Aldosterone Binding Sites Research Articles

Mineralcorticoid receptors along the nephron: [3H]aldosterone binding in rabbit tubules

To identify the site of mineralocorticoid action along the nephron, we measured the specific binding of [3H]aldosterone to nephron segments microdissected from aldosterone-deficient rabbits. Specific binding was defined as the difference between binding measured in the absence or in the presence of 2,000-fold excess of unlabeled hormone (in 10(-18) mol X cm tubule length-1 +/- SE). High specific binding capacity was found in the branched collecting tubule (108 +/- 4), the cortical collecting tubule (119 +/- 9), and the outer medullary collecting tubule (115 +/- 16), whereas specific binding was negligible in the proximal convoluted tubule (8 +/- 9), pars recta (2 +/- 6), medullary thick ascending limb (4 +/- 6), cortical thick ascending limb (6 +/- 2), and distal convoluted tubule (6 +/- 6). In cortical collecting tubules, Scatchard analysis of the specific [3H]aldosterone binding indicated a dissociation constant (KD) of 2.2 X 10(-9) M and a maximum number of binding sites of 157 X 10(-18) mol X cm tubule length-1. The steroid specificity was assessed from the competition of various steroids for [3H]aldosterone binding sites. Receptors from the cortical collecting tubule revealed the following sequence of affinities: aldosterone greater than DOCA greater than spironolactone greater than dexamethasone greater than 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone = progesterone = 17 beta-estradiol, indicating that the binding sites in the collecting tubule are mineralocorticoid receptors. These results demonstrate significant [3H]aldosterone binding to receptors of high affinity and mineralocorticoid specificity only in the collecting tubule and suggest that this nephron segment is the target site of mineralocorticoid action in the rabbit kidney.

Mineralocorticoid receptors during normal kidney growth and compensatory renal hypertrophy

[ 3H]-Aldosterone and [ 3H]-dexamethasone binding characteristics in the kidney cytosol of adrenalectomized rats were assessed during normal growth and compensatory hypertrophy of the kidney. The nephrectomy was performed on one month old rats and the growth processes studied for four weeks. The models for the ligand interaction with the cytosolic receptors, the corresponding dissociation constants and the maximum number of sites for each class of receptor were all determined. The dissociation constants of aldosterone ( KD I ≈- 1.4 × 10 −9 mol/l, KD II ≅ 4.3 × 10 −8 mol/l) and dexamethasone ( KD ≅ 6.5 × 10 −9 mol/l) as well as the tissue concentrations of aldosterone binding sites (N 1 11 × 10 −13 mol/g tissue, N 2 ≅ 194 × 10 −13mol/g tissue) and dexamethasone binding sites (N ≅ 265 × 10 −13 mol/g tissue) remained unchanged during normal growth and compensatory renal hypertrophy and were found identical to those previously determined for the adult adrenalectomized rat kidney. These results indicate a correlation between the total number of binding sites and renal growth whether the growth is normal or related to a hypertrophy.

Testosterone: a specific competitive antagonist of aldosterone in the toad bladder.

Testosterone (100 nM to 40 microM) antagonized the effect of aldosterone (10 nM) on Na+ transport in the toad bladder measured in vitro as short-circuit current (SCC). Half-maximal inhibition occurred at an antagonist-agonist molar ratio of 150:1. The antagonist action of testosterone was reversed by addition of more aldosterone. The antagonism was specific in the sense that testosterone (20 microM) did not inhibit the response of the SCC to oxytocin (50 mU/ml). By itself, testosterone (up to 20 microM) had no agonist activity on base-line SCC. Finally, testosterone (500 nM to 20 microM) specifically displaced [3H]aldosterone (5 nm) from its cytoplasmic and nuclear binding sites in bladders incubated in vitro at 25 or 0 degrees C and labeled at steady state. There was a significant linear correlation between the effect of testosterone on the aldosterone-dependent SCC and its effect on [3H]aldosterone binding sites in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. We conclude that 1) testosterone is a specific competitive antagonist of aldosterone, and 2) [3H]aldosterone nuclear and cytoplasmic binding sites could be mineralocorticoid receptors, mediating the action of aldosterone on Na+ transport.

Occupancy of aldosterone binding sites in rat kidney cytosol

The binding sites for aldosterone and a potent aldosterone antagonist (SC-26304) were studied in kidney cytosol from adienalectomized rats. Preformed cytosol and kidney slices were incubated with 3H-labeled steroids in a wide range of concentrations. The recovery and characteristics of the binding sites were affected by the incubation and homogenization conditions. High-affinity, Type I mineralocorticoid binding was reduced by more than 95% when cytosol was incubated at 25°C in the presence of calcium. Tissue dilution also affected the binding sites. SC-26304 was bound to high- and low-affinity receptors, similar to the binding of aldosterone. The physiologic response to aldosterone could result from binding to either or both sets of sites. Some of the physiologic responses to spirolactones could represent antagonism of the binding of aldosterone to either or both sites. A convenient method is presented for describing the relative occupancy of several different sites by any particular steroid.

Aldosterone receptor occupancy and sodium transport in the urinary bladder of Bufo marinus

The concentration dependence of binding of [3H]aldosterone to cytoplasmic and nuclear receptors was evaluated in urinary bladder epithelial cells of Colombian toads. One class of specific sites (sensitive to displacement by excess aldosterone) was detected in the cytosol. However, two classes of specific nuclear [3H]aldosterone binding sites were evident. In the nucleus, high-affinity (Kd = 2.7 X 10(-9) M), low-capacity (N = 15 X 10(-14) mol/mg DNA) sites (type I) were completely saturated at approximately 4 X 10(-8) M aldosterone, a concentration which gave a maximal increase in short-circuit current (SCC). Occupancy of low-affinity (Kd = 4.6 X 10(-7) M), high-capacity sites (N = 150 X 10(-14) mol/mg DNA) (type II) occurred at higher steroid concentrations and did not correlate with further increase in SCC. Binding parameters of Colombian and Dominican variants of Bufo marinus were compared. In both variants, the SCC increase elicited by aldosterone correlated with accumulation of type I complexes in the nucleus, but the relationship was markedly nonlinear. Various alternatives were considered as the basis for a curvilinear dependence of the increment in Na+ transport on abundance of nuclear type I complexes.

Dramatic protective effect of ligand against thermal degradation on mineralo- and glucocorticoid receptors of rat kidney

Rat kidney cytosol contains both mineralo- and glucocorticoid receptors. The stability of these receptors was studied by [ 3H-aldosterone and [ 3H]-dexamethasone respectively. Stability experiments at 0°C and 20°C showed more rapid decay of aldosterone binding sites than of dexamethasone receptors. Moreover, a pronounced protective effect of ligand on the stability of binding sites was indicated by a more rapid disappearance rate of aldosterone ∗ and dexamethasone ∗ receptors in the absence of their ligand. The protective effect of ligand on [ 3H]-aldosterone binding sites was further documented by Scatchard analysis and competition experiments. When aldosterone receptors were protected during cytosol preparation by adding [ 3H]-aldosterone after homogenization: (1) Scatchard plot of [ 3H[-aldosterone showed two slopes, the steeper slope ( K DI = 3.9 × 10 −9M) corresponding to the mineralocorti-coid receptor; (2) competition experiments showed that aldosterone was the best competitor for [ 3H]-aldosterone binding sites. When [ 3H]-aldosterone was added after cytosol preparation: (1) only the lower slope ( k dh = 9 × 10 −8M) corresponding to glucocorticoid receptor was detected; (2) dexamethasone was the best competitor for [ 3H]-aldosterone binding sites. Various attempts were made to stabilize aldosterone receptors: glycerol and EDTA-containing buffers appeared to be the most effective buffers. No further stability was obtained by the addition of several protease inhibitors.

16β-Hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone: the Dichotomy Between Renal Receptor Binding and Urinary Electrolyte Activity1

Excessive production of 16beta-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone (16beta-OH-DHEA) has been suggested as a cause of low-renin essential hypertension. The mineralocorticoid effect of 16beta-OH-DHEA was reported to be one-fortieth that of aldostereone in the rat bioassay. Using kidney slices from adrenalectomized rats, the affinity of 16beta-OH-DHEA and a series of related compounds for mineralocorticoid receptors has been determined. In studies done at both 4 C and 37 C, the affinity of 16beta-OHDHEA for mineralocorticoid receptors was found to be less than 0.1% that of aldosterone (P less than 0.01). Various related steroids and/or potential metabolites similarly showed negligible affinity for the aldosterone receptor. In addition, In addition, 16beta-OHDHEA showed no significant affinity for renal dexamethasone-binding sites (Type II glucocorticoid receptors), corticosterone-binding sites (Type III glucocorticoid receptors), dihydrotestosterone binding sites, or estradiol binding sites. In in vivo competition experiments, the concurrent administration of 50 mug deoxycorticosterone reduced (3H)aldosterone binding to 20-30% of control levels; 50 mug 16beta-OH-DHEA did not compete for (3H)aldosterone binding sites. In in vivo bioassay electrolyte excretion was found-in contrast to that of aldosterone-to be variable. Within a given group, certain rats reproducibly responded to 16beta-OH-DHEA by sodium retention and kaliuresis; in others no response was observed. In vitro binding studies comparing "responders" with "non-responders" demonstrated that in neither group did 16beta-OH-DHEA have significant affinity for renal mineralocorticoid receptors. Accordingly, the mechanism whereby 16beta-OHDHEA produces changes in urinary electrolyte excretion appears independent of classical mineralocorticoid effector mechanisms. The conditions under which this effect is seen await eludication.

Glucocorticoid and Mineralocorticoid Receptors in Gut Mucosa1

Both glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid hormones are known to be involved in the physiology and pathophysiology of the gastrointestinal tract. Studies on the mechanism of action of steroid hormones indicate an initial obligatory step of binding to stereospecific receptor proteins in the cytoplasm of target tissue cells. Mucosal cells from the gastrointestinal tract of adrenalectomized, gonadectomized rats contain cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptors which bind tritiated dexamethasone with an affinity (Kdiss4C) of approximately 10(-8)M. The concentration of glucocorticoid receptors per unit cytoplasmic protein is in order duodenum greater than jejunum greater than ileum=stomach greater than colon, and their affinity for steroid hormones is in order dexamethasone greater than corticosterone greater than deoxycorticosterone=aldosterone. No glucocorticoid receptors could be demonstrated in esophageal mucosal cells. Binding sites for tritiated aldosterone, with affinity characteristics appropriate for physiological mineralocorticoid receptors, were demonstrated in duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon. No similar sites could be shown in the mucosa of the gastric antrum.

The roles of plasma binding and receptor specificity in the mineralocorticoid action of aldosterone.

The current hypothesis of the mechanism of action of aldosterone includes an initiating step of binding of the steroid to stereospecific receptor proteins in target tissues. In view of the very low circulating levels of aldosterone relative to other adrenal steroids, there must exist potent specificity—conferring mechanisms to insure appropriate aldosterone occupancy of mineralocorticoid receptors. Two specificity—conferring mechanisms are described which are posited to allow aldosterone occupancy of its appropriate receptor.In vitro, renal aldosterone binding sites are shown to fall into two classes. Those with a higher affinity for aldosterone—Kdlss (37 C)≅ 5X10-10—are termed Type I; those with a lower affinity—Kdiss (37 C)≅ 2.5 X lO-8— Type II. Desoxycorticosterone (DOC) has ∼80% the affinity of aldosterone for both sites. Corticosterone (B) has a high affinity for Type II sites, but less than 2% of the affinity of aldosterone for Type I. From the relative affinities of the three steroids for Type I, t...

Glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors for aldosterone

Specific binding of aldosterone and dexamethasone by rat kidney and hepatoma tissue culture (HTC) cell cytosol has been studied. In cytosol of HTC cells, aldosterone and dexamethasone bind to a single class of sites with affinities that correspond with their potencies as inducers of tyrosine aminotransferase. Kidney cytosol, however, contains two classes of specific aldosterone binding sites. The higher affinity sites bind aldosterone with an affinity (equilibrium, dissociation, constant) which is similar to the plasma concentration of aldosterone required for antinatriuresis. The lower affinity aldosterone-binding sites are present at a higher concentration than the higher affinity sites and also bind dexamethasone with a high affinity. We have tentatively identified these two classes of binding sites in renal cytosol as “mineraloeonicoid” and “glucocorticoid” receptors, respectively.