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Original Studies |
-Reductase and Androgen Receptor Protein Levels in Womens Skin
Laboratory of Molecular Reproductive Biology and Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky 40292
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Ch. V. Rao, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 438 MDR Building, University of Louisville Health Sciences Center, Louisville, Kentucky 40292. E-mail: cvrao001{at}ulkyvm.louisville.edu
| Abstract |
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-reductase and androgen receptor protein levels in skin. The
skin samples obtained from women undergoing abdominal laparotomy or
abdominoplasty were incubated in the presence or absence of hCG.
Western blotting was then performed to determine the response of type 2
5
-reductase and androgen receptors. The results demonstrated that
treatment with hCG resulted in a significant time- and dose-dependent,
although modest, decrease in 5
-reductase and androgen receptor
levels compared to the controls. These effects were mimicked by LH, but
not by other hormones in the glycoprotein hormone family, including
- and ß-subunits of hCG. Although the biological and clinical
importance of this regulation remains to be determined, these findings
reaffirm that human skin is among the nongonadal tissues that respond
to LH and hCG treatment. | Introduction |
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-reductase,
which catalyzes the conversion of testosterone into hormonally more
active dihydrotestosterone (DHT). In addition, human skin contains
androgen receptors that mediate the actions of locally formed DHT
(4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). The local formation and action of androgens play important
roles in the growth and differentiation of skin appendages and their
secretions, and these contribute to skin changes seen in patients with
polycystic ovarian disease and other forms of hirsutism (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17). The
coincidental distribution of LH/hCG receptors with androgen receptors
and 5
-reductase (Ref. 4 and the present study) suggests a hypothesis
that LH and hCG might regulate these molecules. The present study
tested this hypothesis in skin samples from premenopausal women. | Materials and Methods |
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The following items were obtained from the National Hormone and
Pituitary Program supported by the NIDDK, NICHHD, and USDA (Rockville,
MD): hCG (CR-127; 14,900 IU/mg), human FSH (AFP-87929B; 1,683 IU/mg),
human LH (AFP-0264B; 4,015 IU/mg), human TSH (AFP-4314C; 15 IU/mg), and
the
-subunit (CR-125) and ß-subunit (CR-125; 29 IU/mg) of hCG. A
polyclonal antibody raised against the synthetic amino acid sequence of
227251 of the type 2 human 5
-reductase (B302) was obtained from
Dr. David W. Russell at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical
School (Dallas, TX) (5). It recognizes type 2 and weakly cross-reacts
with type 1 isozyme. The affinity-purified polyclonal antibody raised
against the synthetic peptide corresponding to the N-terminal 21 amino
acids of rat and human androgen receptors (clone PG-21) was purchased
from Affinity Bioreagents (Golden, CO). This antibody cross-reacts with
androgen receptors from various species, but does not cross-react with
other members of the steroid receptor superfamily.
Incubation of human skin tissues
Skin samples were obtained from 18 cycling women undergoing abdominal laparotomy or abdominoplasty for various indications. The use of these abdominal skin samples was approved by our university human studies committee. Immediately after collection, the samples were transported to the laboratory on ice and processed for immunocytochemistry or for incubations. For the latter studies, the skin was cut into 3-mm3 pieces and incubated for varying lengths of time at 37 C in the presence or absence of various hormones in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer under 5% CO2 and 95% O2. At the end of the incubation, the tissues were extensively washed and processed for Western blotting.
Immunocytochemistry
This procedure was performed by a previously described
avidin-biotin immunoperoxidase method (18), using a 1:200 dilution of
type 2 5
-reductase antibody or a 1:25 dilution of androgen receptor
antibody. For the procedural controls, either the primary antibodies
were omitted, or they were replaced with nonspecific IgG.
Western blotting
After the incubation, the tissues were homogenized at 4 C in 25
mmol/L HEPES buffer, pH 7.4, containing the protease inhibitors,
leupeptin and aprotinin (10 µg/mL), and 4-(2-aminoethyl) benzene
sulfonyl fluoride hydrochloride (50 µg/mL). The protein content in
the homogenates was determined by the Bradford method using a
commercial kit. Aliquots of 60 µg protein were separated on a
discontinuous 10% SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions and
electroblotted to Immobilon P membranes (Millipore Corp., Bedford, MA)
(19). The type 2 5
-reductase and androgen receptors on the membranes
were detected using a 1:800 dilution of 5
-reductase and a 1:100
dilution of androgen receptor antibodies and an enhanced
chemiluminescence detection system. Nonspecific IgG was used for a
control. The relative optical densities of protein bands on x-ray films
were determined using a Z-Gel scanning system (ZAXIS, Hudson, OH).
Repetition of experiments and statistical analysis
Each experiment was performed in triplicate and repeated on skin samples from three to five women. The data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Duncans multiple range test using a SPSS statistical program (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL) (20).
| Results |
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-reductase and androgen receptors in skin
samples from women. Figure 1
-reductase is present in epidermis
(A), sweat glands (B), sebaceous glands (C), and hair follicles (A).
This staining was absent in the procedural control (D), suggesting that
it was specific. Similarly, androgen receptor immunostaining was
present in epidermis (E), hair follicles (F), sweat glands (G), and
sebaceous glands (H) and was absent in the procedural controls (I). As
expected, nuclei of the cells were immunostained for androgen receptors
(EH), and the perinuclear region was immunostained for type 2
5
-reductase (AC). The cellular distribution of type 2
5
-reductase and androgen receptors is in general agreement with the
findings of previous studies (4, 6, 8, 9). More importantly, these
distributions are similar to that of LH/hCG receptors (Ref. 4 and the
present study).
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-reductase protein in human skin, as determined
by Western blotting, was 29 kDa. This size is in excellent agreement
with previously reported values in other tissues (5). Incubation of
skin samples with 10 ng/mL hCG resulted in a significant, although
modest, decrease in type 2 5
-reductase protein levels at 4 h
compared to its corresponding control value (Fig. 2
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-reductase protein
levels at 0.1 ng/mL, which did not further change when the hCG
concentrations were increased to 100 ng/mL. The decreasing hCG effect
was hormone specific, because LH, but not the other hormones in the
same glycoprotein hormone family, such as FSH and TSH, could mimic the
hCG action on 5
-reductase protein levels (Fig. 4
- and ß-subunits of hCG had
no effect, suggesting that the hCG action requires the conformation of
native hormone (Fig. 4
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- and ß-subunits of hCG (Fig. 7
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| Discussion |
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Skin has many functions. For example, it acts as a physical
barrier, serves as an immunological organ, and has the potential to
react to both external and internal stimuli (27, 28, 29, 30). Skin possibly is
the largest androgen-dependent organ in the body. It has the enzymes
required for the formation of DHT from pregnenolone,
dehydroepiandrosterone, and testosterone (31, 32). 5
-Reductase is
the enzyme that converts testosterone into DHT. The two isozymes, types
1 and 2, are encoded by different genes, possess 60% homology, and
show different optimal pH and sensitivity to finasteride inhibition
(33, 34, 35). Although type 1 isozyme has been reported to be predominant
in skin (6), we found both isozymes to be present, as did Mestayer
et al. (36). However, we could not determine the response of
type 1 isozyme to hCG treatment.
Incubation of skin specimens showed that hCG could modestly inhibit
both 5
-reductase and androgen receptor protein levels. The responses
were time dependent, occurring at 4 h; dose dependent, occurring
at 0.050.1 ng/mL hCG; and hormone specific, and require the
conformation of native hormone. The decreases caused by low
concentrations were not further inhibited by higher hCG
concentrations.
Whether hCG can potentiate the inhibitory effects of others such as 13-cis-retinoic acid (37) and whether skin receptors depend on circulating and/or locally produced gonadotropins are not known. Skin producing LH and/or hCG or LH/hCG-like peptides is theoretically possible because it has the functional equivalent of a hypothalamo-pituitary axis and is capable of producing several neuroendocrine peptides (30, 32, 38, 39).
Our preliminary data showed that hCG treatment had no effect on steady
state mRNA levels of type 2 5
-reductase or androgen receptors,
indicating that the effects of hCG are specific to proteins of these
molecules. Whether the effects of hCG are mediated by decreasing the
translation efficiency of the corresponding mRNAs and/or increasing the
degradation of proteins of these molecules is not known.
By decreasing androgen receptors, hCG acts as an antiandrogen in
human skin, as it does in rat granulosa cells (40) and human prostate
cancer LNCaP cells (41). However, from the known association between
skin changes and elevated LH levels in chronic anovulatory or
postmenopausal women, one may expect LH and hCG to increase, not
decrease, 5
-reductase and androgen receptor levels. Thus, these
unexpected responses indicate that we have yet to understand the
biological and clinical significance of regulation of skin functions by
gonadotropins. We would like to point out that abdominal skin was used
in the present studies, and we do not know whether skin from other
areas of the body responds similarly to hCG.
In summary, we demonstrate that womens skin, which contains LH/hCG
receptors, responds to these hormones by a modest decrease in type 2
5
-reductase and androgen receptor protein levels. The biological and
clinical importance of this regulation remains to be determined.
| Footnotes |
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2 Current address: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Allegheny
University of the Health Sciences, 320 East North Avenue, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania 15212. ![]()
Received November 14, 1997.
Revised December 12, 1997.
Accepted January 15, 1998.
| References |
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-reductase isozyme expression. J Clin Invest. 92:903910.
-reductase in human skin. J Invest Dermatol. 102:221226.[CrossRef][Medline]
5-
4
isomerase in human skin. J Invest Dermatol. 99:415421.[CrossRef][Medline]
-reductase, an enzyme essential
for male sexual differentiation. J Biol Chem. 264:1624916255.
-reductase. J Clin Invest89
:293300.
-reductase 1 confers sensitivity to finasteride,
a competitive inhibitor. J Biol Chem. 267:85778583.
-reductase type 1 in pubic skin from
normal subjects and hirsute patients. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 81:19891993.[Abstract]
-reduction in skin and liver of men with
severe acne after 13-cis-retinoic acid treatment. J
Clin Endocrinol Metab. 78:10641069.[Abstract]
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