The catechol estrogens: physiologic studies.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Kono.
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2-Hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1) has much lower uterotropic potency than might be predicted from its uterine estrogen receptor affinity. 2-OHE1 displaces saturably bound [3H]estradiol from rat uterine cytosol with a competitive inhibition constant of 8.6 nM, while the dissociation constant for 17 beta-estradiol (E2) is 0.42 nM. From this ratio of binding affinities, one would expect some agonist or antagonist activity of 2-OHE1 to be apparent at doses roughly 20-50 times the minimum effective dose of E2. Instead, at doses of 2-OHE1 1000 times an effective dose of E2, no uterotropic effect was observed. When 2-OHE1 was injected together with E2 at dose ratios of 500:1, there was no antagonism of the effect of E2. To examine this discrepancy, the plasma MCRs (MCRpS) of E2 and 2-OHE1 were determined by continuous infusion techniques. Plasma concentrations of 2-OHE1 and E2 during control and infusion periods were measured by RIAs. The MCRp of 2-OHE1 averaged 50,000 ml/h, more than 100 times that of E2 (approximately 400 ml/h). The extraordinarily high MCRp of 2-OHE1 may explain the failure to observe any biological effects of this catechol estrogen, even at high doses. This rapid metabolism, presumably occurring in the blood compartment, should be considered in handling blood samples for RIA and in devising studies of the actions of catechol estrogens.
To study the effects of catechol estrogens upon gonadotropin secretion, 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1) and 2-hydroxyestradiol (2-OHE2) were administered iv to young adult men in a range of doses for 4 days. Blood samples were obtained for plasma LH, FSH, and PRL at 20-min intervals for 6 h before and at the end of the infusion period. 2-OHE1 had no effect upon gonadotropins or PRL in doses up to 1.6 mg/day; at 3.2 and 6.6 mg/day, it produced a slight suppression of LH and FSH, with no change in PRL. 2-OHE2 was generally ineffective at 100 micrograms/day, but doses from 200-800 micrograms/day suppressed gonadotropins, without changes in PRL. These infusions elevated 2-OHE1 and 2-OHE2 plasma levels to values comparable to those measured in late pregnancy. There were no associated effects upon blood pressure and only minimal changes in urinary catecholamine excretion. No effects that could be interpreted as antiestrogenic were observed. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that circulating catechol estrogens behave as weak estrogens in men.
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A follow-up study was done on the mortality from 1956 to 1975 among 2,383 Japanese patients with leprosy who were admitted to a leprosarium in Japan. The leprosy was classified into two types: lepromatous and tuberculoid. Irrespective of the type of leprosy or the sex of leprosy patient, mortalities were increased from tuberculosis, pneumonia and bronchitis, nephritis and nephrosis, and from total causes. The suicide rate was high among female patients. Deaths from total malignant neoplasms were higher than expected among patients with lepromatous leprosy for both sexes (49 observed vs. 44.02 expected), whereas they were lower than expected among patients with tuberculoid leprosy (35 observed vs. 36.83 expected); however, the differences were not statistically significant. Mortalities from cancers of the cervix and the esophagus among females with lepromatous leprosy were significantly higher. The risk of lymphoreticular cancers was not increased.
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Published plasma levels of the catechol estrogen 2-hydroxyestrone (2-OHE1) are comparable to those of estrone and estradiol. In light of the very high (40,000 L/d) metabolic clearance rate of 2-OHE1, these concentrations imply unreasonable production rates. We therefore re-examined plasma 2-OHE1 levels using a modified radioimmunoassay procedure. Plasma samples are extracted with ethyl acetate and passed over a short column of LH-20 Sephadex before equilibration with an antiserum directed against a 2-hydroxyestrone-17-(O-carboxymethyl)oxime-bovine serum albumin conjugate. Plasma 2-OHE1 concentrations are indistinguishable from blank (< 15 pg/ml) in men and non-pregnant women, but rise to approximately 200 pg/ml during pregnancy. These values for 2-OHE1 levels are consistent with the rapid metabolic clearance of this catechol estrogen.
This report describes the unexpected observation that testosterone-estradiol binding globulin (TeBG) binds 2-methoxyestradiol better than it binds either testosterone or 17 beta-estradiol. As determined by competitive displacement of 3H-testosterone from TeBG adsorbed onto a solid phase matrix of Con A-Sepharose, the relative binding activities of 2-methoxyestradiol, testosterone and 17 beta-estradiol for TeBG were 2.0, 1.0 and 0.32, respectively. In contrast, 2-methoxyestradiol, which is known to bind with low affinity to estrogen receptors, had only low affinity binding to the androgen receptor, as determined by competitive displacement of 3H-dihydrotestosterone using 64-24 rat mammary tumor cells. 2-Methoxyestradiol is the first example of a naturally occurring steroid which binds with high affinity to TeBG but with low affinity to both androgen and estrogen receptors.
The plasma metabolic clearance rate (MCRp) of 2-hydroxyestrone was measured in normal young adults by two methods: infusion of unlabeled 2-OHE1 to equilibrium with radioimmunoassay of plasma 2-OHE1 levels, and infusion of [3H]2-OHE1 to equilibrium with measurement of chromatographically purified plasma [3H]2-OHE1. MCR's were 40--70,000 L/day and 15--50,000 L/day, respectively. This is the highest known MCR for a naturally occurring steroid. The only measurable plasma metabolite of [3H]2-OHE1 co-migrated with 2-methoxyestrone. When [3H]2-OHE1 was incubated with blood samples in vitro, [3H] xi-methoxyestrone was rapidly formed. Since this MCR is higher than cardiac output, clearance must occur primarily in the blood compartment, probably largely by the action of erythrocyte catechol-0-methyltransferase.
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In an attempt to re-evaluate a possible high incidence of hypertension in hypothyroid patients, blood pressure was measured in 38 slightly hypothyroid patients, in 17 moderate hypothyroid patients, and in 26 severe hypothyroid patients. The data were then compared with the findings in 73 known euthyroid subjects and in 1,601 possibly euthyroid subjects. Blood pressure and incidence of hypertension increased progressively with age in known euthyroid subjects and in possibly euthyroid subjects. Similarly, blood pressure increased progressively with age in slight and moderate hypothyroid patients, but the incidence of hypertension was high in the sixth decade in slightly hypothyroid patients for some unknown reason. In contrast, blood pressure and the incidence of hypertension were low in the fifth and sixth decades in severe hypothyroid patients. This low blood pressure was elevated slightly when Sv1 + Rv5 and C/T were shifted toward normal by T4 treatment for 3 to 4 months. It is suggested that the hypothyroid state does not accelerate the development of hypertension.