Alpha-tocopherol affects androgen metabolism in male rat.
The Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study has provided the first evidence implicating vitamin E in hormone synthesis. The effect of vitamin E on stereoidogenesis in testes and adrenal glands was assessed in growing rats using Affymetrix gene-chip technology. Dietary supplementation of rats with vitamin E (60 mg/kg feed) for a period of 429 days caused a significant repression of genes encoding for proteins centrally involved in the uptake (low-density lipoprotein receptor) and de novo synthesis (for example, 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A synthase, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, isopentenyl-diphosphate delta-isomerase, and farnesyl pyrophosphate synthetase) of cholesterol, the precursor of all steroid hormones. The present investigation indicates that dietary vitamin E may induce changes in stereoidogenesis by affecting cholesterol homeostasis.
Barella
Luca
L
DSM Nutritional Products, Research and Development, Human Nutrition and Health, CH-4303 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland. luca.barella@dsm.com
Rota
Cristina
C
Stöcklin
Elisabeth
E
Rimbach
Gerald
G
D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000201:enzymology; D000728:Androgens / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004032:Diet; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D013737:Testis / Q000201:enzymology; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D024505:Tocopherols; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
D000728:Androgens; D013739:Testosterone; D002784:Cholesterol; D024502:alpha-Tocopherol; D024505:Tocopherols