Sex-dependent regulation by dexamethasone of murine hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase gene expression

To determine whether glucocorticoid-inducible expression of hepatic hydroxy steroid sulfotransferase is conserved in mouse, the effects of dexamethason e (DEX) on hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase (mSULT2A) gene expression were i nvestigated in primary cultured hepatocytes prepared from C57BL/6J mice. In female mouse hepatocytes, DEX (10(-7) and 10(-5) M, respectively) produced 8.2- and 17.8-fold increases, respectively, in the amounts of mSULT2A mRNA relative to control. By contrast, mSULT2A mRNA levels were undetectable in male mouse hepatocytes. Female-predominant mSULT2A mRNA expression was als o observed in liver samples from C57BL/6J and three other mouse strains. Tr eatment of primary cultured female mouse hepatocytes with dihydrotestostero ne in the presence of DEX suppressed mSULT2 expression. Transfection of pri mary cultured male or female mouse hepatocytes with a rat SULT2-40/41 repor ter construct revealed that hepatocytes of both sexes have sufficient machi nery to achieve DEX-inducible SULT2 transcription. However, treatment with the potent histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A failed to elicit mS ULT2A expression in male mouse hepatocytes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Irela nd Ltd. All rights reserved.