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Steroid hormone toxicity in human fibroblasts does not correlate with high affinity receptor content
Journal of Cellular Physiology
|June 1, 1979
Summary
Dihydrotestosterone kills human fibroblasts equally, regardless of androgen receptor presence. Steroid-induced cell death in fibroblasts is not linked to receptor levels, unlike in mouse cells.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Cell Biology
- Dermatology
Background:
- Androgen receptors are typically involved in cellular responses to androgens like dihydrotestosterone.
- Previous studies in murine lymphoid cells indicated a strong correlation between androgen receptor content and hormone-induced cell death.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between androgen receptor levels and dihydrotestosterone-induced cytotoxicity in human skin fibroblasts.
- To compare androgen sensitivity in fibroblasts from normal individuals versus those with testicular feminization syndrome (TFM).
Main Methods:
- Culturing human diploid skin fibroblasts from normal individuals and TFM patients.
- Exposing fibroblasts to dihydrotestosterone and assessing cell viability.
- Quantifying high-affinity cellular androgen receptor content in different fibroblast strains.
Main Results:
- Fibroblasts from TFM individuals, lacking high-affinity androgen receptors, showed similar dihydrotestosterone-induced cell death as normal fibroblasts.
- Normal fibroblast strains with varying androgen receptor levels exhibited comparable sensitivity to androgen-induced cytotoxicity.
- Steroid-induced cytotoxicity in human fibroblasts was not correlated with cellular androgen receptor content.
Conclusions:
- Androgen receptor content does not predict dihydrotestosterone-induced cytotoxicity in human fibroblasts.
- The mechanism of steroid-induced cell death in human fibroblasts may differ from that in murine lymphoid cells.
- These findings challenge the direct role of high-affinity androgen receptors in mediating dihydrotestosterone's cytotoxic effects on human skin fibroblasts.
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