A Membrane Transporter Is Required for Steroid Hormone Uptake in Drosophila. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Steroid hormones are a group of lipophilic hormones that are believed to enter cells by simple diffusion to regulate diverse physiological processes through intracellular nuclear receptors. Here, we challenge this model in Drosophila by demonstrating that Ecdysone Importer (EcI), a membrane transporter identified from two independent genetic screens, is involved in cellular uptake of the steroid hormone ecdysone. EcI encodes an organic anion transporting polypeptide of the evolutionarily conserved solute carrier organic anion superfamily. In vivo, EcI loss of function causes phenotypes indistinguishable from ecdysone- or ecdysone receptor (EcR)-deficient animals, and EcI knockdown inhibits cellular uptake of ecdysone. Furthermore, EcI regulates ecdysone signaling in a cell-autonomous manner and is both necessary and sufficient for inducing ecdysone-dependent gene expression in culture cells expressing EcR. Altogether, our results challenge the simple diffusion model for cellular uptake of ecdysone and may have wide implications for basic and medical aspects of steroid hormone studies.

publication date

  • October 4, 2018

Research

keywords

  • Ecdysone
  • Receptors, Steroid

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC6219898

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85055793079

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.devcel.2018.09.012

PubMed ID

  • 30293839

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 47

issue

  • 3