Endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor in rat pancreas: genetic expression and testosterone regulation

The Journal of Endocrinology
Angélica MoralesVicente Díaz-Sánchez

Abstract

Endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF) is an endothelial cell mitogen, expressed essentially in steroidogenic cells. Recently, the expression of EG-VEGF in normal human pancreas and pancreatic adenocarcinoma has been demonstrated. Epidemiologically, pancreatic carcinogenesis is more frequent in males than females, and given that androgen receptors and testosterone biotransformation have been described in pancreas, we hypothesized that testosterone could participate in the regulation of EG-VEGF expression. In this study, we investigated the regulation of EG-VEGF gene expression by testosterone in normal rat pancreatic tissue and rat insulinoma cells (RINm5F). Total RNA was extracted from rat pancreas and cultured cells. Gene expression was studied by real-time PCR and protein detection by immunohistochemistry. Serum testosterone was quantified by RIA. Results showed that EG-VEGF is expressed predominantly in pancreatic islets and vascular endothelium, as well as in RINm5F cells. EG-VEGF gene expression was lower in the pancreas of rats with higher testosterone serum levels. A similar effect that was reverted by flutamide was observed in testosterone-treated RINm5F cells. In summary, testosterone dow...Continue Reading

Citations

Jul 17, 2010·Cancer Letters·Justin Monnier, Michel Samson
Jun 29, 2010·The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Sumiko MorimotoCristina Fernandez-Mejia
Jan 8, 2015·The Journal of Endocrinology·Verónica Torres-EstayGary J Smith

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