Role of microsomal receptors in steroid hormone action.

Ventral prostate was used as a system to study the nature and properties of microsomal androgen receptor. The endoplasmic reticulum from rat ventral prostate contains high-affinity, low-capacity binding sites for androgen that are intrinsic to this intracellular compartment. Microsomal androgen receptors are not due to plasma membrane or cytosol contamination and they display a fast turnover, with depletion after 1 hour and complete replenishment 6 hours after androgen stimuli. Cycloheximide, but not actinomycin D, inhibits microsomal androgen receptor replenishment, indicating that testosterone may control microsomal receptor levels acutely by posttranscriptional mechanisms. Microsomal androgen receptor is a 5S protein that has a higher stability than its cytosolic counterpart, regardless of the presence of ligand. It does not become activated after heat or salt treatment. After extraction of binding sites, microsomes are capable of accepting cytosol mibolerone-receptor complexes to a level similar to the concentration of depleted binding sites; microsomes from nontarget tissues do not manifest such capability. The results indicate the coexistence of a non-DNA-binding form of androgen receptor in the microsomal membranes with the typical DNA-binding form of androgen receptor present in the cytosol of ventral prostate homogenates. Microsomal androgen receptor may represent an additional level of regulation of androgen action in the intact target cell.