title: Do sex steroids regulate glutamine synthesis with age?
abstract: Glutamine synthetase, a key enzyme in the production of glutamine, is known to be induced by glucocorticoids and preserved in skeletal muscle during aging, but the effect of other steroids, such as sex steroids (progesterone, estradiol), is unknown in vivo. The aim of this study was to determine whether progesterone or estradiol plays a role in the regulation of glutamine synthetase (GS) with aging. The effects of glucocorticoids and sex steroids on muscle GS activity and mRNA expression were measured in adult (6-8 mo; n = 7 in each group) and aged (26 mo; n = 10 in each group) female Wistar rats after adrenalectomy (ADX), ovariectomy (OV), or both (ADXOV) and were compared with those in sham-operated (Sham) control rats. In tibialis anterior muscle, ADX noticeably decreased both GS activity and expression irrespective of age (50-60%; P < 0.05), whereas OV had no effect at either age. Progesterone and estradiol replacement had no effect on the recovery of muscle GS response in either ADX or OV rats, regardless of age. In contrast, heart GS activity was decreased by ADX in aged animals only. These results suggest that the reproductive endocrine status of female rats does not affect muscle GS activity either in muscle or in heart, in young or aged animals, and that the heart GS response to steroids may be differently regulated in aged rats.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Nutrition et Métabolisme Protéique, Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine de Clermont-Ferrand, and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 63122 Ceyrat, France.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Verdier
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Boirie
authors.forename: Sebastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Drieesche
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mignon
authors.forename: Rene-Jean
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Begue
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meynial-Denis
mesh_terms: D000315:Adrenalectomy; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005973:Glutamine / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000201:enzymology; D010052:Ovariectomy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D005973:Glutamine; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase