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In earlier experiments, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) was shown to decrease the level of glutathione transferase M1 (murine glutathione transferase mu-1) (mGSTM1), as well as of the corresponding mRNA, in a murine adrenocortical cell line. In the present study, the effect of ACTH on mGSTM1 gene transcription was examined using two techniques. First, a cDNA that coded for the mGSTM1 subunit but lacked the corresponding promoter sequences was transfected into the adrenocortical cell line, and the effect of ACTH on the level of the corresponding transcript was compared to that of endogenous mGSTM1 mRNA. The other technique used was nuclear run-on transcription, where the rate of transcription of endogenous mGSTM1 mRNA in ACTH-treated cells was compared to that in untreated control cells. These experimental approaches indicated that the rate of transcription of the mGSTM1 gene is regulated by ACTH in adrenocortical cells., (Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 15:128-132, 2001)

Three different forms of glutathione transferase (GST) have been resolved in the two mouse adrenal tumour cell lines Y1 and Kin 8. Two of these belong to the mu and pi classes respectively. The third form is so far unidentified. In the Y1 cells, the levels of the mu form (mGTmu1) and the unidentified form, are both down-regulated in the presence of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) while the pi form is unaffected. The Kin 8 cell line is derived from Y1 cells and harbours a defect in the cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase, making it refractory to cAMP-dependent regulation of several enzymes. The GST levels in this cell line were unaffected by ACTH. Also, the steady-state levels of mGTmu1 mRNA were much lower in Y1 cells treated with forskolin (which activates adenylate cyclase) compared with control cells, but there was no difference in mGTmu1 mRNA levels between control and forskolin-treated Kin 8 cells. This indicates that the ACTH-dependent regulation of the mu class GST is pre-translational and that a functional cAMP-dependent protein kinase is required for the regulation. We have further shown that the difference in mRNA steady-state levels between control and forskolin-treated Y1 cells is abolished when transcription is inhibited by actinomycin D. In light of the stability of mGTmu1 mRNA, it would appear most likely that actinomycin D inhibits the transcription of short-lived factors which regulate the turn-over of mGTmu1 transcripts in response to changes in intracellular cAMP levels.

After hypophysectomy, the level of glutathione transferase subunit 4 increases in the adrenal, as well as in the liver, as do those of several other forms of glutathione transferase. This increase in subunit 4 can subsequently be down-regulated by administration of adrenocorticotropin. The present investigation demonstrates that also in primary cultures of female rat adrenal cells an increase in the level of glutathione transferase subunit 4 (as shown by immunoblotting) occurs in the absence of adrenocorticotropin. When adrenocorticotropin or dibutyryladenosine 3',5'-phosphate was administered to these cells, a down-regulation of this enzyme level was observed, in agreement with the in vivo situation. This down-regulation was not affected by aminoglutethimide, an inhibitor of the cholesterol-side-chain-cleavage enzyme (cytochrome P-450scc) which is the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of steroids. Hence adrenal steroid production is not involved in the down-regulation of glutathione transferase subunit 4 by adrenocorticotropin.

The effect of hypophysectomy and subsequent treatment with adrenocorticotropic hormone (adrenocorticotropin, ACTH) on the isoenzymes of glutathione transferase in the rat adrenal gland was investigated. A large increase (approx. 11-fold) in the level of transferase subunit 4 was observed in hypophysectomized animals by immunoblotting. When the activity of glutathione transferase 4-4 was measured in adrenal cytosol using trans-stilbene oxide as a selective substrate, a 15-fold increase was noted. Lack of the pituitary hormone ACTH is apparently related to this increase, since treatment of hypophysectomized animals with ACTH for 2 weeks partially down-regulated subunit 4. Glutathione transferase subunits 3 and 8 in the adrenal were also increased in amount by hypophysectomy, but not at all to the same extent. The activity of glutathione transferase 4-4 was elevated also in the liver and ovary (5 and 1.5 times respectively) after hypophysectomy. These elevated enzyme levels were, however, not affected by ACTH treatment. This down-regulation of glutathione transferases in the rat adrenal by ACTH may be related to the fact that, under normal conditions, this organ is highly susceptible to the toxic effects of various polycyclic hydrocarbons, whereas under circumstances where there is no ACTH production, as in hypophysectomized rats, the adrenal is resistant to these same hydrocarbons.