title: Cellular distribution and bioactivity of the key steroidogenic enzyme, cytochrome P450side chain cleavage, in sensory neural pathways.
abstract: Neurosteroids are steroids produced within the nervous system. Based on behavioural responses evoked in animals by synthetic steroid injections, several studies suggested neurosteroid involvement in important neurophysiological processes. These observations should be correlated only to neuroactive effects of the injected steroids. Neurosteroids mostly control the CNS activity through allosteric modulation of neurotransmitter receptors within concentration ranges used by neurotransmitters themselves. Therefore, neurosteroid production within pathways controlling a neurophysiological process is necessary to consider neurosteroid involvement in that process. Because of the increasing speculation about pain modulation by neurosteroids based on pharmacological observations, we decided to clarify the situation by investigating neurosteroidogenesis occurrence in sensory pathways, particularly in nociceptive structures. We studied the presence and activity of cytochrome P450side chain cleavage (P450scc) in rat pain pathways. P450scc-immunoreactive cells were localized in dorsal root ganglia (DRG), spinal cord (SC) dorsal horn, nociceptive supraspinal nuclei (SSN) and somatosensory cortex. Incubation of DRG, SSN or SC tissue homogenates with [3H]cholesterol yielded the formation of radioactive metabolites including [3H]pregnenolone of which the synthesis was reduced in presence of aminogluthetimide, a P450scc inhibitor. These first neuroanatomical and neurochemical results demonstrate the occurrence of neurosteroidogenesis in nociceptive pathways and strongly suggest that neurosteroids may control pain mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie Cellulaire et Intégrée, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7519-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Louis Pasteur, 67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Patte-Mensah
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kappes
authors.forename: Marie-José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Freund-Mercier
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsutsui
authors.forename: Ayikoe G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Mensah-Nyagan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D002786:Cholesterol Side-Chain Cleavage Enzyme / Q000032:analysis / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011284:Pregnenolone / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology; D014316:Tritium
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D014316:Tritium; D011284:Pregnenolone; D002784:Cholesterol; D002786:Cholesterol Side-Chain Cleavage Enzyme