A CELL-SPECIFIC NUCLEAR RECEPTOR PLAYS ESSENTIAL ROLES IN ADRENAL ANDGONADAL DEVELOPMENT

Recent analyses of the cytochrome P450 steroid hydroxylases have estab lished a key role for an orphan nuclear receptor, designated steroidog enic factor 1 (SF-1), in their coordinate, cell-selective expression. SF-1 was proposed to regulate the steroid hydroxylases by interacting with shared promoter elements in their 5'-flanking regions, During mou se embryonic development, SF-1 was expressed from the earliest stages of organogenesis of the steroidogenic tissues, suggesting a key role i n steroidogenic cell differentiation. Finally, disruption of the gene encoding SF-1 revealed its essential function in the development of th e adrenal glands and gonads and in pituitary gonadotrope function. The se studies suggest that SF-1 acts at multiple levels of the reproducti ve axis to maintain reproductive competence.