Abstract

Primary cultures of male Xenopus liver parenchymal cells that retained their competence to respond to estrogen were used to study the hormone-induced activation of the vitellogenin gene in vitro. The accumulation of vitellogenin mRNA in these cells was monitored by a quantitative diazotized paper disc hybridization procedure with a sensitivity of at least 6 pg of sequences complementary to the probe in total RNA samples of 10 μg. A short-term timecourse analysis showed that vitellogenin mRNA was detectable within 3 hr of exposure to estrogen during primary stimulation, and that the maximum rate of accumulation was reached at 5–6 hr. A longterm time-course analysis of the accumulation of vitellogenin mRNA showed that it is possible to obtain a primary response, a hormone withdrawal effect and an enhanced secondary response in the same batch of cells in a manner analogous to that observed in vivo. Measurement of hormone concentration dependence showed a response at 10 −9 M estradiol, which continued to increase up to at least 10 −6 M estradiol. This requirement for large doses of estradiol for maximal response can be explained by the rapid metabolism of estradiol by the cultured cells.

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