Evaluation of a novel photoactive and biotinylated dehydroepiandrosterone analog

To characterize the cell surface receptor for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), we synthesized a DHEA analog containing biotin and benzophenone groups (DHEA-BP-Bt). DHEA-BP-Bt was equipotent with DHEA in competing with [(3)H]DHEA for binding to solubilized plasma membranes of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC). Additionally, DHEA-BP-Bt pre-conjugated to avidin and immobilized on agarose, also inhibited plasma membrane binding of [(3)H]DHEA. Furthermore, DHEA-BP-Bt activated endothelial nitric oxide synthase, similar to DHEA. Confocal micrographs showed that, upon photoirradiation, DHEA-BP-Bt bound to sites on the cell surface of BAEC in a DHEA inhibitable manner. Finally, DHEA-BP-Bt bound specifically to proteins of approximately 55 kDa and 80 kDa, either when live cells were UV irradiated with the analog and plasma membrane proteins separated by SDS-PAGE or in a ligand blot analysis. These data confirm the successful synthesis of a photoactive, biotinylated DHEA analog which is capable of cross-linking to and identifying plasma membrane DHEA binding sites and which will allow us to further purify this receptor.