The transcription activator steroidogenic factor-1 is preferentially expressed in the human pituitary gonadotroph

Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1), also known as adrenal-4-binding protein, is a transcription factor that is important for the differentiation of steroidogenic tissues. We investigated whether SF-1 is expressed in specific hormone-producing cell types in the human pituitary and its adenomas. Pituitary adenomas (n = 35) were collected at the time of surgery, and normal adenohypophyses were obtained from autopsies; 3 corticotroph adenomas were excluded because pit-1 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression indicated contamination by nontumorous elements. Expression of SF-1 mRNA was determined by reverse transcription-PCR. SF-1 protein was localized with immunocytochemistry. By reverse transcription-PCR, SF-1 mRNA was found in the nontumorous pituitary and in pituitary adenomas expressing gonadotropins. All 8 gonadotroph adenomas had a strong signal for SF-1. SF-1 mRNA was also detected in 2 of 3 corticotroph adenomas, 2 of 13 somatotroph/mammosomatotroph adenomas, 1 of 6 lactotroph adenomas, and 2 silent subtype 3 adenomas; however, in most of the positive tumors there was also positivity for FSH beta and/or LH beta mRNA, suggesting that contaminating nontumorous gonadotrophs may be the source of SF-1 mRNA signal. SF-1 protein was localized by immunocytochemistry in the nuclei of scattered cells of the nontumorous adenohypophysis that were shown to be gonadotrophs with double immunostaining and in gonadotroph adenomas; nuclear staining was not found in other adenoma types, except in areas shown to contain trapped nontumorous tissue. We conclude that SF-1 expression correlates with the expression of gonadotropins. These findings implicate SF-1 as a cell-specific transcription factor that may regulate gonadotroph differentiation in the pituitary.