Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Protocols for Visualizing Steroidogenic Organs and Their Interactive Organs with Immunostaining in the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: April 14, 2017
Transcriptional regulation of steroidogenic genes: STARD1, CYP11A1 and HSD3B
Holly A Lavoie1, Steven R King
1Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. holly.lavoie@uscmed.sc.edu
Abstract:
Expression of the genes that mediate the first steps in steroidogenesis, the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STARD1), the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme, cytochrome P450scc (CYP11A1) and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta5-Delta4 isomerase (HSD3B), is tightly controlled by a battery of transcription factors in the adrenal cortex, the gonads and the placenta. These genes generally respond to the same hormones that stimulate steroid production through common pathways such as cAMP signaling and common actions on their promoters by proteins such as NR5A and GATA family members. However, there are distinct temporal, tissue and species-specific differences in expression between the genes that are defined by combinatorial regulation and unique promoter elements. This review will provide an overview of the hormonal and transcriptional regulation of the STARD1, CYP11A1 and specific steroidogenic HSD3B genes in the adrenal, testis, ovary and placenta and discuss the current knowledge regarding the key transcriptional factors involved.
Related Concept Videos
Master Transcription Regulators
Master Transcription Regulators
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Co-activators and Co-repressors
Cell Specific Gene Expression
