Summary
Androgens regulate the development and sexual dimorphism of rodent Harderian and submandibular glands. This effect is believed to be mediated by the androgen receptor. Immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting were carried out to study the receptor in normal, castrated and dihydrotestosterone-supplemented rat Harderian and submandibular glands. Immunohistochemically, the most intense nuclear staining was observed in the acinar cells of the submandibular glands, followed by intercalated duct cells. The granular convoluted tubules showed weak immunostaining and the striated ducts were negative. In the Harderian gland, nuclear staining was seen in both type I and II secretory cells. Castration and treatment had no effect on the expression of the androgen receptor protein in either gland. A 110 K androgen receptor signal was detected by immunoblotting in the Harderian gland but not in the submandibular gland. An experiment was designed to explore the possible effect of proteinases on the receptor protein in the homogenate of submandibular gland. Our results demonstrate the cell-specific location of the receptor in Harderian and submandibular glands, and show that the expression of the receptor protein is androgen-independent.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antakly, T., Zhang, C., Sarrieau, A. &Raquidan, D. (1991) Cell-specific expression of the glucocorticoid receptor within granular convoluted tubules of the rat submaxillary gland.Endocrinology 128, 617–22.
Barka, T. (1980) Biologically active polypeptides in submandibular glands.J. Histochem. Cytochem. 28, 836–59.
Chang, C., Kokontis, J. &Liao, S. (1989) Molecular cloning of human and rat complementary DNA encoding androgen receptor.Science,240, 324–6.
Chao, J. &Margolius, H. S. (1983) Differential effects of testosterone, thyroxine, and cortisol on rat submandibular glandverus renal kallikrein.Endocrinology 113, 2221–5.
Dominguez, P., Antolín, I., Boga, J. A., Uría, H. &Menéndezpeláez, A. (1994) Androgen regulation of gene expression in the Syrian hamster Harderian gland.Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 106, 81–9.
Gresik, E. W. (1980) Postnatal developmental changes in submandibular glands of rats and mice.J. Histochem. Cytochem. 28, 860–70.
Gresik, E. W. &Barka, T. (1980) Precocious development of granular convoluted tubules in the mouse submandibular gland induced by thyroxine or by thyroxine and testosterone.Am. J. Anat. 159, 177–85.
Hoffman, R. A. (1971) Influence of some endocrine glands hormones and blinding on the histology and porphyrins of the Harderian glands of golden hamsters.Am. J. Anat. 132, 463–78.
Hoffman, R. A., Johnson, L. B. &Reiter, R. J. (1985) Harderian glands of golden hamsters: temporal and sexual differentiation in immunoreactive melatonin.J. Pineal Res. 2, 161–8.
Jensen, E. V. (1991) Overview of the nuclear receptor family. InNuclear Hormone Receptors: Molecular Mechanisms, Cellular Functions Clinical Abnormalities (edited byParker, M. G.) pp. 1–13. London: Academic Press.
Kumegawa, M., Takuma, T. &Takagi, Y. (1977) Precocious induction of secretory granules by hormones in convoluted tubules of mouse submandibular glands.Am. J. Anat. 149, 111–14.
Kyakumoto, S., Kurokawa, R. &Ota, M. (1985) Effect of castration and administration of testosterone on cytosol and nuclear androgen receptor in mouse submandibular gland.Biochem, Int. 11, 701–7.
Kyakumoto, S., Kurokawa, R. &Ota, M. (1987) Mechanism of replenism of androgen receptors in cytosol of mouse submandibular gland.J. Endocrinol. 115, 411–18.
Laemmli, U. K. (1970) Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4.Nature 227, 680–5.
Laine, M., Bläuer, M., Tuohimaa, P., Aitasalo, K., Happonen, R.-P. &Tenovuo, J. (1993) Androgen receptor in human salivary glands.Archs Oral Biol. 38, 299–302.
Lohnes, D., Kastner, P., Dierich, A., Mark, M., Lemeur, M. &Chambon, P. (1993) Function of retinoic acid receptor γ in the mouse.Cell,73, 643–58.
Lohnes, D., Mark, M., Mendelsohn, C., Dollé, P., Dierich, A., Gorry, P., Gansmuller, A. &Chambon, P. (1994) Function of the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) during development (I) Craniofacial and skeletal abnormalities in RAR double mutants.Development 120, 2723–48.
Mcmasters, K. M. &Hoffman, R. A. (1984) Harderian gland: regulation of sexual type by gonads and pineal.Biol. Reprod. 31, 579–85.
Morrell, J. L., Gresik, E. W. &Barka, T. (1987) Autoradiographic localization of dihydrotestosterone binding in the major salivary gland and other androgen-responsive organs of the mouse.J. Histochem Cytochem. 35, 1053–8.
Ohara-Nemoto, Y., Nemoto, T. &Ota, M. (1988) Ribonucleic acid association with androgen receptor from rat submandibular gland.J. Steroid Biochem. 29, 27–31.
Ozono, S. Onozuka, M., Sata, K. &Ito, Y. (1991) Immunohistochemical evidence for presence of progesterone receptor in rat submandibular glands.Cell struct. Funct. 16, 511–13.
Ozono, S., Sata, K., Ito, Y., Kubota, N., Hayashi, H., Kato, H. &Onozuka, M. (1994) immunohistochemical localization of estrogen receptors in the submandibular gland tumours of female rats.Cell Struct. Funct. 19 335–40.
Rosinski-Chupin, I. Rougeot, C., Courty, Y. &Rougeon, F. (1993) Localization of mRNAs of two androgen-dependent proteins, SMR1 and SMR2, by in situ hybridization reveals sexual differences in acinar cells of rat submandibular gland.J. Histochem. Cytochem. 41, 1645–9.
Sar, M. Lubahn, D. B., French, F. S. &Wilson, E. M. (1990) Immunohistochemical localization of the androgen receptor in rat and human tissues.Endocrinology 127, 3180–6.
Sawada, K. &Noumura, T. (1991) Effects of castration and sex steroids on sexually dimorphic development of the mouse submandibular gland.Acta Anat. 140, 97–103.
Tan, J. Joseph, D. R., Quarmby, V. E., Lubahn, D. B., Sar, M., French, F. S. &Wilson, E. M. (1988) The rat androgen receptor: primary structure, autoregulation of its messenger ribonucleic acid, and immunocytochemical localization of the receptor protein.Mol. Endocrinol. 12, 1267–85.
Thomspon, G. G., Hordovatzi, X., Moore, M. R., McGadey, J. &Payne, A. P. (1984) Sex differences in haem biosynthesis and porphyrin content in the Harderian gland of the golden hamster.Int. J. Biochem 16, 849–52.
Varriale, B. &Serino, I. (1994) The androgen receptor mRNA is up-regulated by testosterone in both the Harderian gland and thumb pad of the frog, rona esculenta.J. Steroid Biochem. Molec. Biol. 51, 259–65.
Vilchis, F. &Perez-Palacios, G. (1989) Steroid hormone receptors and the sexual phenotype of the Harderian gland in hamsters.J. Endocrinol. 121, 149–56.
Vilchis, F., Hernandez, A., Perez, A. E. &Pérez-Palacios, G. (1987) Hormone regulation of the Harderian gland: binding properties of the androgen receptor in the male golden hamster.J. Endocrinol. 112, 3–8.
Vilchis, F., Chávez, B. &Pérez-Palacios, G. (1991) Steroid hormone binding in the Harderian gland of the androgen, estrogen, and progestin receptors ofAnas platyrhynchos andGallus domesticus.Gen. Comp. Endocr. 82, 425–33.
Walker, P. (1982) The mouse submaxillary gland: a model for the study of hormonally dependent growth factors.J. Endocrinol. Invest. 5, 183–96.
Young, J. A., Cook, D. I., Van Lennep, E. W. &Roberts, M. L. (1987) Secretion by the major salivary glands. InPhysiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract (edited byJohnson, L., Christense, J., Jackson, M., Jacobson, E. &Walsh, J.) pp. 773–815. New York: Raven.
Zhau, H. E., Hong, S.-J. &Chung, L. W. K. (1994) A fetal rat urogenital sinus mesenchymal cell line r(UGM): accelerated growth and conferral of androgen-induced growth responsiveness upon a human bladder cancer epithelial cell line in vivo.Int. J. Cancer 56, 706–14.
Zhuang, Y. H. Bläuer, M., Pekki, A. &Tuohimaa, P. (1992) Subcellular location of androgen receptor in rat prostate, seminal vesicle and human osterosarcoma MG-63 cells.J. Steroid Biochem. Molec. Biol. 41, 693–6.
Zhuang, Y.-H., Bläuer, M., Pelto-Huikoo, M., Syvälä, H. & Tuohimaa, P. (1996) Immunochemical and in situ hybridization analyses of retionic acid receptor α, β and γ in murine Harderian and submandibular glands.Histochem. Cell Biol. (in press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhuang, YH., Bläuer, M., Syvälä, H. et al. Androgen receptor in rat Harderian and submandibular glands. Histochem J 28, 477–483 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02331407
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02331407