Stability of receptor complexes in the rat ventral prostate and seminal vesicle bound to androgens: thermodynamic study.

To examine the behaviour of the receptor-acceptor system of androgen of different biopotencies, we compared the stability of receptor complexes of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), methyltrienolone (R1881) and testosterone (Test) in cytosols, nuclei and nuclear extracts from ventral prostate and seminal vesicle of rats. Liberation of ligand from receptor complexes bound to these ligands followed the first-order kinetics. The rate constant for ligand liberation at 25 degrees C varied with the ligand. The receptor complexes bound to Test were most labile, while the receptor complexes bound to DHT were relatively stable, and intermediate stability was observed in the receptor complexes bound to R1881 under the conditions employed in the present study. Thermodynamic characteristics of the stability of the complexes were also different in these three androgens. The Arrhenius plots of the rate constant for the liberation of ligand from R1881- and DHT-receptor complexes in cytosols and nuclei showed curvilinearities, but the plots for Test-receptor complexes were almost linear. In addition, the stabilizing effect of molybdate on R1881- and DHT-receptor complexes in cytosols was observed in the range of low temperature, while the effect on Test-receptor complexes was significant at the higher temperature. The differences observed in the present study seem to be related to the difference in the biological potency of these androgens.