Zonal distribution of cytochromes P-450 and related enzymes of bovine adrenal cortex--quantitative assay of concentrations and total contents

The zona glomerulosa, zona fasciculata, zona reticularis, and medulla were separated from bovine adrenal glands and cytochromes P-450 and related enzymes in each zone were investigated immunochemically by Western blotting using antisera from chickens or rabbits against cytochromes P-450scc, P-450(11)beta, P-450s21, and b5, NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase, NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, NADPH-adrenodoxin reductase, and adrenodoxin. Concentrations of cytochrome P-450(11)beta, NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, and cytochrome b5 per milligram of protein of homogenate were higher in the zona glomerulosa than in the other zones; the levels of the other components were higher in the zona fasciculata. The total enzyme content of all components was the highest in the zona fasciculata. The amount of adrenodoxin was about 10 times that of NADPH-adrenodoxin reductase in each zone.     

Stoichiometry of mitochondrial cytochromes P-450, adrenodoxin and adrenodoxin reductase in adrenal cortex and corpus luteum. Implications for membrane organization and gene regulation

We have estimated the concentrations of cytochromes P-450scc and P-45011 beta and the electron-transfer proteins adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin in the adrenal cortex and corpus luteum using specific antibodies against these enzymes. While in the adrenal cortex the concentrations of these enzymes are relatively constant in different animals and show no significant sex differences, in corpora lutea they vary considerably and can increase at least up to fifty-fold over the levels found in the ovary. The average relative concentrations of adrenodoxin reductase, adrenodoxin and P-450 are 1:3:8 in the adrenal cortex (which has two cytochromes P-450, P-450scc and P-450(11) beta, in equal concentrations) and 1:2.5:3 in the corpus luteum (which has only P-450scc). We further present evidence that the levels of cytochrome c oxidase also show a degree of correlation with the levels of the mitochondrial steroidogenic enzymes.     

Adrenodoxin with a COOH-terminal deletion (des 116-128) exhibits enhanced activity

Adrenodoxin, purified from bovine adrenal cortex, was subjected to trypsin cleavage to yield a trypsin-resistant form, designated TT-adrenodoxin. Sequencing with carboxypeptidase Y identified the trypsin cleavage site as Arg-115, while Edman degradation indicated no NH2-terminal cleavage. Native adrenodoxin and TT-adrenodoxin exhibited similar affinity for adrenodoxin reductase as determined in cytochrome c reductase assays. In side chain cleavage assays using cytochrome P-450scc, however, TT-adrenodoxin demonstrated greater activity than adrenodoxin with cholesterol, (22R)-22-hydroxycholesterol, or (20R,22R)-20,22-dihydroxycholesterol as substrate. This enhanced activity is due to increased affinity of TT-adrenodoxin for cytochrome P-450scc; TT-adrenodoxin exhibits a 3.8-fold lower apparent Km for the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone. TT-Adrenodoxin was also more effective in coupling with cytochrome P-450(11) beta, exhibiting a 3.5-fold lower apparent Km for the 11 beta-hydroxylation of deoxycorticosterone. In the presence of partially saturating cholesterol, TT-adrenodoxin elicited a type I spectral shift with cytochrome P-450scc similar to that induced by adrenodoxin, and spectral titrations showed that oxidized TT-adrenodoxin exhibited a 1.5-fold higher affinity for cytochrome P-450scc. These results establish that COOH-terminal residues 116-128 are not essential for the electron transfer activity of bovine adrenodoxin, and the differential effects of truncation at Arg-115 on interactions with adrenodoxin reductase and cytochromes P-450 suggest that the residues involved in the interactions are not identical.     

Regulation of steroidogenesis in rat Leydig cells in culture: effect of human chorionic gonadotropin and dibutyryl cyclic AMP on the synthesis of cholesterol side chain cleavage cytochrome P-450 and adrenodoxin

Rat Leydig cells in primary culture were used as a model system to investigate the effects of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and dibutyryl cyclic AMP (Bt2cAMP) on the synthesis of cholesterol side chain cleavage cytochrome P-450 (cytochrome P-450scc) and the iron-sulfur protein, adrenodoxin. Leydig cells isolated from the testes of mature rats were placed in monolayer culture in the absence of stimulatory factors for 8 days. HCG (10 mIU/ml) or Bt2cAMP (1 mM) were then added to some of the cultures and the incubations were continued for up to 48 h. Testosterone production was increased markedly in cells incubated with hCG or Bt2cAMP. A significant accumulation of pregnenolone in the medium of cells treated with Bt2cAMP was also observed. Both hCG and Bt2cAMP increased the rates of synthesis of cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin. In hCG-treated cells the apparent rate of synthesis of cytochrome P-450scc was increased 13-fold over that of controls after 48 h of incubation; the rate of adrenodoxin synthesis was increased 4-fold by hCG treatment. In Bt2cAMP-treated cells the rate of synthesis of cytochrome P-450scc was 37-fold greater than that of control cells after 48 h of incubation; adrenodoxin synthesis was increased 36-fold over controls. In hCG- and Bt2cAMP-treated cells, the concentration of immunoreactive cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin increased with increasing time of incubation, and were correlated with the stimulatory effects of these agents on cytochrome P-450scc activity and on total steroid production. The results of this study are indicative that the maintenance by LH/hCG of elevated levels of testosterone synthesis by the Leydig cell is mediated, in part, by induction of the synthesis of cytochrome P-450scc and its associated protein, adrenodoxin. Since Bt2cAMP had effects similar to those observed with hCG, it is suggested that the stimulatory effects of hCG on the synthesis of cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin are mediated by increased cyclic AMP formation.     

Induction of synthesis of bovine adrenocortical cytochromes P-450scc, P-45011 beta, P-450C21, and adrenodoxin by prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha and cholera toxin

To further elucidate the mechanisms by which ACTH (adrenocorticotropin) exerts its long-term action to maintain normal levels of adrenocortical cytochromes P-450 and related enzymes, the abilities of cholera toxin and prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha to induce the synthesis of cytochromes P-450scc, P-45011 beta, and P-450C21 and adrenodoxin have been examined. These effectors stimulate the production of cyclic AMP and thus steroidogenesis in the adrenal cortex. Using bovine adrenocortical cells in primary monolayer culture, we have shown that treatment with cholera toxin results in increased synthesis of cytochromes P-450scc and P-45011 beta and adrenodoxin, similar to the effect observed upon ACTH treatment. Prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha are less effective at inducing the synthesis of the mitochondrial cytochromes P-450, and do not seem to induce the synthesis of adrenodoxin. Furthermore, cholera toxin was found to be less effective at inducing the synthesis of microsomal cytochrome P-450C21 than ACTH, and no more effective than the prostaglandins. Thus, while it appears that elevation of cyclic AMP levels is a necessary step leading to increased synthesis of adrenocortical forms of cytochrome P-450, the detailed mechanism of this induction will be found to be different for each of the different enzymes.     

Synthesis and processing of mitochondrial steroid hydroxylases. In vivo maturation of the precursor forms of cytochrome P-450scc, cytochrome P-450(11)beta, and adrenodoxin

The synthesis and maturation of the precursor forms of three mitochondrial enzymes involved in steroid hormone biosynthesis have been studied in vivo. Primary cultures of bovine adrenocortical cells were radiolabeled with [35S] methionine and newly synthesized cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P-450 (P-450scc), 11 beta-hydroxylase cytochrome P-450 (P-450(11)beta), and adrenodoxin immunoisolated using specific antibodies. Both the precursor and mature forms of P-450scc and P-450(11)beta were detected during short periods of pulse labeling; however, the precursor forms were transitory in nature while their corresponding mature forms accumulated. Pulse-chase experiments showed that the precursor form of each cytochrome P-450 had an apparent half-life of 3.5 min. In contrast, the precursor form of adrenodoxin was not readily detected in pulse-labeling experiments until a substantial amount of its mature form had accumulated. When the cultured cells were treated with a chelator of divalent cations (o-phenanthroline) or a mitochondrial uncoupler (dinitrophenol), the maturation of all three precursors was inhibited. The synthesis of the P-450scc and P-450(11)beta precursors was induced in cells maintained in the presence of adrenocorticotropin, and the rates of appearance of their processed forms were also increased. The mature forms of all three proteins were immunoisolated from a trypsinized mitochondrial fraction prepared from the radiolabeled cells, demonstrating that the mature proteins were localized within the organelle. These studies establish that the maturation of the precursor forms of the mitochondrial steroidogenic enzymes are characterized by steps similar to those reported for other mitochondrial precursor proteins.     

The use of a specific fluorescence probe to study the interaction of adrenodoxin with adrenodoxin reductase and cytochrome P-450scc

The single free cysteine at residue 95 of bovine adrenodoxin was labeled with the fluorescent reagent N-iodoacetylamidoethyl-1-aminonaphthalene-5-sulfonate (1,5-I-AEDANS). The modification had no effect on the interaction with adrenodoxin reductase or cytochrome P-450scc, suggesting that the AEDANS group at Cys-95 was not located at the binding site for these molecules. Addition of adrenodoxin reductase, cytochrome P-450scc, or cytochrome c to AEDANS-adrenodoxin was found to quench the fluorescence of the AEDANS in a manner consistent with the formation of 1:1 binary complexes. F?rster energy transfer calculations indicated that the AEDANS label on adrenodoxin was 42 A from the heme group in cytochrome c, 36 A from the FAD group in adrenodoxin reductase, and 58 A from the heme group in cytochrome P-450scc in the respective binary complexes. These studies suggest that the FAD group in adrenodoxin reductase is located close to the binding domain for adrenodoxin but that the heme group in cytochrome P-450scc is deeply buried at least 26 A from the binding domain for adrenodoxin. Modification of all the lysines on adrenodoxin with maleic anhydride had no effect on the interaction with either adrenodoxin reductase or cytochrome P-450scc, suggesting that the lysines are not located at the binding site for either protein. Modification of all the arginine residues with p-hydroxyphenylglyoxal also had no effect on the interaction with adrenodoxin reductase or cytochrome P-450scc. These studies are consistent with the proposal that the binding sites on adrenodoxin for adrenodoxin reductase and cytochrome P-450scc overlap, and that adrenodoxin functions as a mobile electron carrier.     

Chemical modification of steroid-hydroxylating monooxygenases with fluorescein isothiocyanate]

Chemical modifications of cytochrome P-450scc and cytochrome P-450(11) beta with fluorescein-, diiodofluorescein-, eosine- and rhodamine isothiocyanate have been carried out. At a low reagent/protein ratio and neutral pH, a selective chemical modification was known to take place which did not affect the spectral properties of cytochrome P-450scc. Covalent chromatography was found useful to discriminate between covalent modification of cytochrome P-450scc and non-specific binding of FITC with cytochrome P-450scc. Proteolytic modification of cytochrome P-450scc and structural analysis indicate that a lysine residue of the C-terminal sequence of cytochrome P-450scc is accessible to FITC. The residue was shown, by the analysis of the chymotryptic hydrolysate of the fragment F2, to be Lys338. Effect of modification with FITC on the interaction of cytochrome P-450scc with cholesterol or adrenodoxin, on the reduction kinetics and on the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone was also studied.     

Adrenal P-450scc modulates activity of P-45011 beta in liposomal and mitochondrial membranes. Implication of P-450scc in zone specificity of aldosterone biosynthesis in bovine adrenal.

Bovine adrenal P-45011 beta catalyzes the 11 beta- and 18-hydroxylation of corticosteroids as well as aldosterone synthesis. These activities of P-45011 beta were found to be modulated by another mitochondrial cytochrome P-450 species, P-450scc. The presence together of P-45011 beta and P-450scc in liposomal membranes was found to remarkably stimulate the 11 beta-hydroxylase activity of P-45011 beta and also stimulate the cholesterol desmolase activity of P-450scc. The stimulative effect of P-450scc on 11 beta-hydroxylase activity diminished by the addition of protein-free liposomes to proteoliposomes containing P-45011 beta and P-450scc, thus showing P-450scc to interact with P-45011 beta in the same membranes. Kinetic analysis of this effect indicated the formation of an equimolar complex between P-45011 beta and P-450scc on liposomal membranes. P-45011 beta in the complex had not only stimulated activity for 11 beta- and 18-hydroxylation of 11-deoxycorticosterone but also suppressed activity for production of 18-hydroxycorticosterone and aldosterone. When the inner mitochondrial membranes of zona fasciculata-reticularis from bovine adrenal were treated with anti-P-450scc IgG, aldosterone formation was stimulated to a greater extent than that of zona glomerulosa. This indicates the aldosterone synthesizing activity of P-45011 beta in the zona fasciculata-reticularis to be suppressed by interaction with P-450scc. The zone-specific aldosterone synthesis of P-45011 beta in bovine adrenal may possibly be induced by differences in interactions with P-450scc of mitochondrial membranes in each zone.     

Adrenal cortical 11 beta-hydroxylase and side-chain cleavage enzymes. Requirement for the A- or B-pyridyl ring in metyrapone for inhibition

The adrenal cortical enzyme systems, 11 beta-hydroxylase, P-450 11 beta, and the side-chain cleavage complex, P-450 scc, differ only in their cytochrome P-450s. Structural modifications of metyrapone, an inhibitor of cytochrome P-450 enzyme systems, have been made to determine the requirement for the A- or B-pyridyl ring for inhibition of P-45011 beta and P-450 scc activities. Three new analogs of metyrapone (A-phenylmetyrapone, B-phenylmetyrapone and diphenylmetyrapone) were synthesized and evaluated as inhibitors using a crude, defatted bovine adrenal cortical mitochondrial preparation. Characterization of the mitochondrial preparation demonstrated: enhancement of both activities by the addition of 15.0 microM adrenodoxin, the addition of 1% ethanol decreased both activities less than 10%, and the apparent Km of deoxycorticosterone for P-45011 beta was 6.8 microM and the apparent Km of cholesterol for P-450 scc was 21.6 microM. Inhibition of P-45011 beta and P-450 scc activities with these compounds demonstrated: the B-pyridyl ring of metyrapone is required for inhibition of both activities whereas requirement for the A-ring is less stringent, and the four metyrapone analogs were more selective inhibitors of P-45011 beta activity. These studies suggest that the A-phenyl metyrapone analog is a good candidate for further development of a selective adrenocortical radiopharmaceutical.     

The covalent-sorption reconstitution of steroid hydroxylases

The effect of covalent immobilization via free amino groups on the catalytic activity of individual components of the cholesterol side-chain cleavage and 11b-steroid hydroxylation systems (adrenodoxin reductase, adrenodoxin, cytochrome P-450scc and cytochrome P-450(11)b) as well as on that of co-immobilized protein complexes. The protein complex formation at different stages of the monooxygenase cycle (i.e., reduction, oxygenation) was followed by direct spectrophotometric monitoring of the functional state of the immobilized complexes. Cholesterol side-chain cleavage was carried out in minicolumns, using various combinations of immobilized and soluble proteins. Cytochromes P-450scc and P-450(11)b were found to retain their functional activities after immobilization via free SH-groups.     

Immunoblot analysis of cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P-450 and adrenodoxin in corpora lutea of cyclic and late-pregnant sheep

The specific contents of cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin in corpora lutea of late pregnant sheep were, respectively, 1/5 and 1/8 that of corpora lutea of the oestrous cycle, suggesting lower steroidogenic enzyme capacity in the former. The contents of Complex V proteins were also lower in the corpora lutea of late pregnancy. It was observed in the immunoblots of both Complex V and cytochrome P-450scc that immunoreactive bands of molecular weights lower than the native proteins were present in the samples from corpora lutea of late pregnancy, indicative of degradation of the native enzymes. It is concluded that corpora lutea of sheep during late pregnancy have a much lower enzyme capacity for steroidogenesis than do those of the oestrous cycle (mid-luteal phase) due to a reduction in the content of cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin. The reduction in the levels of steroidogenic enzyme proteins appears to be unspecific and probably reflects an overall demise in mitochondrial functions.     

The insulin-like growth factor, somatomedin C, induces the synthesis of cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P-450 and adrenodoxin in ovarian cells

The actions of insulin and somatomedin C (insulin-like growth factor I) on cholesterol side-chain cleavage activity and the synthesis of cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin were investigated in primary cultures of swine ovarian (granulosa) cells. Nanomolar concentrations of pure human somatomedin C stimulated biosynthesis of progesterone and 20 alpha-hydroxypregn-4-en-3-one. Moreover, in the presence of exogenous sterol substrate for cholesterol side-chain cleavage, somatomedin C significantly enhanced pregnenolone biosynthesis in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This augmentation of functional cholesterol side-chain cleavage activity was accompanied by a dose-dependent (2-16-fold) increase in [35S]methionine incorporation into specific immunoprecipitable cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin. Micromolar concentrations of insulin (but not proinsulin or desoctapeptide) also induced synthesis of cholesterol side-chain cleavage constituents by 4-7-fold. These results demonstrate that an insulin-like growth factor, somatomedin C, exerts discrete differentiating effects on ovarian cells characterized by increased synthesis of immunospecific cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin. Thus, we infer that somatomedin C may serve a critical role in the differentiation of steroidogenic cells in the mammalian ovary.     

A covalently linked complex of cytochrome P-450 with adrenodoxin. Localization of the adrenodoxin binding site of cytochrome P-450

Cytochrome P-450scc and adrenodoxin were cross-linked with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide. The sample containing 94% of a cross-linked complex and 6% of free cytochrome P-450scc was obtained after purification on cholate-Sepharose. Cytochrome P-450scc in the cross-linked complex is not reduced in the presence of NADPH and adrenodoxin reductase, but completely preserves its high spin form in the presence of Tween-20 or pregnenolone. The use of radioactive labelled adrenodoxin, chemical cleavage of cytochrome P-450scc from the cross-linked complex by o-iodosobenzoic acid and HPLC for separation of peptides demonstrated that the cytochrome P-450scc complex with adrenodoxin was cross-linked through two amino acid sequences of cytochrome P-450scc, i.e., Leu 88-Trp108 and Leu368-Trp417.     

Cholesterol-hydroxylating cytochrome P-450 from bovine adrenal cortex mitochondria and human placenta: immunochemical properties and structural characteristics

An immunochemical comparison of components of cholesterol side chain cleavage system from bovine adrenocortical and human placental mitochondria has been carried out. Antibodies against cytochrome P-450scc, adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin from bovine adrenocortical mitochondria were shown to cross-react with corresponding antigens of human placental mitochondria. A highly sensitive immunochemical method for cytochrome P-450scc determination has been developed. Limited proteolysis of cytochrome P-450scc of human placental mitochondria was studied, and the products of trypsinolysis were identified using antibodies against cytochrome P-450scc and fragments of its polypeptide chain: F1, F2 and F3. Immunochemical relatedness of ferredoxins from bovine adrenocortical and human placental mitochondria allowed one to develop a fast and efficient method for cytochrome P-450scc purification from human placental mitochondria by affinity chromatography on adrenodoxin-Sepharose.     

Immunochemical characteristics of cholesterol-hydroxylating cytochrome P-450 from adrenal cortex mitochondria

Highly specific antibodies against hemeprotein were obtained by immunizing rabbits with a highly purified cholesterol-hydroxylating cytochrome P-450scc from adrenocortical mitochondria. The antibodies do not specifically interact with other components of the adrenocortical electron transport chain, e. g., adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin. Using double immunodiffusion technique (Ouchterlony method), it was shown that the antibodies did not precipitate the microsomal cytochromes P-450 LM2 and LM4, cytochrome b5 and 11 beta-hydroxylating cytochrome P-450 from adrenocortical mitochondria. Antibodies against cytochrome P-450scc inhibited the cholesterol side chain cleavage activity of cytochrome P-450scc in a reconstituted system. Limited proteolysis with trypsin and immunoelectrophoresis in the presence of specific antibodies revealed that antigenic determinants are present of the heme-containing catalytic domain of cytochrome P-450scc (F1) as well as on the domain responsible for the interaction with the phospholipid membrane (F2).     

3-methoxybenzidine: A potent inhibitor of cholesterol side chain cleavage cytochrome P-450

The effect of 3-methoxybenzidine on the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone was investigated using a reconstituted enzyme system comprised of adrenodoxin, adrenodoxin reductase and cytochrome P-450scc purified from bovine adrenal cortex. Under conditions where the cytochrome P-450scc concentration was rate-limiting, 3-methoxybenzidine was found to be a potent inhibitor, causing 50% inhibition at 7 μM when using a cholesterol concentration of 70 μM. The parent compound, benzidine, was much less effective, exhibiting an Icn value of approximately 40 μM. No effect of 3-methoxybenzidine was observed on the adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin-catalyzed reduction of cytochrome c by NADPH, and it is concluded that 3-methoxybenzidine acts on cytochrome P-450scc in inhibiting cholesterol side chain cleavage.