Conventional studies of steroid hormone action proceed via quantitation of the maximal activity for gene induction at saturating concentrations of agonist steroid (i.e., A(max)). Less frequently analyzed parameters of receptor-mediated gene expression are EC(50) and PAA. The EC(50) is the concentration of steroid required for half-maximal agonist activity and is readily determined from the dose...

Background: The female breast is subjected to a lifetime of hormonal controls, whose effect is evident at the time of menarche and during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and lactation. Studies have reported multiple risk factors for breast cancer, some of which are a reflection of hormonally mediated events. The steroid receptors are also served as prognostic factors for evaluating status of mal...

We have compared the steroid regulation of human genes encoding prostatic acid phosphatase (hPAP), prostate-specific antigen (hPSA), and prostate-specific glandular kallikrein (hK2) at the level of transcription. Reporter constructs of hPAP promoter covering the region -734/+467 were functional in both prostatic (LNCaP and PC-3) and nonprostatic (CV-1) cell lines in transient transfections. hPA...

Neuromodulators including gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and sex steroids help integrate an animal's internal physiological state with incoming external cues, and can have profound effects on the processing of behaviorally relevant information, particularly from the olfactory system. While GnRH and steroid receptors are present in olfactory processing regions across vertebrates, little i...

Steroid-secreting cultured mouse adrenal cells of the Y-l clone were shown to possess a high affinity cell surface receptor for plasma low density lipoprotein (LDL). Binding of either human or mouse LDL to the receptor was followed by the uptake of the lipoprotein and the hydrolysis of its protein and cholesteryl ester components within lysosomes. In the absence of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). t...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The steroid hormones, including estradiol (E) and progesterone, act in the brain to regulate female reproductive behavior and physiology. These hormones mediate many of their biological effects by binding to their respective intracellular receptors. The receptors for estrogens (ER) and progestins (PR) interact with nuclear receptor coactivators to initiate transcription of stero...