Proof that the endogenous, heat-stable glucocorticoid receptor-activating factor is thioredoxin

Extraction of rat liver cytosol with charcoal inactivates glucocorticoid-binding capacity and receptors can be reactivated to the steroid-binding state by an endogenous reducing system utilizing NADPH and a Mr = 12,000, heat-stable, endogenous, cytosolic protein (Grippo, J. F., Tienrungroj, W., Dahmer, M. K., Housley, P. R., and Pratt, W. B. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 13658-13664). In this paper we show that NADPH-dependent conversion of the rat liver glucocorticoid receptor from a nonbinding to a steroid-binding form is blocked in an immune-specific manner by antisera raised against purified rat liver thioredoxin reductase or thioredoxin. The inhibition produced by thioredoxin reductase antiserum may be circumvented by dithiothreitol or overcome by addition of purified thioredoxin reductase. These observations prove that the endogenous glucocorticoid receptor-activating factor is thioredoxin and that the enzyme required for generating the steroid-binding conformation of the glucocorticoid receptor by the endogenous receptor-activating system is thioredoxin reductase.