Cholesteryl ester hydrolysis in rat liver cytosol. Modulation by female sex hormones.

The regulation of cholesterol ester hydrolase activity by female sex hormones was studied in cytosolic preparations from female rat liver. The investigation was undertaken in order to determine whether a reduction in the enzyme activity might be responsible for the increased content of esterified cholesterol found in rat liver after estradiol or progesterone treatments. The single injection of estradiol (0.75 mg/100 g) or progesterone (1.50 mg/100 g) produced respectively significant decreases and increases in sterol hydrolase activity. Both opposite effects were noted after a similar lag period of 3-4 hr and were of short duration. No alterations were observed in rats receiving short-term treatments. When hormones were added to the incubation medium, the activity of cholesterol ester hydrolase decreased progressively with increasing concentrations of hormones. Kinetic studies demonstrate that both estradiol and progesterone compete with the substrate (cholesteryl oleate) for the active center. The findings of the present paper exclude a direct relationship between hepatic hydrolytic activity and lipid deposition. However, they provide evidences that female sex hormones act as modulatory agents of the hydrolysis of cholesteryl esters in rat liver cytosol and suggest that other factors besides competitive inhibition are involved in such regulatory effects.