Androgen responsiveness and androgen receptor gene expression in human kidney cells in continuous culture

The effects of androgen and estrogen on cell growth and gene expression were investigated in KJ29 kidney epithelial cells. Incorporation of 3H leucine and 3H thymidine was increased by androgen at 10nM, but not by estrogen. Estrogen however, inhibited the effects induced by androgen. In addition, cell number and the proliferation marker Ki67 were increased by androgen, but not by estrogen. Levels of androgen receptor RNA, as detected by RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis, were not affected by either androgen or estrogen. Levels of estrogen receptor RNA could be detected only by RT-PCR, and disappeared after estrogen treatment. These studies show that sex steroid receptors are differently expressed in KJ29 cells, and suggest that androgen, via its canonic receptor, acts as a mitogenic factor in human kidney cells, whereas estrogen has an antiandrogenic action.