Analysis of activated androgen receptors in rat brain and anterior pituitary and ventral prostate glands: nuclear binding and RNA polymerase activity.

Abstract

Cytosolic androgen receptors from neocortex, hypothalamus and anterior pituitary and ventral prostate glands were analysed by miniature isoelectric focusing and sucrose density-gradient centrifugation before and after precipitation of [3H]dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-bound complexes with ammonium sulphate. In the hypothalamus and neocortex (NH4)2SO4 precipitation appeared to cause heterodisperse peaks, and in the case of the ventral prostate there was a clear shift to a more basic isoelectric point. After sucrose density-gradient centrifugation all cytosols sedimented as large aggregates which appeared to dissociate into subunits in 0.4 M-KCl gradients. The functional significance of these altered forms was tested by nuclear uptake studies of cytosolic [3H]DHT-bound complexes, which could only be detected in brain and pituitary nuclei after prior precipitation with (NH4)2SO4, which also significantly increased extraction of ventral prostate [3H]DHT-bound complexes from the nucleus. The nuclei apparently responded to the (NH4)2SO4-precipitated and redissolved complexes by increased RNA polymerase activity. These results are consistent with the possibility that the neural androgen receptor is altered before interaction with the genome, and this alteration may be necessary for the action of the hormone to be expressed.