Temporal and quantitative correlations between nuclear androgen binding and stimulation of rna polymerase II activity in Sertoli cells.

The nuclear accumulation of 3H-androgen had been correlated with the effects of this steroid on nuclear RNA polymerase activity in the Sertoli cell under identical experimental conditions. The synthetic androgen methyltrienolone (R1881) was chosen to avoid ambiguities caused by metabolism of the radioligand. Nuclear accumulation of specifically bound 3H-R1881 was apparent after 5 min and preceded RNA polymerase II activation. RNA polymerase II activity was significantly increased by 10 min after administration of R1881, and the response was maximal at 15 min. Although nuclear binding of 3H-R1881 continued to increase over this interval, the enzyme activity declined to basal levels by 20 min. Saturation of nuclear binding sites required concentrations of R1881 that were approximately one order of magnitude higher than those required for maximal polymerase II activation at 15 min. The results indicate that occupancy of only a small fraction of the specific nuclear binding sites by androgen is required to elicit maximal elevation of RNA polymerase II activity in cultured Sertoli cells.