnancy-associated changes in the glycosylation of tamm-horsfall glycoprotein. Expression of sialyl Lewis(x) sequences on core 2 type O-glycans derived from uromodulin

Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein (THP) is a major glycoprotein associated with human urine that binds pro-inflammatory cytokines and also inhibits in vitro T cell proliferation induced by specific antigens. THP derived from human pregnancy urine (designated uromodulin) has previously been shown to be 13-fold more effective as an inhibitor of antigen-induced T cell proliferation than THP obtained from other sources. Structural analysis of human THP and uromodulin has for the first time revealed that these glycoproteins are O-glycosylated. THP from nonpregnant females and males expresses primarily core 1 type O-glycans terminated with either sialic acid or fucose but not the sialyl Lewis(x) epitope. By contrast, the O-glycans linked to uromodulin include unusual core 2 type glycans terminated with one, two, or three sialyl Lewis(x) sequences. The specific association of these unusual carbohydrate sequences with uromodulin could explain its enhanced immunomodulatory effects compared with THP obtained from males and nonpregnant females. Analysis of THP from one of the pregnant females 2 months postpartum showed a reversion of the O-glycan profile to that found for a non-pregnant female. These data suggest that the glycosylation state of uromodulin could be under the regulation of steroidal hormones produced during pregnancy. The significant physiological implications of these observations are discussed.

The forensic value of the immunohistochemical detection of oestrogen receptors in vaginal epithelium

This study investigated whether oestrogen receptors can be immunohistochemically detected in paraffin-embedded vaginal mucosa samples using monoclonal antibodies and whether the method would be suitable for the identification of vaginal cells in cytological smears. Samples of vaginal mucosa were obtained from living females and female corpses, as vaginal smears. For comparison purposes, resected prepuce samples and samples of postmortem male urethral mucosa were also investigated. Nuclear oestrogen receptors could be regularly detected in the basal, parabasal and deeper intermediate epithelium layers of freshly fixed vaginal mucosa but proved to be highly sensitive to autolytic changes. In the cytological smears obtained from living subjects, no oestrogen receptors were detectable. Oestrogen receptors were also detected in the basal epidermal cells of the male prepuce.

Acquired cystic kidney disease: the hormonal hypothesis

Based on the reported sex difference in the incidence of acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) in patients with chronic renal failure, it is hypothesized that the hormonal derangement, well documented in male and female uremic patients on long-term dialysis, could be responsible for the pathogenesis of ACKD. The decreased androgen/estrogen ratio, and the increased estrogen value could be responsible for an estrogen receptor mediated effect on the tubular epithelial cell proliferation, an event further potentiated by the action of regulatory peptides like epidermal growth factor (EGF). The epithelial stimulation is more pronounced in men because male tissues are less adapted than female tissues to high estrogen values. Furthermore the androgen reduction, more remarkable in male than female patients, is responsible for an up-regulation of EGF-R. Therefore hormones and growth factors, by means of their own receptor in renal tissue (homologous to the two oncogenes c-erb A and c-erb B), may be responsible for the development of ACKD, and may play an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple adenomas and renal carcinomas reported with high incidence among uremic patients with ACKD.

Steroid receptor antibodies in autoimmune disorders

Sera from patients with autoimmune disorders have been analyzed for the presence of antibodies against the estrogen receptor. About 42% of the male and 34% of the female patients had measureable levels of antibody under our assay conditions. However, whereas the male patient population had significantly higher levels of anti-estrogen receptor than normal males, there was no significant difference between female patients and controls. Separation of the estrogen receptor by sucrose gradient centrifugation into the large (9-10S) and small (4S) molecular weight forms demonstrated that only the large form was antigenic, suggesting that the antibodies are not interacting with the steroid binding subunit. The clinical significance of increased levels of antibodies against the estrogen receptor in a percentage of male patients remains to be established.

Adjuvant medroxyprogesterone acetate and steroid hormone receptors in category M0 renal cell carcinoma. An interim report of a prospective randomized study

From July 1, 1979 to June 30, 1983, 136 consecutive patients with category M0 renal cell cancer who had undergone transperitoneal radical nephrectomy at 5 centers entered a prospective randomized trial to compare 500 mg. adjuvant medroxyprogesterone 3 times a week for 1 year to no treatment. Sex steroid hormone receptors also were studied in the renal tumor and in the surrounding healthy parenchyma with the dextran-coated charcoal technique. After a median followup period of 3 years (range 13 to 60 months) 30 of 121 evaluable patients (24.8 per cent) experienced relapse, usually in the lung or bones. Relapses occurred in 15 of 58 evaluable patients in the adjuvant treatment group (25.8 per cent) and 15 of 63 evaluable controls (23.8 per cent). The disease recurred more frequently (35.1 per cent) in the 57 patients with no receptors in the tumor than in the 45 with at least 1 receptor (17.8 per cent). These results were independent of adjuvant therapy. After a median 3-year followup, adjuvant medroxyprogesterone acetate was of no therapeutic benefit in patients who had undergone radical nephrectomy and the side effects of the therapy were evident in more than 50 per cent of the patients.

Progesterone--specific binding sites in the kidney of the female baboon

The uptake and retention of a radiolabeled synthetic progestin, ORG 2058, was studied in the urinary tract of the female baboon. Four estrogen-primed baboons were injected intravenously with 2.5 micrograms./kg. body weight of 3H-ORG 2058. One animal, which served as a control, received an additional injection of 2.5 mg./kg. body weight of unlabeled progesterone. One hour after the injections, the animals were killed and the kidneys, ureters and urinary bladder were removed and processed for autoradiography. Localization of progestin was observed in the nuclei of the convoluted and straight segments of the distal tubule, the ascending thick limb of the loop of Henle and both cortical and medullary collecting tubules. Connective tissue cells were also labeled in the medulla and cortex of the kidney. An absence of silver grains was noted in the renal corpuscle, all segments of the proximal tubule and the thin loop of Henle. Concentration of the tritiated steroid was not observed in either the ureter or bladder or in any portions of the urinary tract of the control animal. This study suggests that progesterone has a direct effect via a progesterone specific receptor on the various target cells that sequestered the 3H-ORG 2058.

Steroid receptors in renal cell carcinoma: relevance to hormonal therapy

The relevance of the presence of steroid receptors in the response to hormonal therapy was examined in 19 patients with renal cell carcinoma who were treated by surgery and progestins. Estrogen and progesterone receptors were determined in tissue samples obtained from the tumors, and normal (autologous) and control kidneys. The tumoral tissues had the lowest content of estrogen and progesterone receptors, and the lowest percentage of samples positive for receptor. Autologous kidneys had a higher percentage of positive estrogen and progesterone receptors compared to tumoral tissues, and a lower estrogen receptor content compared to control kidneys. The 18-month survival rate under progesterone therapy for 9 patients with stages I and II tumor was 86 per cent and for 10 with stage IV tumor it was 8 per cent. The low content of progesterone and estrogen receptors in patients with renal cell carcinoma may explain the poor response rate of these patients to hormonal therapy.

Measurement of progesterone receptor in human renal cell carcinoma and normal renal tissue

Progesterone receptor was measured in eight samples of renal cell carcinoma, nine samples of normal renal tissue, and one sample of melanoma tissue. Progesterone receptor was identified in all samples, with the exception of one renal cell carcinoma. Three patients, all with receptor-positive tumors, were treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate for metastatic disease. In one of these patients there was a partial objective response to treatment. Further research regarding progesterone receptor in renal cell carcinoma is indicated.

Comparison of steroid receptor levels in renal-cell carcinoma and autologous normal kidney

Since a number of renal-cell carcinomas regress with hormonal manipulation, we have identified and measured the levels of estrogen, progestin and glucocorticoid receptors in 47 autologous pairs of normal and neoplastic kidney tissues. High-affinity receptors for these hormones were detected in kidney tissues of both sexes by means of a dextran-coated charcoal assay. Glucocorticoid receptors were demonstrated in renal cancer tissues for the first time, and were higher in the tumor (mean 31.3 +/- SEM 5.6) than in the normal tissue (mean 18.5 +/- 3.1 fmol/mg cytosol protein). There was a significant difference in the quantities of progestin receptors (expressed as fmol/mg cytosol protein) in normal (mean 18.4 +/- SEM 3.3) versus neoplastic (mean 10.4 +/- SEM 4.0) kidney specimens (p less than 0.007). There was a significant difference between the binding affinity of the progestin receptor in the male tumors (Kd = 2.2 +/- SEM 0.9 nM, n = 10) and that of the females, (Kd = 9.3 +/- SEM 6.5 nM) (p less than 0.04). When an affinity of less than 9.9 X 10(-9) M and greater than 10 fmol/mg cytosol protein were used as criteria for classifying a tissue as positive for progestin receptors, only 17% of tumors contained these receptors while 45% of normal tissues exhibited them. According to these criteria, no differences were observed in the frequency of occurrence of either estrogen receptors or glucocorticoid receptors in tumor versus normal kidney. Data from this study suggest that the use of endocrine therapy should be re-examined in the treatment of renal-cell carcinoma.

Steroid hormone binding receptors in the rat kidney

The studies were done on 93 Wistar rats of both sexes. Binding capacity and affinity for 3H-estradiol were determined biochemically in the cytosol fraction of renal homogenates. Free cytoplasmic estrogen binding sites were demonstrated in a portion of the females (Kd 5.2-17.8 x 10(-10) mol/l): in 33.3% of normal animals, in 54.6% 3-4 days after ovariectomy, and in 25% 17-18 days after ovariectomy. The investigation of females which received estradiol or testosterone replacement after castration, as well as of uncastrated or castrated males, led to negative results. Thaw-mounted autoradiography was used to study the retention of radioactivity from 3H-estradiol or 3H-testosterone in normal and castrated animals and in animals which received corresponding hormone replacement after castration. In all animals, specific silver granules were found in the cytoplasm and nucleus of proximal tubules cells from the S1 and S2 segments of juxtamedullary nephrons, particularly in the females. Only a few silver granules were observed in the S segments; some cells in males were marked by a heavy nuclear accumulation of silver granules following the injection of 3H-testosterone. In the distal tubules, only isolated silver granules were found in some cells. Somewhat more radioactivity was found in the cytoplasm of the cells of the collecting ducts in the inner medullary zone.