Steroidogenic factor 1 acts at all levels of the reproductive axis

• Published in: Steroids Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 53 - 56
• Main Authors: Caron, Kathleen M., Clark, Barbara J., Ikeda, Yayoi, Parker, Keith L.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 1997; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adrenal Glands - growth & development; Adrenal Glands - metabolism; Adrenal Glands - pathology; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Binding Sites; Biological and medical sciences; DNA-Binding Proteins - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Genitalia, Female - embryology; Genitalia, Female - growth & development; Genitalia, Female - pathology; Gonads - growth & development; Gonads - metabolism; Gonads - pathology; Heterozygote; Homeodomain Proteins; Homozygote; Hypothalamus - metabolism; Hypothalamus - pathology; Male; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Phosphoproteins - genetics; Phosphoproteins - metabolism; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; Reproduction - physiology; sexual differentiation; Steroid hormones. Cholecalciferol derivatives; steroidogenesis; steroidogenic acute regulatory protein; Steroidogenic Factor 1; Transcription Factors - physiology; Vertebrates: endocrinology; steroidogenesis; steroidogenic factor 1; sexual differentiation; steroidogenic acute regulatory protein; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; Stem cell; Rodentia; Steroidogenesis; Hypothalamohypophysogonadal axis; Transcription factor; Sexual differentiation
• ISSN: 0039-128X; 1878-5867
• DOI: 10.1016/S0039-128X(96)00159-6

The conversion of cholesterol into steroid hormones occurs through the sequential actions of the cytochrome P450 steroid hydroxylases. Attempts to understand the mechanisms responsible for the temporal and spatial expression patterns of these enzymes led to the identification of a shared regulator, termed steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1). SF-1 coordinately regulates the steroid hydroxylase genes and thus functions as a global mediator of steroidogenesis. Of greater significance, recent studies using a knockout mouse model have further implicated SF-1 in a variety of processes ranging from development of the steroidogenic organs to the normal function of gonadotropes and the development of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. A fundamental aspect of elucidating the role of SF-1 at all levels of the reproductive axis is to identify its cell-specific target genes. The recent purification and cloning of the steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein has provided an intriguing new candidate through which SF-1 acts to mediate its effects on reproductive competence. These studies yield novel insights into the processes of steroidogenesis, endocrine development, and reproductive function.