Effects of hormones on SBP mRNA levels in human cancer cells

The human plasma sex steroid binding protein (SBP) has been previously shown to be synthesized in liver cells. The hormonal regulation studies of hepatic SBP mRNA demonstrate that it is controlled by estradiol, antiestrogen tamoxifen, dihydrotestosterone, triiodothyronine and insulin in a similar way as secreted SBP. The metabolic inhibitor cycloheximide was unable to prevent the estrogen or thyroid hormone induced increase in SBP mRNA. The slight stimulation of SBP synthesis by estradiol suggests that non-steroidal factors may be involved in its regulation and that the estrogen regulatory mechanism could also be partly post-transcrptional. In endometrial (Ishikawa cells) and prostatic (LNCaP cells) carcinoma cells, SBP mRNA has been detected suggesting that SBP may play a role in the uptake and intracellular mechanism of action of sex steroid in target cells.