Grant: Project Grant

Steroid hormones are mainly produced by the adrenal glands and the gonads (testis, ovary). They regulate essential functions of the human body and insufficient or excess production is associated with various pathological conditions. The production of steroid hormone is thus a meticulously regulated process to ensure accurate amount are produced. In the testis, the main steroidogenic cells are the Leydig cells. Steroid hormone synthesis in these cells is mainly regulated by the pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH). In Leydig cells, LH will triggers activation of proteins called kinases that modify other proteins which ultimately leads to alteration in the expression of genes involved in steroid hormone synthesis. Novel kinases were recently identified in our lab that have opposing effects on steroid hormone production; CAMKI enhances it while AMPK decreases it. The opposing action of CAMKI and AMPK allows for a fine regulation of the steroid synthesis process thus preventing detrimental overproduction or insufficiency. On the other hand, very little is known about the proteins that are targeted by CAMKI and AMPK. The goal of the present project is to identify the proteins targeted by CAMKI and AMPK and to determine their roles in steroid hormone production. A better characterization of these CAMKI and AMPK target proteins could lead to novel treatments for numerous hormone-dependent pathologies.