title: Steroid production in toads.
abstract: In Bufo arenarum, androgen biosynthesis occurs through a complete 5-ene pathway, including 5-androstane-3beta,17beta-diol as the immediate precursor of testosterone. Besides, steroidogenesis changes during the breeding period, turning from androgens to C(21)-steroids such as 5alpha-pregnan-3alpha,20alpha-diol, 3alpha-hydroxy-5alpha-pregnan-20-one and 5alpha-pregnan-3,20-dione. In B. arenarum, steroid hormones are not involved in hCG-induced spermiation, suggesting that the steroidogenic shift to C(21)-steroids during the breeding be not related to spermiation. The activity of 17-hydroxylase-C(17-20) lyase (CypP450(c17)) decreases during the reproductive season, suggesting that this enzyme would represent a key enzyme in the regulation of seasonal changes. However, the increase in the affinity for pregnenolone of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3alphaHSD)/isomerase could also be involved. Moreover, the reduction in CypP450(c17) leading to a reduction in C(19)-steroids, among them dehydroepiandrosterone (DHE), would contribute to the conversion of pregnenolone into progesterone, avoiding the non-competitive inhibition exerted by DHE on this transformation. Additionally, CypP450(c17) possesses a higher affinity for pregnenolone than for progesterone, explaining the predominance of the 5-ene pathway for testosterone biosynthesis. Animals in reproductive condition showed a significant reduction in circulating androgens, enhancing the physiological relevance of all the in vitro results. The in vitro effects of mGnRH and hrFSH on testicular steroidogenesis revealed that both hormones inhibited CypP450(c17) activity. In summary, these results demonstrate that, in B. arenarum, the change in testicular steroidogenesis during the reproductive period could be partially due to an FSH and GnRH-induced decrease in CypP450(c17) activity.
authors.affiliation: PRHOM-CONICET and Laboratorio de Endocrinología Comparada, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Luis F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Canosa
authors.forename: Andrea G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Pozzi
authors.forename: Cinthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rosemblit
authors.forename: Nora R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Ceballos
mesh_terms: D000728:Androgens / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000818:Animals; D002022:Bufo arenarum / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012098:Reproduction; D013091:Spermatogenesis; D013739:Testosterone / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D013739:Testosterone