More About X-Linked Testicular Feminization of the Mouse as a Noninducible (is) Mutation of a Regulatory Locus: 5α-Androstan-3α-17β-Diol as the True Inducer of Kidney Alcohol Dehydrogenase and β-Glucuronidase
May 1971
in “
Clinical genetics
”
TLDR A specific metabolite, not a receptor protein, triggers the production of certain kidney enzymes, but this process is disrupted in mice with a mutation causing testicular feminization.
The study compared various androgenic steroids in male (+/Y) and female (+/+) mice and found that 5α-androstan-3α-17β-diol, a metabolite of 5α-dihydrotestosterone, was the true inducer of kidney alcohol dehydrogenase and β-glucuronidase. The researchers doubted the presence of a specific receptor protein for this inducer, suggesting instead that proximal tubule cells in the kidney take in precursors of the inducer through pinocytosis. Only cells exhibiting pinocytosis activity were inducible. The study also noted that no induction of kidney ADH and β-glucuronidase occurred in Tfm/Y mice after administering 5α-androstan-3α-17β-diol.