Premium
STUDIES OF THE ANDROGEN RECEPTOR IN DISPERSED FIBROBLASTS: INVESTIGATION OF PATIENTS WITH ANDROGEN INSENSITIVITY
Author(s) -
EVANS B. A. J.,
JONES T. R.,
HUGHES I. A.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1984.tb00063.x
Subject(s) - androgen receptor , androgen , endocrinology , medicine , receptor , dihydrotestosterone , androgen insensitivity syndrome , biology , chemistry , hormone , prostate cancer , cancer
SUMMARY The practical application of a simple, reproducible androgen receptor assay using dispersed fibroblasts is described for the investigation of patients with the androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). The concentration of androgen receptors (B max ) in genital skin fibroblasts derived from normal subjects is 814 ± 168 × −18 moles/μg DNA (mean ± SD) and the binding affinity (K d ) is 0·91 ± 0·26 × 10 ±10 M at 37°C, using [ 3 H]‐5α‐dihydrotestosterone (DHT) as the labelled ligand. Studies in patients with phenotypic signs of complete or partial AIS showed either absent (receptor‐negative), decreased (receptor‐deficient) or normal/increased (receptor‐positive) specific binding of DHT to the receptor. In some mutant cell lines, there was evidence of thermolability and increased rate constant of dissociation of the androgen‐receptor complex, suggesting a possible structural abnormality of the receptor protein. This simple receptor assay can be used to delineate quantitative and qualitative defects of the androgen receptor in a significant number of patients with a wide spectrum of phenotypic abnormalities associated with androgen resistance.