Expression of Steroidogenic Enzymes in Peropheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) of Healthy Individuals and its Association with Age and Sex

GAYDOU L; TSCHOPP MV; BOSQUIAZZO VL; RAMOS JG

Congreso; Reunión Conjunta de Sociedades de Biociencias I; 2017

SAIC

There is strong evidence that cells of the immune system can secrete a wide variety of hormones, however little is known about their function, or its association with certain pathologies. Our goal was to study the expression of different enzymes related to steroid synthesis in PBMC from healthy individuals. We separated PBMC from males and femalesof ages 25 ? 90 using a Ficoll gradient, RNA was obtained with Trizol reagent, and reverse transcribed to obtain cDNA. We designed primers for aromatase (Aro), 5α-reductase (5aR) 1, 2 and 3, and 3β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3bHSD). Real-Time PCR was performed using L19 as a housekeeping gene. Statistical analysis were carried out using R software. We found that 5aR1, 5aR3 and 3bHSD were expressed on PBMCs, but not Aro or 5aR2. Moreover, 5aR1 showed correlation with age in men (P=0,049), with a significantly higher expression in men older than 50 years (P=0,0257). When comparing both sexes, we found higher values of 5aR1 in men vs women older than 50 years (P= 0,0262). Concerning 5aR3, we found a higher expression in women older than 40 vs younger than 40 years (P=0,0399), and when we compared men and women, we found higher levels of enzyme expression in males older than 50 years (P=0,0371). These findings demonstrate that PBMCs have the required machinery to produce several sex-related hormones, and that these effects are more noticeable at a higher age, when hormone production from endocrine organs decreases. Future studies will compare these findings with the expression of steroidogenic enzymes in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) samples, taking into account that CLL is more frequent in people older than 50years, and has a sex dimorphism, being men more susceptible than women.