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Relationship: 436
Title
Decrease, Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR) leads to Reduction, Cholesterol transport in mitochondria
Upstream event
Downstream event
AOPs Referencing Relationship
| AOP Name | Adjacency | Weight of Evidence | Quantitative Understanding | Point of Contact | Author Status | OECD Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPARα activation in utero leading to impaired fertility in males | adjacent | Moderate | Arthur Author (send email) | Open for citation & comment | EAGMST Under Review |
Taxonomic Applicability
Sex Applicability
Life Stage Applicability
Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) mediates the cholesterol transport from the outer to the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it undergoes side chain cleavage by cytochrome P-450 enzyme (P450scc) that yields the steroid precursor, pregnenolone (Besman et al. 1989). The cholesterol transfer within the mitochondria is the rate-limiting step in the production of steroid hormones. Therefore reduced amount/activity of the StAR impairs the cholesterol delivery that is necessary for the hormone biosynthesis.
| ID | Experimental Design | Species | Upstream Observation | Downstream Observation | Citation (first author, year) | Notes |
|---|
| Title | First Author | Biological Plausibility |
Dose Concordance |
Temporal Concordance |
Incidence Concordance |
|---|
Biological Plausibility
Dose Concordance Evidence
Temporal Concordance Evidence
Incidence Concordance Evidence
Uncertainties and Inconsistencies
Some steroidogenesis is independent of StAR; when nonsteroidogenic cells are transfected with the P450scc system, they convert cholesterol to pregnenolone at about 14% of the StAR-induced rate (Lin et al. 1995). The mechanism of StAR-independent steroidogenesis is unclear (Miller and Auchus 2011). Johnson et al proposed the involvment of sterol regulatory element–binding protein (SREBP) in phthalate mediated disruption of steroidogenesis. Their study showed lipid metabolism pathways transcriptionally regulated by SREBP were inhibited in the rat but induced in the mouse, and this differential species response corresponded with repression of the steroidogenic pathway. In rats exposed to 100 or 500 mg/kg DBP from gestational days (GD) 16 to 20, a correlation was observed between GD20 testis steroidogenic inhibition and reductions of testis cholesterol synthesis endpoints including testis total cholesterol levels (Johnson et al. 2011).
Response-response Relationship
Time-scale
Known Feedforward/Feedback loops influencing this KER
Rat see Table 1.