Investigation of testosterone, androstenone, and estradiol metabolism in HepG2 cells and primary culture pig hepatocytes and their effects on 17βHSD7 gene expression

HepG2 as promising cell-based model for biosynthesis of long-term metabolites: Exemplified for metandienone

In order to detect the abuse of substances in sports, the knowledge of their metabolism is of undisputable importance. As in vivo administration of compounds faces ethical problems and might even not be applicable for nonapproved compounds, cell-based models might be a versatile tool for biotransformation studies. We coincubated HepG2 cells with metandienone and D₃ -epitestosterone for 14 days. Phase I and II metabolites were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-tandem mass spectrometry and confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The metandienone metabolites formed by HepG2 cells were comparable with those renally excreted by humans. HepG2 cells also generated the two long-term metabolites 17β-hydroxymethyl-17α-methyl-18-nor-androst-1,4,13-trien-3-one and 17α-hydroxymethyl-17β-methyl-18-nor-androst-1,4,13-trien-3-one used in doping analyses, though in an inverse ratio compared with that observed in human urine. In conclusion, we showed that HepG2 cells are suitable as model for the investigation of biotransformation of androgens, especially for the anabolic androgenic steroid metandienone. They further proved to cover phase I and II metabolic pathways, which combined with a prolonged incubation time with metandienone resulted in the generation of its respective long-term metabolites known from in vivo metabolism. Moreover, we showed the usability of D₃ -epitestosterone as internal standard for the incubation. The method used herein appears to be suitable and advantageous compared with other models for the investigation of doping-relevant compounds, probably enabling the discovery of candidate metabolites for doping analyses.

Cell culture as a toolbox to generate phase I metabolites for antidoping screening

The knowledge of the biotransformation of compounds prohibited by the World Anti Doping Agency is of high concern as doping analyses are mostly based on the detection of metabolites instead of the parent compounds abused by athletes. While the self-administration of doping-relevant compounds is from an ethical point of view a rather problematic method to investigate metabolism, the usage of cell culture systems allows for studies on biotransformation in vitro. Five cell culture models with different tissue origin (liver, ovary, skin, kidney, and testis) were comparatively incubated with testosterone and epitestosterone as well as with the synthetic testosterone derivatives 17α-methyltestosterone and 4-chlorotestosterone to investigate the impact of synthetic modifications on phase I metabolic pathways. Cell culture supernatants were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. All cell lines possessed the default steroid phase I biotransformation reactions. The highest conversion rate was observed in ovarian (BG-1) and liver cells (HepG2). For BG-1 and skin cells (HaCaT), the 5α-reductase products 5α-dihydrotestosterone (for both) and 5α-androstane-3α/β,17β-diol (for BG-1 solely) were found to be prevailing after testosterone incubation. In kidney (COS-1) and HepG2 cells, the 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity was predominant as supported by the observation that the 17α-OH (epitestosterone) and the methyl group (17α-methyltestosterone) impeded the conversion rate in these cell lines. In conclusion, future work should extend the characterization of the BG-1 and HepG2 cells on phase II metabolic pathways to examine whether they are suitable models for the generation of metabolite reference collections comparable to those obtained by human excretion studies.

17β-Estradiol inhibits testosterone-induced cell proliferation in HepG2 by modulating the relative ratios of 3 estrogen receptor isoforms to the androgen receptor

Sex hormones, especially 17β-estradiol (E2) and testosterone (TEST), play crucial roles in the oncogenesis and progression of liver cancer via hormone-related receptors. As women have a lower rate of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than men, estrogens might attenuate the occurrence and development of HCC. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effects and mechanisms of E2 on TEST-induced HCC development; the HepG2 cell line was used as an in vitro model. Five endpoints, including cell viability, cell apoptosis, cell cycle, receptor protein expression, and messenger RNA transcription, were investigated. Different roles and the ratios of androgen receptor (AR) and 3 estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes were also estimated. Cell viability assay showed that co-treatment of E2 and TEST resulted in a significant inhibition of E2-induced or TEST-induced cell proliferation. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that combined treatment of E2 and TEST blocked the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase as well as induced cell early apoptosis, characterized by decreased cyclin-dependent kinase transcription and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis results further demonstrated that estrogen receptor estrogen receptor α66 (ERα66) and estrogen receptor β (ERβ) were upregulated, whereas AR and estrogen receptor α36 (ERα36) were downregulated, irrespective of whether E2 and TEST were considered separately or together, whereas the combined treatment of E2 and TEST resulted in a decrease in the ERα66/ERβ ratio, the ERα66/ERα36 ratio, and the ERβ/ERα36 ratio, but with an increase in the ERα66/AR ratio, the ERα36/AR ratio, and the ERβ/AR ratio. To sum up, E2 could inhibit TEST-induced cell proliferation by modulating the ratio of different hormone-related receptors.

Differential expression and co-expression gene networks reveal candidate biomarkers of boar taint in non-castrated pigs

Boar taint (BT) is an offensive odour or taste observed in pork from a proportion of non-castrated male pigs. Surgical castration is effective in avoiding BT, but animal welfare issues have created an incentive for alternatives such as genomic selection. In order to find candidate biomarkers, gene expression profiles were analysed from tissues of non-castrated pigs grouped by their genetic merit of BT. Differential expression analysis revealed substantial changes with log-transformed fold changes of liver and testis from -3.39 to 2.96 and -7.51 to 3.53, respectively. Co-expression network analysis revealed one module with a correlation of -0.27 in liver and three modules with correlations of 0.31, -0.44 and -0.49 in testis. Differential expression and co-expression analysis revealed candidate biomarkers with varying biological functions: phase I (COQ3, COX6C, CYP2J2, CYP2B6, ACOX2) and phase II metabolism (GSTO1, GSR, FMO3) of skatole and androstenone in liver to steroidgenesis (HSD17B7, HSD17B8, CYP27A1), regulation of steroidgenesis (STARD10, CYB5R3) and GnRH signalling (MAPK3, MAP2K2, MAP3K2) in testis. Overrepresented pathways included "Ribosome", "Protein export" and "Oxidative phosphorylation" in liver and "Steroid hormone biosynthesis" and "Gap junction" in testis. Future work should evaluate the biomarkers in large populations to ensure their usefulness in genomic selection programs.

Transfection of Sertoli cells with androgen receptor alters gene expression without androgen stimulation

Background

Androgens play an important role for the development of male fertility and gained interest as growth and survival factors for certain types of cancer. Androgens act via the androgen receptor (AR/Ar), which is involved in various cell biological processes such as sex differentiation. To study the functional mechanisms of androgen action, cell culture systems and AR-transfected cell lines are needed. Transfection of AR into cell lines and subsequent gene expression analysis after androgen treatment is well established to investigate the molecular biology of target cells. However, it remains unclear how the transfection with AR itself can modulate the gene expression even without androgen stimulation. Therefore, we transfected Ar-deficient rat Sertoli cells 93RS2 by electroporation using a full length human AR.

Results

Transfection success was confirmed by Western Blotting, immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. AR transfection-related gene expression alterations were detected with microarray-based genome-wide expression profiling of transfected and non-transfected 93RS2 cells without androgen stimulation. Microarray analysis revealed 672 differentially regulated genes with 200 up- and 472 down-regulated genes. These genes could be assigned to four major biological categories (development, hormone response, immune response and metabolism). Microarray results were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR analysis for 22 candidate genes.

Conclusion

We conclude from our data, that the transfection of Ar-deficient Sertoli cells with AR has a measurable effect on gene expression even without androgen stimulation and cause Sertoli cell damage. Studies using AR-transfected cells, subsequently stimulated, should consider alterations in AR-dependent gene expression as off-target effects of the AR transfection itself.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12867-015-0051-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Metabolism of androstenone, 17β-estradiol and dihydrotestosterone in primary cultured pig hepatocytes and the role of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in this process

Steroids metabolism plays an important role in mammals and contributes to quality of pig meat. The main objective of this study was to identify metabolites of androstenone, 17β-estradiol and dihydrotestosterone using primary cultured pig hepatocytes as a model system. The role of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3βHSD) in regulation of steroid metabolism was also validated using trilostane, a specific 3βHSD inhibitor. Steroid glucuronide conjugated metabolites were detected by liquid chromatography time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS). 3βHSD enzyme was essential for metabolism of androstenone to 5α-androst-16-en-3β-ol, which then formed androstenone glucuronide conjugate. Metabolism of 17β-estradiol was accompanied by formation of glucuronide-conjugated estrone and glucuronide-conjugated estradiol. The ratio of the two metabolites was around 5∶1. 3βHSD enzyme was not involved in 17β-estradiol metabolism. 5α-Dihydrotestosterone-17β-glucuronide was identified as a dihydrotestosterone metabolite, and this metabolism was related to 3βHSD enzyme activity as demonstrated by inhibition study.

Interferon-inducible cholesterol-25-hydroxylase inhibits hepatitis C virus replication via distinct mechanisms

Cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) as an interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) has recently been shown to exert broad antiviral activity through the production of 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC), which is believed to inhibit the virus-cell membrane fusion during viral entry. However, little is known about the function of CH25H on HCV infection and replication and whether antiviral function of CH25H is exclusively mediated by 25HC. In the present study, we have found that although 25HC produced by CH25H can inhibit HCV replication, CH25H mutants lacking the hydroxylase activity still carry the antiviral activity against HCV but not other viruses such as MHV-68. Further studies have revealed that CH25H can interact with the NS5A protein of HCV and inhibit its dimer formation, which is essential for HCV replication. Thus, our work has uncovered a novel mechanism by which CH25H restricts HCV replication, suggesting that CH25H inhibits viral infection through both 25HC-dependent and independent events.

A 3D in vitro model of differentiated HepG2 cell spheroids with improved liver-like properties for repeated dose high-throughput toxicity studies

Immortalized hepatocyte cell lines show only a weak resemblance to primary hepatocytes in terms of gene expression and function, limiting their value in predicting drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Furthermore, primary hepatocytes cultured on two-dimensional tissue culture plastic surfaces rapidly dedifferentiate losing their hepatocyte functions and metabolic competence. We have developed a three-dimensional in vitro model using extracellular matrix-based hydrogel for long-term culture of the human hepatoma cell line HepG2. HepG2 cells cultured in this model stop proliferating, self-organize and differentiate to form multiple polarized spheroids. These spheroids re-acquire lost hepatocyte functions such as storage of glycogen, transport of bile salts and the formation of structures resembling bile canaliculi. HepG2 spheroids also show increased expression of albumin, urea, xenobiotic transcription factors, phase I and II drug metabolism enzymes and transporters. Consistent with this, cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism is significantly higher in HepG2 spheroids compared to monolayer cultures. This highly differentiated phenotype can be maintained in 384-well microtiter plates for at least 28 days. Toxicity assessment studies with this model showed an increased sensitivity in identifying hepatotoxic compounds with repeated dosing regimens. This simple and robust high-throughput-compatible methodology may have potential for use in toxicity screening assays and mechanistic studies and may represent an alternative to animal models for studying DILI.

The association between the levels of serum ferritin and sex hormones in a large scale of Chinese male population

BACKGROUND

The ferritin is an important participant of iron-storage but its regulation and related factors were not well defined. The present objective was to explore the potential association between serum ferritin levels and sex hormones.

METHODS

1999 Chinese men in the Fangchenggang Area Male Health and Examination Survey (FAMHES) were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Levels of serum ferritin, total testosterone (free testosterone was calculated from the total one), estradiol and sex hormone-binding protein were detected in venous blood samples. The effects of age, BMI, smoking as well as alcohol consumption were analyzed on ferritin levels, respectively, and then the Pearson's correlation analysis was used to evaluate the association between ferritin levels and sex hormones adjusting for the above factors.

RESULTS

The age, BMI and alcohol consumption significantly affected serum ferritin levels, but there was no significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers. Ferritin levels were significantly and negatively associated with total testosterone (R = -0.205, P< 0.001), sex hormone-binding protein (R = -0.161, P<0.001) and free testosterone (R = -0.097, P<0.001). After age and alcohol consumption were adjusted, the above associations were still significant (R = -0.200, -0.181 and -0.083, respectively, all P<0.001). However, there was only borderline negative association between ferritin levels and estradiol (adjusted R = -0.039, P = 0.083).

CONCLUSION

The large scale of epidemic results showed the significantly negative associations between serum ferritin levels and sex hormones, which may provide more clues to explore the potential regulation and biological mechanism of ferritin.