Estrogenic action of estriol fatty acid esters

Dietary clofibrate stimulates the formation and size of estradiol-induced breast tumors in female August-Copenhagen Irish (ACI) rats

Administration of 0.4% clofibrate in the diet stimulated estradiol (E(2))-induced mammary carcinogenesis in the August-Copenhagen Irish (ACI) rat without having an effect on serum levels of E(2). This treatment stimulated by several-fold the NAD(P)H-dependent oxidative metabolism of E(2) and oleyl-CoA-dependent esterification of E(2) to 17beta-oleyl-estradiol by liver microsomes. Glucuronidation of E(2) by microsomal glucuronosyltransferase was increased moderately. In contrast, the activity of NAD(P)H quinone reductase 1 (NQO1), a representative monofunctional phase 2 enzyme, was significantly decreased in liver cytosol of rats fed clofibrate. Decreases in hepatic NQO1 in livers of animals fed clofibrate were noted before the appearance of mammary tumors. E(2) was delivered in cholesterol pellets implanted in 7-8-week-old female ACI rats. The animals received AIN-76A diet containing 0.4% clofibrate for 6, 12 or 28 weeks. Control animals received AIN-76A diet. Dietary clofibrate increased the number and size of palpable mammary tumors but did not alter the histopathology of the E(2)-induced mammary adenocarcinomas. Collectively, these results suggest that the stimulatory effect of clofibrate on hepatic esterification of E(2) with fatty acids coupled with the inhibition of protective phase 2 enzymes, may in part, enhance E(2)-dependent mammary carcinogenesis in the ACI rat model.

High-density lipoprotein-associated 17beta-estradiol fatty acyl ester uptake by Fu5AH hepatoma cells: implications of the roles of scavenger receptor class B, type I and the low-density lipoprotein receptor

17beta-estradiol (E2) fatty acyl esters naturally incorporate into high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The objective was to elucidate mechanisms involved in HDL-associated E2 cellular uptake and to determine the intracellular distribution of E2 and its fatty acyl esters (E2-FAE) after uptake. [3H]E2 or [3H] cholesterol was incubated with human serum for 24 h to allow for fatty acyl esterification. Total-HDL containing [3H]E2-FAE or [3H]cholesterol esters was isolated by sequential density ultracentrifugation and then incubated with Fu5AH rat hepatoma cells for various time points. Cellular uptake was determined by intracellular radioactivity as a percentage of total radioactivity. Chemical inhibition of scavenger receptor class B, type I and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor competition assays were performed to determine cellular uptake mechanisms. Compared to HDL-[3H]cholesterol, cellular uptake of HDL-[3H]E2 occurred at an initially rapid rate. SR-BI inhibition resulted in a decrease in HDL-E2 uptake and LDL impaired this uptake in a concentration-dependent manner. Accordingly, pretreatment of cells with BLT-1 combined with LDL addition significantly attenuated HDL-E2 uptake. HDL-E2-FAE was hydrolyzed into free E2 with the maximum at 24 h. Fu5AH cells facilitate HDL-E2 uptake by at least SR-BI and LDL receptor pathways and intracellular hydrolysis of E2-FAE into free E2 ensues.

Quantitative Determination of Estradiol Fatty Acid Esters in Human Pregnancy Serum and Ovarian Follicular Fluid

Background: Lipophilic estradiol derivatives carried by lipoprotein particles in blood may mediate antioxidant or endocrine effects. We developed a new quantitative method to determine the concentration of circulating lipophilic estradiol fatty acid esters in human early- and late-pregnancy serum and in ovarian follicular fluid.

Methods: After extraction from serum or follicular fluid, estradiol fatty acid esters were separated from nonesterified estradiol by Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. The estradiol ester fraction was hydrolyzed by saponification and further purified by several chromatographic steps. The hydrolyzed estradiol esters were measured by time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay.

Results: The average estradiol fatty acid ester concentration in serum increased 10-fold during pregnancy, from 40.4 pmol/L (expressed as pmol/L estradiol; range, 25.0–64.2 pmol/L) in early pregnancy (n = 8) to 404 pmol/L (196–731 pmol/L) in late pregnancy (n = 10). The ratio of estradiol ester to nonesterified estradiol remained relatively constant during pregnancy, at 0.4–0.6%. In 10 follicular fluid samples, the mean estradiol ester concentration was 106 nmol/L (56.9–262 nmol/L). Compared with serum, a greater proportion of estradiol in follicular fluid (3.0–10%) was in the esterified form.

Conclusion: The new method provides a means to measure circulating estradiol fatty acid ester concentrations in human pregnancy serum.

Pharmacologic importance of the reversible fatty acid conjugation of budesonide studied in a rat cell line In vitro

Functional implications of the recently described fatty acid conjugation of budesonide (BUD) (Tunek, A., K. Sjödin, and G. Hallström, Drug Metabol. Dispos. 1997;25:1311-1317; Miller-Larson, A., E. Hjertberg, H. Mattsson, M. Dahlbäck, A. Tunek, and R. Brattsand, Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 1997;155:A353 [Abstr.]) were studied in a rat cell line, Rat1, transfected with the activation protein-1 (AP-1)-controlled regulatory element (TRE) driving the reporter gene beta-galactosidase. TRE is downregulated by glucocorticosteroids (GCS) through interaction with the AP-1 complex. BUD was compared to fluticasone propionate (FP), a potent glucocorticosteroid that does not form fatty acid conjugates. The kinetics and metabolism of the GCS were studied after incubation of either 3H-BUD or 3H-FP with transfected Rat1 cells. Up to 20% of added BUD was taken up into the cells over 24 h. The great majority of the intracellular radioactivity (80-90%) consisted of lipophilic BUD conjugates. After removing extracellular 3H-GCS, the outflow of radioactivity was studied. Only free BUD and not fatty acid conjugates was detected extracellularly, suggesting that hydrolysis of the conjugates was required to release BUD from the cell. During 165 min, less BUD (about 65% of totally incorporated) was released than FP (more than 90%). In the functional studies, FP was about six times more potent than BUD in downregulating TRE after 24 h continuous exposure. However, after a 6-h pulse of GCS, the effect of BUD persisted unchanged 18 h later, whereas FP had almost lost its efficacy (P < 0.05 between the drugs). In addition, the reversible conjugation process of BUD resulted in transferable GCS effects. Medium containing released BUD from previously loaded cells mediated nearly the same downregulatory effect after addition to naive cells as did continuous treatment. No such transferable effect was seen for FP. In conclusion, the reversible fatty acid conjugation of BUD resulted in prolonged cellular retention and anti-inflammatory activity after pulse exposure in this in vitro system. This fatty acid conjugation mechanism appears to add to the beneficial pharmacologic profile of BUD.

Long-lived testosterone esters in the rat

Over the past decade it has become increasingly clear that steroid hormones are enzymatically esterified with fatty acids. These steroidal esters are the natural analogs of synthetic esters that are used therapeutically. One such family of pharmacological steroids is the synthetic alkyl esters of testosterone, androgens with great hormonal potency. We have investigated whether testosterone esters exist naturally by using the rat as a model. Most tissues of male rats, including blood, have very little if any ester (quantified by immunoassay as a nonpolar saponifiable metabolite), but fat and testes have sizable quantities, approximately 3 ng of testosterone equivalents per g of tissue. Testosterone in fat averages 9 ng/g. The fat from female rats and long-term (> 2 weeks) castrated males has no detectable testosterone ester. The presence of testosterone esters was confirmed by GC/MS, which clearly showed the presence of testosterone in the hydrolyzed ester fraction of fat from intact males but not long-term castrates. Upon castration, testosterone levels in the fat completely disappear within 6 hr. To the contrary, it is not until 48 hr after castration that a measurable fall in the testosterone ester fraction was observed; even after 10 days a small amount of ester is still present in the fat. These experiments demonstrate the existence of a previously unknown androgen with a potentially important physiological impact; testosterone esters, natural analogs of potent therapeutic agents, occur in the fat where they can serve as a reservoir of preformed androgen to stimulate neighboring target tissues.

Steroidal fatty acid esters

Several years ago we discovered an unexpected family of steroidal metabolites, steroidal fatty acid esters. We found that fatty acid esters of 5-ene-3 beta-hydroxysteroids, pregnenolone and dehydroisoandrosterone are present in the adrenal. Subsequently, others have shown the existence of these non-polar 5-ene-3 beta-hydroxysteroidal esters in blood, brain and ovaries. Currently, almost every family of steroid hormone is known to occur in esterified form. We have studied the esters of the estrogens and glucocorticoids in some detail, and have found that these two steroidal families are esterified by separate enzymes. In a biosynthetic experiment performed simultaneously with estradiol and corticosterone, we established that the fatty acid composition of the steroidal esters is quite different. The corticoid is composed predominantly of one fatty acid, oleate, while the estradiol esters are extremely heterogeneous. Our studies have demonstrated that the estrogens are extremely long-lived hormones, that they are protected by the fatty acid from metabolism. They are extremely potent estrogens, with prolonged activity. Esterification appears to be the only form of metabolism that does not deactivate the biological effects of estradiol. We have demonstrated the biosynthesis of fatty acid esters of estriol, monoesters at both C-16 alpha and C-17 beta. They too are very potent estrogens. These fatty acid esters of the estrogens are the endogenous analogs of estrogen esters, like benzoate, cypionate, etc., which have been used for decades, pharmacologically because of their prolonged therapeutic potency. We have found that the estradiol esters are located predominantly in hydrophobic tissues, such as fat. Sequestered in these tissues, they are an obvious reservoir of estrogenic reserve, requiring only an esterase for activation. To the contrary the biological activity of the fatty acid esters of the glucocorticoid, corticosterone, is not different from that of its free parent steroid. We have shown that the rapid kinetics of its induction of gluconeogenic responses is caused by its labile C-21 ester which is rapidly hydrolyzed by esterase enzymes. While it appears that the physiological role of the estrogen esters may be related to their long-lived hormonal activity, the role of the other families of steroidal esters is not yet apparent. They, and perhaps the estrogen esters as well, must serve other purposes. Indeed they may serve important biological functions beyond those which we ordinarily associate with steroid hormones.