Molecular interactions of natural and synthetic steroids in female hamsters’ flank organs

BackgroundThe initial step of steroidal action on target cells is gene activation; therefore, the quantification of mRNA is a direct method for comparing the role of different steroids in the skin.ObjectiveThis study demonstrated the role of several steroids on the mRNA expression encoding for different enzymes involved in the lipid metabolism in hamsters’ flank organs, which are a pilosebaceous complex.MethodsTo determine the effect of treatments with testosterone (T) progesterone (P), levonorgestrel (LNG), 17α-p-chlorobenzoyloxy-6-chloropregn-4,6-diene-3,20-dione (5) and 17α-p-chlorobenzoyloxy-4,6-pregnadiene-3,20-dione (6); T and/or LNG; T and 5 or 6; P and/or 5 or 6 on the expression of mRNA encoding for lipid enzymes, the steroids were applied to the glands; later, the mRNAs expression for the enzymes was determined by PCR. The binding of 5 and 6 to the progesterone receptor (PR) was also evaluated.ResultsTreatments with T, LNG, T + LNG, P, T + P, 5, T + 5, T + 6, P, P + 5 and P + 6 increased the mRNA expression for glycerol 3-phosphate acyl transferase (GPAT), β-hydroxy-β-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase (HMG-CoA-S), β-hydroxy-β-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA-R), phosphatidylinositol synthase as compared to the controls. However, squalene synthase was increased with all treatments except with T + 5 and 6; 6 did not significantly increase the expression for GPAT or HMG-CoA-S, however it increased the concentration of HMG-CoA-R enzyme.5 and 6 bind to the PR, thus indicating that the effect of these steroids on the mRNA expression could be the result of their binding.ConclusionThe lipid metabolism is regulated by several steroids thought different mechanism of action, in flank organs.

The steroids tested modulated the mRNA expression for distinct enzymes involved in the lipid metabolism in female hamsters’ flank organs.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (137 K)Download as PowerPoint slide