Specific changes in the messenger ribonucleic acid content of the rat ventral prostate gland after androgenic stimulation. Evidence from the synthesis of aldolase messenger ribonucleic acid

Prostate gland: structure, functions and regulation

The prostate gland plays an important role in male reproduction. It secretes enzymes, lipids, amines and metal ions essential for the normal function of spermatozoa. Development, differentiation and maintenance of the prostate gland depend on steroid and peptide hormones. Beside hormones growth factors also regulate the prostate gland. This review will focus on the structure, functions and mode of regulation of the prostate gland.

Treatment with antiandrogens induces an androgen-repressed gene in the rat ventral prostate

We have recently described an androgen-repressed gene in the rat ventral prostate, termed TRPM-2, that appears to be involved in the processes of cell regression and programmed cell death. We have analyzed the effect of two antiandrogens currently used in the treatment of prostatic carcinoma on the induction of this gene. Cyproterone acetate (10 mg/day) and flutamide (15 mg/day), when administered to castrated rats receiving a maintenance dose of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone proprionate (250 micrograms/day), induce the expression of TRPM-2. Northern hybridization and dot blot analysis demonstrate that TRPM-2 steady-state levels reach a maximum on day 4 of treatment with cyproterone acetate (520 ppm) and on day 6 of treatment with flutamide (190 ppm). During this time the steady-state levels of the androgen-dependent prostate steroid-binding protein mRNA are reduced dramatically (from approximately 75,000 to 10,000 ppm), but are not eliminated even after extended treatment. Treatment with the two antiandrogens produces a substantial reduction in the organ weight/body weight ratio and RNA content of the prostate when compared to rats receiving the maintenance dose alone. These results suggest that while neither cyproterone acetate nor flutamide fully repress the androgen-dependent functions of the prostate, they do induce some of the androgen-repressed sequences in the prostate that have been implicated in the process of cell death.

A new non-hormonal antifertility drug DL-204: I. Effects on testes and accessory glands of reproduction in male rats

The effect of DL-204, 2-(3-ethoxyphenyl)-5,6-dihydro-5-triazole (5,1a)-isoquinoline, a non-hormonal post-implantational anti-fertility drug, on tissue weights, nucleic acids and total protein concentrations in the testes, ventral prostate and seminal vesicles were evaluated in immature and sexually mature rats, while changes in DNA synthesis were studied only in the immature rats. Treatment of 21-day-old rats at doses of 5mg and 10mg/kg bw once daily for 15 days had no effect on body weight but reduced the weights of testes and accessory glands of reproduction. The concentration of DNA increased while RNA and protein decreased significantly. Treatment of adult rats with DL-204 at a dose of 10mg/kg bw had no effect on body and testes weights but reduced ventral prostate and seminal vesicle weights. The concentration of RNA and protein decreased significantly, while DNA concentration was not altered. DL-204 treatment resulted in drastic decrease of RNA/DNA ratio, reflecting ribosomal loss and cytoplasmic shrinkage. The effects observed after DL-204 treatment are comparable to post-castration changes. DL-204 may be acting on testes and accessory reproductive organs by blocking androgen biosynthesis and/or by antagonizing the action of androgens. It may be acting directly on the normal function of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis.

A new non-hormonal antifertility drug DL 111-IT: I. Effects on testes and accessory glands of reproduction in male rats

Effect of DL-111, 3-(2-ethylphenyl)-5-(3-methoxyphenyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole, a non-hormonal postimplantational antifertility agent, on testicular and accessory reproductive organ weights and total protein, RNA and DNA concentrations were evaluated in immature and adult rats. Treatment of 21-day-old rats at doses of 2.5 mg and 5 mg/kg body weight decreased body weight, weights of testes and accessory glands of reproduction. RNA and protein concentrations decreased significantly with significant increase increase in DNA concentration in testes, epididymis, ventral prostate and seminal vesicles. DL-111 treatment of adult rats at doses of 5 mg and 10 mg/kg body weight had no effect on body weight, but significantly decreased weights of testes and accessory glands of reproduction. RNA and protein concentrations decreased significantly in all tissues studied while DNA concentration was not altered. RNA/DNA ratio decreased significantly, reflecting ribosomal loss and cytoplasmic shrinkage. These effects of DL-111 are comparable to post-castrational changes in accessory glands of reproduction. We presume that these changes are mediated by blocking the androgen biosynthesis and/or by interfering with normal function of hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis.

Complete amino acid sequence for human aldolase B derived from cDNA and genomic clones

Several aldolase B clones from a human liver cDNA library have been identified by using a rabbit aldolase A cDNA as a hybridization probe. The most complete of these, pHL413, is 1389 base pairs long and covers approximately equal to 80% of the length of the mRNA, including 90% of the translated region. The cDNA, pHL413, was used to identify a genomic clone, lambda HG313, which encoded the remaining amino acids of human aldolase B. We demonstrate that the amino acid and nucleotide sequences of aldolase are strongly conserved even between different isozymes. Furthermore, in the 3'-untranslated regions of the mRNAs for the B isozyme of human and rat there is an extensive stretch of homology. Aldolase B lacks a cysteine at positions 72 and 338 and lacks a histidine at position 361. These residues, which are present in rabbit aldolase A, have previously been proposed to take part in catalysis. Our findings suggest that this may not be the case.

Brief overview of selected aspects of testicular hormone action

This paper is designed to give an overview of the mechanism of androgen action and some of the factors that can affect it. The discussion of androgen action includes androgen transport in the blood, metabolism, receptor binding, nuclear activation and selected aspects of biological response. The importance of recognizing interspecies and interstrain differences in specific aspects of androgen action is mentioned. Some examples of the effects of environmental agents on androgen metabolism, receptor binding and biological response are included.

Androgenic regulation of elongation of polyribonucleotide chains on rat ventral-prostate chromatin

The kinetics of polyribonucleotide-chain elongation by rat ventral-prostate RNA polymerase B with homologous chromatin as a template were investigated. Chain elongation was measured under conditions wherein all initiation had occurred, no reinitiation took place and the reaction rate was constant. The kinetic behaviour of prostate RNA polymerase B was consistent with a mathematical model formulated for the multisubstrate enzyme. The addition of each nucleoside triphosphate was independent of the other three. The overall rate of chain elongation was lower when prostate chromatin from castrated rats was used than with prostate chromatin from normal rats. The inclusion of dihydrotestosterone-receptor complexes stimulated the rate of elongation. Androgenic effects did not appear to be directed towards the addition of individual nucleoside triphosphates, but probably towards one of the other major events in RNA-chain elongation, i.e., unwinding of DNA or movement of the enzyme along the template.

Testosterone regulates the synthesis of major proteins in rat ventral prostate

The presence of three major proteins alpha, beta and gamma in rat ventral prostate was demonstrated by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels containing sodium dodecyl sulphate. Their regulation by androgens was studied by measuring the rates of synthesis of the proteins in minced prostatic tissue by using L-[35S]methionine. The three proteins account for 30-40% of the proteins synthesized in the gland. After castration, their rates of synthesis rapidly decline to about 1% that of normal animals, and this cannot be accounted for by the accompanying decrease in general protein synthesis. Testosterone reverses these changes in castrated animals, so that after 4 days normal synthesis is restored. The regulation is specific for androgens, since cyproterone acetate, an anti-androgen, is inhibitory and oestradiol-17beta and corticosterone are without effect. Preliminary characterization of the proteins indicates that protein alpha (mol.wt. 22000, pI unknown) is a glycoprotein containing glucose and/or mannose residues and occurs in both the mitochondrial and cytosol fractions. Protein beta (mol.wt. 12000, pI5.4) is also a glycoprotein, but is found exclusively in the cytosol fraction. Protein gamma (mol.wt. 8000, pI5.4) is also a glycoprotein, but is found exclusively in the cytosol fraction. Protein gamma (mol.wt. 8000, pI5.4) is also found exclusively in the cytosol fraction.

Androgen-dependent synthesis of basic secretory proteins by the rat seminal vesicle

1. Two basic proteins were purified from secretions of rat seminal vesicles by using Sephadex G-200 chromatography and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. 2. It is not certain that these two proteins are distinct species and not subunits of a larger protein, but their properties are similar. Highly basic (pI = 9.7), they migrate to the cathode at high pH and their amino acid composition shows them to be rich in basic residues and serine. Threonine and hydrophobic residues are few. Both proteins are glycoproteins and have mol.wts. of 17000 and 18500. 3. Together these two proteins account for 25-30% of the protein synthesized by the vesicles, but they are absent from other tissues. 4. Changes in androgen status of the animal markedly affect these proteins. After castration, a progressive decrease in the basic proteins is observed and the synthesis of the two proteins as measured by [35S]methionine incorporation in vitro is is decreased. Testosterone administration in vivo rapidly restores their rates of synthesis. 5. These effects on specific protein synthesis are also observed for total cellular protein, and it is suggested that testosterone acts generally on the total protein-synthetic capacity of the cell and not specifically on individual proteins. Proliferative responses in the secretory epithelium may also be involved. 6. The extreme steroid specificity of the induction process suggests that the synthesis of these basic proteins is mediated by the androgen-receptor system. 7. The biological function of these proteins is not clear, but they do not appear to be involved in the formation of the copulatory plug.

Synthesis of very low density lipoproteins in the cockerel. Effects of estrogen

The effect of estrogen on the synthesis of plasma very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) in the cockerel was studied both in vivo and in vitro. Synthesis was studied by immunoprecipitation techniques with antisera prepared against VLDL and a major VLDL protein. VLDL were isolated from the plasma of white Leghorn hens and estrogen-treated white Leghorn cockerels by ultracentrifugal flotation at d 1.006 g/ml. After delipidation, the lipid-free proteins (apoproteins) were fractionated on Sephadex G-150 and DEAE-cellulose. Both the hen and the estrogen-treated cockerel VLDL were shown to contain an identical apoprotein with a mol wt of approximately 12,000; the apoprotein is designated fraction B. Reduction and S-carboxy-methylation of fraction B resulted in a reduction of the molecular weight by approximately one-half, indicating a dimer-monomer relationship. Antiserum prepared to the hen VLDL dimer protein gave precipitin lines of complete identity to both the hen and cockerel dimer, monomer, VLDL, apoVLDL, low density lipoproteins, and plasma; no precipitin line was formed with either hen or cockerel high density lipoproteins. After a single subcutaneous injection of diethylstilbestrol into the cockerel, plasma VLDL protein, cholesterol, and triglyceride increased, reaching a maximum 24--48 h after hormone administration. Liver slices from similarly treated animals were incubated in vitro in culture medium in the presence of [3H]lysine for 2 h. Immunoprecipitable radioactivity in VLDL increased within 2 h of diethylstilbestrol treatment and reached a maximum at 24 h; VLDL radioactivity returned to base-line levels by 72 h. At the peak of induction, newly synthesized VLDL represented 11% of the total soluble protein synthesized. When actinomycin-D (5 mg/kg) was administered simultaneously with estrogen, the induction of VLDL synthesis was totally inhibited. To determine whether the effect of estrogen on VLDL synthesis was mediated at the level of transcription, partially-purified cockerel liver mRNA was prepared from estrogen-treated animals and the mRNA activity for fraction B was quantitated in a wheat germ translation system. Fraction B mRNA was found to increase from a low base-line value to a maximum 16-24 h after estrogen treatment, returning towards baseline values at 30 h. At the peak of induction, fraction B constituted 12% of the total protein synthesized. The kinetics of induction of fraction B mRNA activity in the cell-free translation system is very similar to that observed in liver slice experiments. This finding suggests that estrogen stimulates VLDL synthesis, at least partially, by enhancing the accumulation of the mRNA for one of their major apoproteins.

A significant lag in the induction of ovalbumin messenger RNA by steroid hormones: a receptor translocation hypothesis

Although ovalbumin and conalbumin mRNA accumulate in the same tubular gland cells of the chick oviduct in response to estrogen or progesterone treatment, the kinetics of induction are markedly different. Conalbumin mRNA begins to accumulate within 30 min after estrogen administration, whereas there is a lag of approximately 3 hr before ovalbumin mRNA begins to accumulate, as measured by three independent assays. The kinetics of estrogen-receptor binding to chromatin indicate that these sites are saturated within 15 min of estrogen administration to the chicks, demonstrating that the lag is not due to slow uptake of the steroid. Suboptimal doses of estrogen produce the same lag, but the resultant rate of ovalbumin mRNA accumulation is lower than with an optimal dose. Partial induction of ovalbumin mRNA by a low dose of estrogen does not shorten the lag with an optimal dose. With progesteone, there is a lag of about 2 hr before either ovalbumin or conalbumin mRNA begins to accumulate. Treatment of chicks with hydroxyurea shortens the lag for ovalbumin induction with either hormone. Inhibition of protein synthesis with emetine does not prevent the accumulation of either ovalbumin or conalbumin mRNA. With cycloheximide, however, ovalbumin mRNA accumulation can be prevented. The existence of a lag suggests that there are intermediate steps between the binding of steroid receptors to chromatin and the induction of ovalbumin mRNA. There are basically two models to explain these delays in response: one involving the accumulation of an essential intermediate, and the other involving a rate-limiting translocation of steroid receptors from initial nonproductive chromatin-binding sites to productive sites. Several aspects of the kinetics of ovalbumin mRNA induction are more consistent with the latter model.

Activity and androgenic control of glycolytic enzymes in the epididymis and epididymal spermatozoa of the rat

1. Procedures were developed for the extraction and assay of glycolytic enzymes from the epididymis and epididymal spermatozoa of the rat. 2. The epididymis was separated into four segments for analysis. When rendered free of spermatozoa by efferent duct ligation, regional differences in enzyme activity were apparent. Phosphofructokinase, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase were more active in the proximal regions of the epididymis, whereas hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase were more active in the distal segment. These enzymes were less active in the epididymis of castrated animals and less difference was apparent between the proximal and distal segments. However, the corpus epididymidis from castrated rats had lower activities of almost all enzymes compared with other epididymal segments. 3. Spermatozoa required sonication to obtain satisfactory enzyme release. Glycolytic enzymes were more active in spermatozoa than in epididymal tissue, being more than 10 times as active in the case of hexokinase, phosphoglycerate kinase and phosphoglycerate mutase. 4. The specific activities of a number of enzymes in the epididymis were dependent on the androgen status of the animal. These included hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, pyruvate kinase, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase. 5. The caput and cauda epididymidis differed in the extent to which enzyme activities changed in response to an altered androgen status. The most notable examples were hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, phosphoglycerate kinase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and phosphorylase.

The androgenic regulation of prostate proteins with a high affinity for deoxyribonucleic acid. Evidence for a prostate deoxyribonucleic acid-unwinding protein

1. When testosterone is injected into castrated rats in vivo, a significant increase in the incorporation of [35S]methionine into prostate proteins may be detected under conditions in vitro. 2. Studies based on DNA-cellulose chromatography show that the synthesis of prostate proteins with a high affinity for DNA is particularly enhanced by androgenic stimulation. 3. These changes in protein synthesis are negated when the anti-androgen, cyproterone acetate, is administered concomitantly with testosterone in vivo. 4. Two assays were developed for measuring the strand separation of prostate DNA; first, the retention of 3H-labelled native DNA on nitrocellulose membranes, and second, the activation of native DNA as a template for 9S prostate DNA polymerase. On the basis of these criteria, DNA-unwinding activity is present in the prostate gland and it is regulated by androgens in a steroid-and tissue-specific manner. 5. The results are discussed in the context of the mechanism of action of androgens, particularly since the changes provoked in DNA-unwinding activity by androgens precede the onset of DNA replication and mitosis.

Nuclear components responsible for the retention of steroid--receptor complexes, especially from the standpoint of the specifcity of hormonal responses

1. By covalently linking nuclear components from hormone-sensitive cells to Sepharose 2B, it is possible to investigate the interaction between nuclear components and cytoplasmic receptor-steroid complexes by affinity chromatography. 2. Many factors are implicated in the specifity of nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions, including the nature of the nuclear components, the presence of the cytoplasmic receptor protein and the provision of the appropriate steroid ligand. 3. Two distinct sets of binding sites are present in nuclear extracts immobilized to Sepharose 2B, namely a small number of specific high-affinity sites and a larger number of non-specific low affinity-sites. 4. Considerable evidence supports the importance of the high-affinity binding sites in the manifestation of hormonal specificity in different tissues. Although the study has centred largely on androgenresponsive systems, the findings are germane to cytoplasmic-nuclear interactions in general. 5. The high-affinity or acceptor sites in nuclear extracts reside in the basic but non-histone protein fraction. 6. Hormonal specificity is seemingly maintained by both the cytoplasmic and nuclear components, and the results are discussed in the context of the mechanism of action of steroid hormones.

Translation of ovalbumin mRNA in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Characterization of the system and effects of estrogen on injected mRNA populations

Ovalbumin messenger RNA (mRNAov) purified from hen oviduct was injected into Xenopus laevis oocytes. The oocytes were incubated in culture medium containing [3H]leucine. Analysis of the oocyte cytosol on Sephadex G-15O columns demonstrated a peak of radioactivity which cochromatographed with authentic ovalbumin. Radioactive protein contained in this peak was precipitated by ovalbumin antiserum, coelectrophoresed with ovalbumin on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and urea gels at pH 8.7, and eluted with the protein at the same pH (4.8) on CM-cellulose chromatography. Injection of increasing amounts of mRNAov was found to elicit a linear response in terms of ovalbumin synthesis. Moreover, there was linear incorporation of radioactivity into microinjected oocytes over a minimum period of 91 h. Less than 1 ng mRNAov was detected in this system. Ovalbumin mRNA activity was present in RNA preparations from chicks treated with estrogen but was undetectable in animals withdrawn from the hormone. This study constitutes an initial demonstration of a steroid hormone-induced alteration in mRNA population as assayed in intact viable heterologous cells.

The regulation of haemoglobin synthesis in cultured chick blastoderms by steroids related to 5beta-androstane

1. After 24h of incubation, the blastoderm may be dissected from the early developing chick embryo and successfully maintained under conditions of organ culture in vitro. 2. Low concentrations of steroids related to 5beta-androstane stimulate the synthesis of foetal haemoglobins, types E and P, in a highly steroid- and tissue-specific manner.