RESUMO
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) plays multiple important functions in adaptive responses. Exposure to AhR ligands may produce an altered metabolic activity controlled by the AhR pathways, and consequently affect drug/toxin responses, hormonal status and cellular homeostasis. This research revealed species-, cell- and region-specific pattern of the AhR system expression in the rat and human testis and epididymis, complementing the existing knowledge, especially within the epididymal segments. The study showed that AhR level in the rat and human epididymis is higher than in the testis. The downregulation of AhR expression after TCDD treatment was revealed in the spermatogenic cells at different stages and the epididymal epithelial cells, but not in the Sertoli and Leydig cells. Hence, this basic research provides information about the AhR function in the testis and epididymis, which may provide an insight into deleterious effects of drugs, hormones and environmental pollutants on male fertility.
Assuntos
Epididimo/metabolismo , Receptores de Hidrocarboneto Arílico/metabolismo , Testículo/metabolismo , Subfamília B de Transportador de Cassetes de Ligação de ATP/genética , Transportadores de Cassetes de Ligação de ATP/genética , Idoso , Animais , Translocador Nuclear Receptor Aril Hidrocarboneto/genética , Fatores de Transcrição Hélice-Alça-Hélice Básicos/genética , Citocromo P-450 CYP1A1/genética , Citocromo P-450 CYP1B1/genética , Poluentes Ambientais/toxicidade , Epididimo/citologia , Epididimo/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Epiteliais/efeitos dos fármacos , Células Epiteliais/metabolismo , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Transportadores de Ânions Orgânicos Sódio-Independentes/genética , Dibenzodioxinas Policloradas/toxicidade , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismo , Ratos Sprague-Dawley , Receptores de Hidrocarboneto Arílico/genética , Proteínas Repressoras/genética , Testículo/citologia , Testículo/efeitos dos fármacos , Membro 4 da Subfamília B de Transportadores de Cassetes de Ligação de ATPRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The incidence of gingival overgrowth among renal transplant patients treated with cyclosporine A ranges from 13% to 84.6%, and the overgrowth is not only esthetic but also a medical problem. We studied the determination of association between TGF-ß1 (TGFB1) gene polymorphism and gingival overgrowth in kidney transplant patients medicated with cyclosporin A. METHODS: Eighty-four kidney transplant patients with gingival overgrowth and 140 control transplant patients without overgrowth were enrolled into the case control study. TGFB1 polymorphism was determined using the PCR-RFLP assay for +869T > C in codon 10 and +915G > C in codon 25 as well as TaqMan real-time PCR assays for promoter -800G>A and -509C > T SNPs. RESULTS: In kidney transplant patients suffering from gingival overgrowth, mean score of gingival overgrowth was 1.38 ± 0.60, whereas in control subjects it was 0.0. The patients with gingival overgrowth were characterized by similar distribution of TGFB1 genotypes and allele in comparison to subjects without gingival overgrowth. Among 16 potentially possible haplotypes of TGFB1 gene, only four were observed in the studied sample of kidney transplant patients: G_C_T_G, G_T_C_G, G_C_C_C, and A_C_T_G, with similar frequency in patients with and without gingival overgrowth. CONCLUSION: No association between the TGFB1 gene polymorphism and gingival overgrowth was revealed in kidney transplant patients administered cyclosporine A.
