Faculty Collaboration Database

Developmental expression of aryl, estrogen, and hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases in pre- and postnatal human liver. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2006 Mar;316(3):1310-7

Date

12/13/2005

Pubmed ID

16339912

DOI

10.1124/jpet.105.093633

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-33644754574 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   95 Citations

Abstract

Aryl- (SULT1A1), estrogen- (SULT1E1), and hydroxysteroid- (SULT2A1) sulfotransferases (SULTs) are active determinants of xenobiotic detoxication and hormone metabolism in the adult human liver. To investigate the role of these conjugating enzymes in the developing human liver, the ontogeny of immunoreactive SULT1A1, SULT1E1, and SULT2A1 expression was characterized in a series of 235 pre- and postnatal human liver cytosols ranging in age from early gestation to a postnatal age of 18 years. Interindividual variability in expression levels was apparent for all three SULTs in pre- and postnatal liver samples. Expression of the three SULTs displayed distinctly different developmental profiles. Semiquantitative Western blot analyses indicated that SULT1A1 and SULT2A1 immunoreactive protein levels were readily detectable in the majority of developmental human liver cytosols throughout the prenatal period. Whereas SULT1A1 expression did not differ significantly among the various developmental stages, SULT2A1 expression increased during the third trimester of gestation and continued to increase during postnatal life. By contrast, SULT1E1, a cardinal estrogen-inactivating enzyme, achieved the highest levels of expression during the earliest periods of gestation in prenatal male livers, indicating a requisite role for estrogen inactivation in the developing male. The present analysis suggests that divergent regulatory mechanisms are responsible for the differential patterns of hepatic SULT1A1, SULT1E1, and SULT2A1 immunoreactive protein levels that occur during pre- and postnatal human development, and implicates a major role for sulfotransferase expression in the developing fetus.

Author List

Duanmu Z, Weckle A, Koukouritaki SB, Hines RN, Falany JL, Falany CN, Kocarek TA, Runge-Morris M

Author

Sevasti Koukouritaki PhD Research Scientist II in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Age Factors
Arylsulfotransferase
Blotting, Western
Female
Fetus
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Liver
Male
Sulfotransferases