Testosterone inhibits cAMP-induced de Novo synthesis of Leydig cell cytochrome P-450(17 alpha) by an androgen receptor-mediated mechanism.

The regulation of the novo synthesis of the microsomal cytochrome P-450 enzyme, P-450(17 alpha), was studied in mouse Leydig cell cultures. Chronic treatment with 0.05 mM 8-Br-cAMP (cAMP) caused a time-dependent increase in 17 alpha-hydroxylase activity and in the amount of P-450(17 alpha), quantitated by immunoblotting. This increase in both activity and amount was enhanced by inhibiting testosterone production with aminoglutethimide, an inhibitor of cholesterol side-chain cleavage or SU 10603, an inhibitor of 17 alpha-hydroxylase. To examine the mechanism by which cAMP or cAMP plus inhibitors of testosterone production increased the activity and amount of P-450(17 alpha), changes in the rate of de novo synthesis were studied by measuring [35S]methionine incorporation into newly synthesized protein. Treatment with cAMP plus aminoglutethimide or SU 10603 caused a 2-fold or greater increase in the rate of de novo synthesis of P-450(17 alpha) compared to treatment with cAMP only. The addition of exogenous testosterone reversed this increase in the rate of synthesis, indicating that testosterone modulates the extent of cAMP-stimulated induction of P-450(17 alpha). This negative effect of testosterone could be mimicked by the addition of the androgen agonist, mibolerone, and prevented by the addition of the antiandrogen, hydroxyflutamide. Neither estradiol nor dexamethasone had any effect on the synthesis of P-450(17 alpha). Studies on the degradation of newly synthesized P-450(17 alpha) demonstrated that testosterone had no effect on the decay of P-450(17 alpha) during the first 24 h but caused a significant increase in the rate of decay between 24 and 48 h. These data indicate that testosterone produced during cAMP induction of P-450(17 alpha) negatively regulates the amount of this cytochrome P-450 enzyme by two distinct mechanisms: by repressing cAMP-induced synthesis of P-450(17 alpha) by an androgen receptor-mediated mechanism and by increasing the rate of degradation of P-450(17 alpha). A model is proposed for the regulation of P-450(17 alpha) in Leydig cells.