Mapping of sex hormone receptors and their modulators along the nephron of male and female mice.

Renal functions are regulated by steroid sex hormones, but the exhaustive identification of their receptors along the nephron is still lacking. Here, we have localized all known nuclear or membrane-bound sex hormone receptors and some of their activators along the nephron of male and female mice. Almost all receptors are present in male and female kidney, some of them having very restricted localization. Only one gene tested among 11 (ARA54) exhibits a gender difference in the level of its expression. This first "renal map" of sex steroid receptor expression may serve as a pre-requisite for investigating the role of these hormones on kidney functions.