Purification of Hepatic N-Hydroxyarylamine Sulfotransferases and Their Regulation by Growth Hormone and Thyroid Hormone in Rats

Abstract

From liver cytosols of male Sprague-Dawley rats, two N-hydroxyarylamine sulfotransferases (HASTs) which sulfate N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene and a phenolsulfotransferase (PST-I) have been purified about 290-, 690-, and 210-fold, respectively, by the use of DEAE-anion exchange, Blue-Sepharose CL-6B, DEAE-HPLC, and ATP-agarose affinity chromatography. All three enzymes showed almost the same molecular weight of 33 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In Western blots using antibody raised against HAST I, the two HASTs, but not PST-I, were detected. The content of total HAST in male rats was estimated as 4-5μg/mg cytosolic protein, about 4 times higher than that in female rats. Direct comparison of the DEAE-HPLC elution profiles of cytosol showed that HAST I and HAST II were male-dominant and male-specific, respectively, in their expression in the livers. Hypophysectomy decreased the level of HAST by 60% in male rats, but had no obvious effect in female rats. Intermittent injection of growth hormone to mimic the male secretory pattern raised the content in hypophysectomized rats of both sexes close to that in intact male rats, while the continuous infusion of growth hormone to mimic the female secretory pattern showed limited effects. In addition, the administration of triiodothyronine stimulated HAST in hypophysectomized rats of both sexes, and the extent of stimulation was nearly the same as observed in the male-type growth hormone treatment. PST-I, in contrast to HAST, showed no clear sex-related difference in hepatic content, and was not apparently affected by growth hormone or triiodothyronine. These results demonstrate that at least two forms of sulfotransferases are under the regulation of pituitary growth hormone and thyroid hormone. The experiment using hypophysectomized rats also indicates the principal role of growth hormone in the expression of the two HASTs in the male rat liver.