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Testosterone regulation of renal cystathionine -synthase: implications for sex-dependent differences in plasma homocysteine levels

¹Redox Biology Center and the Biochemistry Department, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, ²National Research Center for Hematology, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia; ³Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver Colorado; and ⁴University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and ⁵Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Iowa City, Iowa

Submitted 11 April 2007 ; accepted in final form 29 May 2007

Elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) is an independent risk factor for ischemic heart disease and stroke. Epidemiological studies reveal that men have higher tHcy levels than women, but the mechanism underlying this sex-dependent difference is unknown. One route for intracellular disposal of homocysteine is catalyzed by cystathionine -synthase (CBS). Renal function is known to be an important determinant of tHcy, and, in this study, we demonstrate that renal CBS expression and activity in mice diminished approximately twofold after castration, whereas ovariectomization was without effect. The higher renal CBS activity in males (22.7 ± 3.1 mmol cystathionine·h^–1·kg kidney^–1) vs. females (8.4 ± 3.4 mmol cystathionine·h^–1·kg kidney^–1, P 10^–6) in C57Bl/6J mice was associated with lower plasma tHcy levels in males vs. females, and this difference was exacerbated in Cbs+/– mice (7.7 ± 1.9 µmol/l in males vs. 13.8 ± 6.4 µmol/l in females, P = 0.005). Surprisingly, mammals exhibit a diversity of regulatory patterns for kidney CBS, with females exhibiting lower CBS activity in mice, higher in rats and humans, and being indistinguishable from males in rabbit, hamster, and guinea pig. Our data suggest that testosterone-dependent regulation of human CBS in kidney may contribute to sex-dependent differences in homocysteine transsulfuration.

total homocysteine; S-adenosylmethionine

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