Center for Precision Environmental Health, Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, BCM229, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Development. 2024 Dec 1;151(23). doi: 10.1242/dev.204390. Epub 2024 Nov 29.
Androgens are classically thought to act through intracellular androgen receptors (AR/NR3C4), but they can also trigger non-genomic effects via membrane proteins. Although several membrane androgen receptors have been characterized in vitro, their functions in vivo remain unclear. Using a chemical-genetic screen in zebrafish, we found that GPRC6A, a G-protein-coupled receptor, mediates non-genomic androgen actions during embryonic development. Exposure to androgens (androstanedione, DHT and testosterone) caused cardiac edema or tail curvature in wild-type embryos, as well as in ar mutants, suggesting AR-independent pathways. We then mutated putative membrane androgen receptors [gprc6a, hcar1-4 and zip9 (slc39a9)] and found that only gprc6a mutants exhibited a significant reduction in cardiac edema after testosterone exposure. Additionally, co-treatment of wild-type embryos with testosterone and GPRC6A antagonists significantly suppressed the cardiac edema phenotype. Using RNA-seq and RNA rescue approaches, we found that testosterone and GPRC6A cause cardiac phenotypes by reducing Pak1 signaling. Our results indicate that testosterone induces cardiac edema in zebrafish embryos through GPRC6A, independent of nuclear androgen receptors, highlighting a previously unappreciated non-genomic androgen signaling pathway in embryonic development.
雄激素经典地被认为通过细胞内雄激素受体 (AR/NR3C4) 发挥作用,但它们也可以通过膜蛋白触发非基因组效应。尽管已经在体外鉴定了几种膜雄激素受体,但它们在体内的功能仍不清楚。我们在斑马鱼中使用化学遗传筛选发现,G 蛋白偶联受体 GPRC6A 介导胚胎发育过程中的非基因组雄激素作用。雄激素(雄烷二酮、DHT 和睾酮)暴露会导致野生型胚胎和 ar 突变体出现心脏水肿或尾巴弯曲,表明存在 AR 非依赖性途径。然后,我们突变了推定的膜雄激素受体 [gprc6a、hcar1-4 和 zip9 (slc39a9)],发现只有 gprc6a 突变体在暴露于睾酮后心脏水肿明显减少。此外,用睾酮和 GPRC6A 拮抗剂共同处理野生型胚胎可显著抑制心脏水肿表型。通过 RNA-seq 和 RNA 挽救方法,我们发现睾酮和 GPRC6A 通过降低 Pak1 信号导致心脏表型。我们的结果表明,睾酮通过 GPRC6A 诱导斑马鱼胚胎心脏水肿,与核雄激素受体无关,强调了胚胎发育中非基因组雄激素信号通路的重要性。