Endocrinology Vol. 138, No. 3 898-904
Copyright © 1997 by The Endocrine Society
Retinoic Acids Increase 17ß-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 Expression in JEG-3 and T47D Cells, but the Stimulation Is Potentiated by Epidermal Growth Factor, 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-Acetate, and Cyclic Adenosine 3',5'-Monophosphate Only in JEG-3 Cells1
Yun-shang Piao,
Hellevi Peltoketo,
Annukka Jouppila and
Reijo Vihko
Biocenter Oulu and Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of
Oulu, Oulu, Finland
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Hellevi Peltoketo, Biocenter Oulu, and Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Oulu, Kajaanintie 50, FIN-90220 Oulu, Finland. E-mail:
hpeltoke{at}whoccr.oulu.fi
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Abstract
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Human 17ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (17HSD type 1)
primarily catalyzes the reduction of low activity estrone to high
activity estradiol in ovarian granulosa cells and placental
trophoblasts. 17HSD type 1 is also present in certain peripheral
tissues, such as breast tissue. In the present study we investigated
the effects of retinoic acids (RAs) together with other stimuli known
to modulate estradiol production and/or cell growth on expression of
17HSD type 1 in JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cells and estrogen-responsive
T47D breast cancer cells. Treatment of cultured JEG-3 and T47D cells
with all-trans-RA and 9-cis-RA increased
reductive 17HSD activity and 17HSD type 1 messenger RNA expression
severalfold in both cell lines. On the other hand, epidermal growth
factor (EGF), Ca ionophore, the protein kinase C activator
12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), and cAMP
elevated 17HSD type 1 expression only in JEG-3 cells. Correspondingly,
the effects of RAs were potentiated by EGF, TPA, and cAMP in JEG-3
cells, whereas no such phenomenon was observed in T47D cells. In JEG-3
cells, simultaneous administration of RAs with TPA and EGF maximally
resulted in approximately 40- and 20-fold increases in 17HSD type 1
messenger RNA expression, respectively. The present data indicate that
RAs may stimulate estradiol biosynthesis by regulating 17HSD type 1
expression in certain breast cancer and choriocarcinoma cells. The
results suggest that interaction of multiple regulatory pathways is
involved in maintaining high 17HSD type 1 expression in the placenta.
In addition, regulation of 17HSD type 1 expression may be different in
trophoblast cells from that in breast epithelial cells.
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Introduction
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THE PLACENTA plays a vital role in the
maintenance and development of pregnancy by strongly influencing the
endocrine milieu of the feto-maternal unit. Among the several endocrine
alterations is estrogen production, which greatly increases during
pregnancy. After the first 7 weeks of gestation, nearly all estrogens
produced are synthesized in the placenta from fetal precursors (1). In
placental syncytiotrophoblasts, P450aromatase and 17ß-hydroxysteroid
dehydrogenase (17HSD) activities convert dehydroepiandrosterone and
dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, derived from fetal sources, to estrone
(E1) and estradiol (E2) (2, 3). In addition, 16
-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone is abundantly
converted into estriol during gestation.
In the human placenta, aromatization of androgens and reduction of low
activity E1 into E2 are
catalyzed by P450aromatase and 17HSD type 1, as in ovarian granulosa
cells (4, 5). In addition to 17HSD type 1, the human placenta expresses
17HSD type 2 (6, 7, 8), which catalyzes oxidation of
E2 to E1, the opposite
reaction of that catalyzed by the type 1 enzyme. The type 2 enzyme also
possesses androgenic 17HSD and 20
-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase
activities (7). The activity of both of the 17HSD enzymes increases
steadily up to the 20th week of pregnancy, but the activity of the type
1 enzyme is constantly considerably greater than that of the type 2
enzyme (6). On the other hand, the human placenta does not express
detectable amounts of 17HSD type 3, the enzyme mainly converting
androstenedione to testosterone in the testis (9). This suggests that
fetal C19 precursors are predominantly aromatized to
E1 and then further catalyzed to
E2, rather than being converted to T and then
aromatized to E2. Together, the data point to the
importance of 17HSD type 1 in placental E2
production.
The factors and mechanisms maintaining high 17HSD type 1 expression in
placental syncytiotrophoblasts are largely unknown. In T47D breast
cancer cells, retinoic acids (RAs), derivatives of vitamin A, increase
17HSD type 1 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression (10). The 17HSD type 1
gene, HSD17B1 (previously also called EDH17B2) contains a functional RA
receptor-binding site (11). Nutritional signals, such as RAs, have also
been suggested to regulate placental trophoblast cell function (12),
and RAs have been demonstrated to affect regulation of the biosynthesis
of several essential placental products, such as progesterone, hCG
subunits, and human placental lactogen (12, 13, 14). In the present study,
we investigated the effects of RAs on 17HSD type 1 expression in JEG-3
choriocarcinoma cells. This syncytiotrophoblast-like cell line has
retained the capability of producing E2 from
C19 precursors (15) and, therefore, has been widely used
for investigation of the regulation of P450aromatase and 17HSD type 1
gene expression (11, 16, 17). The effects of RAs on 17HSD type 1
expression were also studied in combination with other factors, such as
epidermal growth factor (EGF) and activators of protein kinase C,
cAMP-dependent, and Ca2+ pathways, which have been
demonstrated to regulate 17HSD type 1 gene expression in placental
cells (16, 18, 19, 20). Finally, the influences of these factors, which are
all also modulators of estrogen-dependent cell growth, were compared
with their effects in the breast cancer cell line T47D.
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Materials and Methods
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Chemicals and reagents
The isotopes [2,4,6,7-3H]E1 (101
Ci/mmol), [2,4,6,7-3H]E2 (98 Ci/mmol), and
[
-32P]deoxy-CTP (3000 Ci/mmol) were purchased from
Amersham Life Science (Little Chalfont, UK). Unlabeled
E1 and E2 were obtained
from Steraloids (Wilton, NH), and RNA molecular markers were purchased
from BRL (Gaithersburg, MD). 8-Bromo-cAMP (free acid; 8BrcAMP) and EGF
were obtained from Boehringer Mannheim (Mannheim, Germany).
12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and calcium
ionophore A23187 were products of Calbiochem-Novabiochem (La Jolla, CA)
and Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR), respectively.
All-trans-retinoic acid (at-RA) was obtained from
Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO), and 9-cis-RA was a gift
from F. Hoffman La Roche (Basel, Switzerland). Plates for cell culture
were purchased from Nunc Internal Medicine (Roskilde, Denmark). All
media, buffers, supplements, and reagents for cell culture were
obtained from Sigma Chemical Co. and Life Technologies (Grand Island,
NY). Other reagents not mentioned in the text were obtained from Sigma
Chemical Co., Boehringer Mannheim, and Merck (Darmstadt, Germany).
Cell culture and treatment of cells
JEG-3 human choriocarcinoma and T47D breast cancer cell lines
were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (Rockville,
MD). JEG-3 cells were maintained in Eagles MEM supplemented with 10%
FCS, 2 mM glutamine, 1 mM sodium pyruvate, and
1 mM nonessential amino acids. T47D cells were cultured in
RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% FCS, 1 mM
nonessential amino acids, and 0.2 IU insulin/ml. For RNA and
immunoblotting analysis, 2.5 x 106 JEG-3 cells and
5.0 x 106 T47D cells were applied to 10-cm plates,
and the cells were allowed to attach to the plate for 24 h. The
media were then replaced by media containing 5% FCS treated twice with
dextran-coated charcoal (DCC-FCS), and the cells were cultured for an
additional 4 h before each treatment. The cells were subjected to
various stimuli in media containing 5% DCC-FCS for the indicated times
before RNA isolation.
RNA isolation and Northern blot analyses of 17HSD type 1 mRNA
Total RNAs from cultured cells were isolated using TRIzol
reagent from Life Technologies according to the manufacturers
instructions. Thirty micrograms of total RNA were subjected to 1%
(wt/vol) agarose-formaldehyde gel electrophoresis, followed by transfer
to Hybond nylon membrane (Amersham International, Aylesbury, UK) by
capillarity and cross-linking by UV radiation (21). The membranes were
then prehybridized for 4 h at 42 C in 5 x SSPE [1 x
SSPE = 0.15 M NaCl, 10 mM sodium phosphate
(pH 7.4), and 0.1 mM EDTA] containing 50% (vol/vol)
formamide, 0.1% BSA (wt/vol), 0.1% Ficoll (wt/vol), 0.1% (wt/vol)
polyvinylpyrrolidone, 0.5% (wt/vol) SDS, and 20 µg salmon sperm
DNA/ml. The membranes were further hybridized at 42 C overnight with
the 32P-labeled 1.0-kilobase (kb)
EcoRI-SacI fragment of human 17HSD type 1
complementary DNA (cDNA) as a probe (22). After hybridization, they
were washed twice for 15 min each time in 2 x SSPE containing
0.1% SDS and then once with 1 x SSPE containing 0.1% SDS for 30
min. Finally, the membranes were exposed to Kodak XAR films (Rochester,
NY) for 34 days. To control the amount of mRNA applied to the gel,
membranes were also hybridized with rat glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
dehydrogenase (GAPDH) cDNA probe. The autoradiographic signals on the
film were measured using a Molecular Dynamics 300 A computing
densitometer (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA). Each experiment was
repeated, and a representative figure from each analysis is shown.
Western blot analyses of 17HSD type 1 protein
For immunoblotting analyses, each treatment of JEG-3 cells was
carried out in quadruplicate. Cultured JEG-3 cells were then treated
with trypsin, washed, and sonicated in buffer A containing 20%
glycerol (23), after which two samples from each treatment were
combined. Cytosolic proteins from JEG-3 cell lysates were separated by
SDS-PAGE, followed by electrophoretic transfer of proteins onto a
Hybond ECL membrane (Amersham Life Science) (24). The membranes were
immunostained using 1:400 diluted rabbit polyclonal antibody raised
against human 17HSD type 1 (23) as a primary antibody and horseradish
peroxidase-linked F(ab')2 fragments of antirabbit Ig
(Amersham Life Science) as secondary antibody. An ECL Western blotting
procedure (Amersham Life Science) was finally used to reveal the
immunoreactive proteins. The membranes were exposed to Cronex 4 film
(DuPont, Bad Homburg, Germany) for periods ranging from 5 sec to 5 min,
after which the autoradiographic signals were measured using a
Molecular Dynamics 300 A computing densitometer.
Reductive and oxidative 17HSD activity measurements
JEG-3 cells (2.5 x 105/well) and T47D cells
(5.0 x 105/well) were applied to six-well plates and
allowed to attach to the plates for 24 h. The cells were then
cultured in medium with 5% DCC-FCS for 4 h, after which they were
exposed to various stimuli for 24 h. Control samples were treated
similarly, but without stimuli. For measuring reductive 17HSD activity,
the media were removed from the wells and 2 ml of serum-free medium
(MEM for JEG-3 cells and RPMI-1640 for T47D cells) containing 500
nM unlabeled E1 and 2.5 x 106
cpm [2,4,6,7-3H]E1 were applied to the plate.
Correspondingly, for the measurement of oxidative 17HSD activity, 500
nM unlabeled E2 and 2.5 x 106
cpm [2,4,6,7-3H]E2 were included in the
medium. The cells were then incubated for the indicated times at 37 C
in cell culture conditions, and the subsequent steps followed the
method described by Miettinen et al. (25). The results are
given as the mean ± range from two independent experiments, in
each of which duplicate samples were analyzed.
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Results
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Effects of RA on 17HSD activities and 17HSD type 1 mRNA expression
in JEG-3 choriocarcinoma and T47D breast cancer cells
To study the role of RA in the regulation of 17HSD type 1
expression in JEG-3 cells, the cells were treated with different doses
of at-RA, ranging from 0.11000 nM, for 648
h, and the influence on 17HSD type 1 gene expression was followed using
Northern blot analysis. Increased 1.3-kb 17HSD type 1 mRNA expression
could clearly be detected after stimulation for 48 h with 1.0
nM at-RA, and the expression was enhanced dose
dependently up to 1.0 µM (Fig. 1
, left panel). Again, after induction for 6 h with 1.0
µM at-RA, increases in 1.3-kb 17HSD type 1
mRNA were observed, and mRNA expression was continually increased up to
48 h (Fig. 1
, right panel). In contrast to 1.3-kb mRNA,
the expression of 2.3-kb 17HSD type 1 mRNA was not affected by
at-RA treatment.

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Figure 1. Dose and time responses of 17HSD type 1 mRNA
expression to at-RA in JEG-3 cells. The cells were
maintained and stimulated as described in Materials and
Methods. For dose-response experiments, cells were treated with
0.1, 1.0, 10, 100, and 1000 nM at-RA for
48 h (left panel). To test the effect of the
duration of RA treatment, cells were maintained in the presence of 1.0
µM at-RA for 6, 12, 24, and 48 h
(right panel). Thirty micrograms of total RNA were
loaded into each lane. In the upper panels, the position
of the 1.3-kb mRNA of 17HSD type 1 is indicated; in the lower
panels, hybridization with a reference probe, GAPDH cDNA
(exposure time, 20 h), is demonstrated.
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at-RA induction of 17HSD type 1 mRNA expression was
reflected by 17HSD activities in both JEG-3 and T47D cells. In both
cell types, reduction from E1 to
E2 was the predominant 17HSD activity (Fig. 2
, A and B), and it could be induced by at-RA
(Fig. 2
, C and D). Treatment of the cells with at-RA for
24 h before activity measurements led to 2.6- and 8.8-fold average
increases in the reduction of E1 to
E2 in JEG-3 and T47D cells, respectively.
at-RA also enhanced oxidative 17HSD activity in both JEG-3
and T47D cells, but to a lesser extent, i.e. approximately
1.5- and 2.5-fold, respectively (Fig. 2
, E and F).

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Figure 2. 17HSD activities in cultured JEG-3 and T47D cells
and the effect of at-RA. The cells were maintained as
described in Materials and Methods, after which they
were incubated for the indicated times or for 1 h in serum
free-medium containing substrates E1 or
E2 for the measurement of 17HSD activities. A and
B, Reductive and oxidative estrogenic 17HSD activities in JEG-3 and
T47D cells with no stimuli. C and D, Reductive 17HSD activity in JEG-3
and T47D cells after 1.0 µM at-RA
administration for 24 h. E and F, Oxidative 17HSD activity in
JEG-3 and T47D cells after induction with 1.0 µM
at-RA for 24 h. Note that the scale is different in
blots C and D from that in blots E and F.
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Interaction of RAs with cAMP, TPA, and EGF on reductive 17HSD
activity and 17HSD type 1 mRNA expression in JEG-3 and T47D cells
In addition to at-RA, 8BrcAMP, TPA, and EGF increased
reductive 17HSD activity in JEG-3 choriocarcinoma cells (Fig. 3
, upper panel). In contrast, in T47D breast
cancer cells, 8BrcAMP, TPA, and EGF had no effect on the activity (Fig. 3
, lower panel). In line with these results, TPA and EGF
potentiated the influence of at-RA in JEG-3 cells, whereas
in T47D cells they had no significant effect on at-RA
induction. mRNA analysis confirmed the results; differences between the
cell lines were even more clearly detectable in the Northern blot
analysis (Fig. 4
) than in the activity assays (Fig. 3
).
Scanning of the Northern blot films revealed that in JEG-3 cells,
simultaneous administration of RAs with TPA and EGF resulted maximally
in 41- and 23-fold increases in 17HSD type 1 expression, respectively.
Interestingly, 8BrcAMP appeared to increase the effect of RA on 17HSD
type 1 expression in JEG-3 cells, but decrease the effect in T47D cells
(Figs. 3
and 5
). Similar to at-RA treatment
alone, the double treatments affected only the 1.3-kb 17HSD type 1
mRNA, and not the 2.3-kb mRNA. Administration of 9-cis-RA
led to identical responses in 17HSD type 1 mRNA expression as treatment
with at-RA in both JEG-3 and T47D cells (Fig. 4
).

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Figure 3. Interaction of at-RA with cAMP,
TPA, and EGF on reductive 17HSD activity in cultured JEG-3 and T47D
cells. JEG-3 cells (upper panel) and T47D cells
(lower panel) were incubated with 1.0 µM
at-RA (bar 2), 1.5 mM 8BrcAMP (bar 3), 20
nM TPA (bar 4), 50 ng EGF/ml (bar 5), 1.0 µM
at-RA plus 1.5 mM 8BrcAMP (bar 6), 1.0 µM
at-RA plus 20 nM TPA (bar 7), and 1.0 µM
at-RA plus 50 ng EGF/ml (bar 8) for 24 h. After
treatment, reductive 17HSD activity was measured, as described in
Materials and Methods and Fig. 2 , together with the
activity of nontreated cells (bar 1).
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Figure 4. Interaction of RAs with TPA and EGF on 17HSD type
1 mRNA expression in JEG-3 and T47D cells. at-RA or
9-cis-RA (1.0 µM; lanes 23), 20
nM TPA (lane 4), 50 ng EGF/ml (lane 5), 1.0
µM at-RA with 20 nM TPA or 50
ng EGF/ml (lanes 67), 1.0 µM 9-cis-RA
with 20 nM TPA or 50 ng EGF/ml (lanes 89) were
administered to JEG-3 (A) and T47D (B) cells for 24 h. The treated
and nontreated (lane 1) cells were collected for isolation of total
RNA, 30 µg of which were loaded into each lane. The positions of
1.3-kb mRNA of 17HSD type 1 are indicated by the arrowheads on
the left, and hybridization obtained with a GAPDH probe was
used as an RNA loading control (exposure time, 20 h). The numbers
represent the degree of intensity (fold) of the 17HSD type 1 mRNA
signals detected by a densitometer.
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Figure 5. Interaction of at-RA with cAMP on
17HSD type 1 mRNA expression in JEG-3 and T47D cells.
at-RA (1.0 µM), 1.5 mM
8BrcAMP, and 1.0 µM at-RA plus 1.5
mM 8BrcAMP were administered to T47D (left
panel) and JEG-3 (right panel) cells for 24
h. The treated and nontreated cells were collected for isolation of
total RNA, 30 µg of which were loaded into each lane. Positions of
2.3- and 1.3-kb mRNAs of 17HSD type 1 are indicated by the
arrowheads on the left, and hybridization
obtained with a GAPDH probe was used as a RNA loading control. The
numbers represent the degree of intensity (fold) of the 1.3-kb 17HSD
type 1 mRNA signals detected by a densitometer.
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According to the scanning results, the stimuli administered increased
1.3-kb 17HSD type 1 mRNA expression to a greater extent than 17HSD
activity. When the strength of the various signals varied, Northern
blot analysis was a semiquantitative, rather than a quantitative,
method; thus, the results from the activity and mRNA measurements were
not completely comparable. The amounts of 17HSD type 1 protein from
selected samples were, however, also measured to clarify the
difference. Immunoblotting analyses of type 1 enzyme were thus
performed using JEG-3 cells treated with at-RA, TPA, or both
of them, and the luminometric signals were quantified by densitometer.
Scanning demonstrated that treatment of JEG-3 cells with
at-RA and TPA separately resulted in approximately 4-fold
increases in 17HSD type 1 protein, whereas their combination generated
13- to 19-fold induction (Fig. 6
).

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Figure 6. Effects of at-RA and TPA on 17HSD
type 1 protein concentration in JEG-3 cells. Two milligrams of
cytosolic proteins isolated from JEG-3 cells after mock stimulation
(lanes 1 and 2) and stimulation with 1.0 µM
at-RA (lanes 3 and 4), 20 nM TPA (lane 5),
and 1.0 µM at-RA plus 20 nM
TPA (lanes 6 and 7) were subjected to SDS-PAGE for immunoblotting
analysis. The figure depicts the film after exposure for 1 min with the
immunoblotting membrane, and the numbers under the panel
represent the degree of intensity (fold) of the corresponding signals
compared with the mean of the values for the mock-treated samples.
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Interaction of calcium ionophore with RA, cAMP, TPA, and EGF on
17HSD type 1 mRNA expression in JEG-3 cells
To investigate whether a Ca2+-dependent pathway is
involved in placental 17HSD type 1 gene expression, JEG-3 cells were
exposed to the Ca ionophore A23187, alone and together with
at-RA, 8BrcAMP, TPA, and EGF. A23187 increased 1.3-kb 17HSD
type 1 mRNA expression in a time-dependent fashion, and maximal
induction with 0.5 µM A23187 was achieved in 612
h. By 24 h of treatment, the effect of the Ca
ionophore on the expression of 17HSD type 1 mRNA had disappeared (data
not shown). Stimulation by the Ca ionophore could be enhanced by all of
the other factors tested (Fig. 7
). The strongest synergistic effect was
achieved by the combination of calcium ionophore and at-RA,
whereas administration of A23187 with 8BrcAMP, TPA, and EGF also
resulted in strong increases in 1.3-kb 17HSD type 1 mRNA
expression.

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Figure 7. Interaction of calcium ionophore with
at-RA, cAMP, TPA, and EGF on 17HSD type 1 mRNA
expression in JEG-3 cells. Northern blot analysis of 30 µg total RNA
isolated from JEG-3 cells after mock stimulation (lane 1) and
stimulation with 0.5 µM A23187 (lane 2), 1.0
µM at-RA (lane 3), 1.5 mM
8BrcAMP (lane 4), 20 nM TPA (lane 5), 50 ng EGF/ml (lane
6), 0.5 µM A23187 plus 1.0 µM
at-RA (lane 7), 0.5 µM A23187 plus 1.5
mM 8BrcAMP (lane 8), 0.5 µM A23187 plus 20
nM TPA (lane 9), and 0.5 µM A23187 plus 50 ng
EGF/ml (lane 10) for 12 h. 17HSD type 1 mRNA and GAPDH mRNA are
indicated by arrows. The numbers represent the fold
intensity of the corresponding 17HSD type 1 mRNA signals.
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Discussion
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Estrogens have a pivotal role in gestation, from implantation to
the start of delivery (26). Accumulating data strongly suggest that
increased 17HSD activities are related to the pattern of
E2 and E1 formation during
pregnancy (6), which is, in turn, associated with human placental
growth before 16 weeks (27). Expression of human 17HSD type 1 is not
limited to the cells secreting E2 into the
circulation, such as ovarian granulosa cells and placental trophoblasts
during pregnancy; the enzyme is also expressed in certain target
tissues of estrogen action. Immunostaining of the 17HSD type 1 enzyme
has been observed in benign and malignant breast (28) and endometrial
(3, 29) lesions. Thus, intracellular E2
concentrations, and consequently E2 responses, of
target cells can also be modulated by local 17HSD type 1 (30) and its
regulation.
Two transcription start points in the HSD17B1 gene result in two 17HSD
type 1 mRNAs, 1.3 and 2.3 kb in size (31). In agreement with Reed
et al. (10), our present results show that in the cell lines
originating from breast epithelial cells as well as from placental
trophoblasts, RAs enhance 1.3-kb 17HSD type 1 mRNA expression and 17HSD
activity. This is in line with results published by Miettinen et
al. (25) showing that 17HSD type 1 protein concentrations
correlate with the amount of 1.3-kb 17HSD type 1 mRNA rather than with
the amount of the 2.3-kb mRNA, and that in both JEG-3 and T47D cells,
the type 1 enzyme is the predominant 17HSD type. The expression and
most likely the translational efficacy of the 17HSD type 1 mRNAs differ
from each other. The 1.3-kb mRNA is mainly expressed in granulosa cells
and cells of trophoblast origin as well as in some breast epithelial
cell lines, i.e. in cells expressing 17HSD type 1 protein
(4, 8, 20, 25), whereas the longer transcript is widely expressed in
various tissues and cell lines, including cells without detectable
17HSD type 1 protein (25). Thus the role of the 2.3 kb mRNA is not
fully understood. Increases in 17HSD type 1 expression were reflected
in raised 1.3-kb mRNA and protein concentrations and elevated 17HSD
activity, although the effects of different stimuli were stronger on
the mRNA and protein concentrations than on the enzyme activity.
Previously, it was also observed that an addition to the 17HSD type 1
protein concentration is not reflected in a great increase in enzyme
activity in vivo (20, 25, 30), as a result of factors, such
as substrate and cofactor availability, that can limit the reaction
rate in cultured cells. An increase in the 17HSD type 1 concentration
further suggests that activity measurements in the cultured cells
depict the trend of changes in enzyme expression and thus confirm the
results of mRNA analysis, but may not represent the exact intensities
of the changes. On the other hand, the differences between the levels
of the enzyme activity, mRNA concentration, and protein concentration
could to some extent be a result of the semiquantitative nature of
Northern and immunoblotting analysis. Reed et al. (10) have
also suggested that the 2.3-kb mRNA is responsible to some extent for
the constitutive cellular activity of 17HSD type 1, which may explain
the difference between the increase in 17HSD activity and level of
expression of the 1.3-kb mRNA.
According to our results, the influence of at-RA and
9-cis-RA on 17HSD type 1 expression is similar, which
supports the observation that the HSD17B1 gene contains a DR5-RA
response element (11). DR5-RA response element is a typical binding
site for a retinoid X receptor (RXR)/RA receptor (RAR) dimer, which is
activated by at-RA and 9-cis-RA (32). RARs and
their isoforms are widely distributed in different tissues; for
example, cultured human trophoblasts have been demonstrated to express
at least RAR
, RARß, RAR
, and RXR
. During differentiation
from cytotrophoblasts to syncytiotrophoblasts, the concentrations of
RAR
, RARß, and RXR
mRNA further increase (33). Breast cancer
tumors and several breast cancer cell lines also contain RARs (34, 35, 36).
Thus, the HSD17B1 gene could be one of the target genes of RAs in
breast epithelial and placental trophoblast cells. The CYP19 gene, the
gene encoding P450aromatase, is also regulated by RAs in JEG-3 cells
(37) (our unpublished observation), which further implies that RAs
participate in the regulation of estrogen biosynthesis in the placenta.
The involvement of RAs in modulation of the production of placental
steroid hormone (estrogens and progestins) as well as hCG and human
placental lactogen peptide hormone (12, 13, 14) points to the role of RAs
as regulators of placental endocrine functions.
Our previous (20) and present results demonstrate that EGF increases
17HSD type 1 gene expression in JEG-3 cells. EGF is an inducer of
placental trophoblast differentiation (38), and its receptors (EGFR)
are abundantly expressed in trophoblasts (39, 40), suggesting that EGF,
via autocrine or paracrine effects, may also participate in placental
estrogen production. Simultaneous administration of EGF and RAs led to
strongly increased 17HSD type 1 expression in JEG-3 cells. Depending on
the cell type, RAs have been found to either increase (41) or decrease
(42) EGFR concentrations. Enhanced EGFR expression, however, does not
explain the synergism of RAs and EGF in the present study, as RAs did
not affect EGFR expression under the conditions used (data not shown).
In addition to EGF, TPA, cAMP, and Ca ionophore increased 17HSD type 1
expression and potentiated the effect of RAs only in JEG-3
choriocarcinoma cells, not in T47D breast cancer cells. EGF receptor is
expressed in both of the cell lines (43, 44), and protein kinase A
(PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) pathways function in them (19, 45).
This suggests that the dissimilar responses of JEG-3 and T47D cells
were due to a different pattern of transcription factors and/or their
activators in these cell lines, rather than to the absence of the
receptors.
Binding of a ligand to the EGF receptor can lead to activation of
inositol phospholipid-specific phospholipase C and, consequently,
mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ stores and generation of
diacylglycerol (46). An increase in the intracellular Ca2+
concentration acts synergistically with phorbol esters, analogs of
diacylglycerol, in activating some PKC isoforms, resulting in a
cellular response (46). The calcium ionophore, A23187, which induces an
increase in Ca2+ influx, can also potentiate the effects of
forskolin, an activator of adenylate cyclase. In line with this, Ca
ionophore enhanced the effects of 8BrcAMP and TPA on 17HSD type 1
expression in JEG-3 cells. In addition, the Ca ionophore further
potentiated the effect of EGF, which was administered to JEG-3 cells at
a dose maximally stimulating type 1 enzyme expression. Previously, it
was demonstrated that tyrosine kinase activities in the EGF receptor
and PKA pathways are involved in 17HSD type 1 regulation by EGF (20).
PKA and PKC have been suggested to modulate RA action via
phosphorylation of RARs (47, 48), which may be one mechanism involved
in the cooperative regulation of 17HSD type 1 by RAs and other factors
in JEG-3 cells. In T47D cells, cAMP had the opposite effect on RA
induction, demonstrating that a divergent mechanism operates in T47D
cells. In several cases, RAs have been demonstrated to counteract TPA
action (32). In contrast, the present results from JEG-3 cells show an
example of a case in which administration of RAs and TPA led to a
synergistic response.
In conclusion, the present results show that RAs together with EGF and
protein kinase A and C pathway activators, significantly increase 17HSD
type 1 expression in trophoblast-like cells. Thus, RAs together with
EGF and other available factors that activate PKA and PKC pathways
could be involved in regulating 17HSD type 1 concentrations and,
consequently, E2 biosynthesis in placental
syncytiotrophoblasts. Furthermore, the interaction of several
regulatory pathways is needed to maintain a high 17HSD type 1
concentration in the placenta. Finally, the dissimilar effects of EGF,
cAMP, and TPA on 17HSD type 1 expression and on RA induction between
JEG-3 and T47D cells demonstrate that the regulatory mechanism
controlling 17HSD type 1 in breast cancer cells differs from that in
choriocarcinoma cells.
 |
Acknowledgments
|
|---|
We thank Ms. Helmi Konola for her skillful technical
assistance.
 |
Footnotes
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|---|
1 This work was supported by the Research Council for Health (Project
1051135) and the Subcommittee for Development Studies (Project 7267) of
the Academy of Finland. The Department of Clinical Chemistry is a WHO
Collaborating Center for Research in Human Reproduction supported by
the Ministries of Education, Social Affairs and Health, and Foreign
Affairs, Finland. 
Received July 17, 1997.
 |
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