Translocator protein (TSPO), also known as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, is a highly conserved outer mitochondrial membrane protein present in specific subpopulations of cells within different tissues. In recent studies, the presumptive model depicting mammalian TSPO as a critical cholesterol transporter for steroidogenesis has been refuted by studies examining effects of Tspo gene deletion in vivo and in vitro, biochemical testing of TSPO cholesterol transport function, and specificity of TSPO-mediated pharmacological responses. Nevertheless, high TSPO expression in steroid-producing cells seemed to indicate an alternate function for this protein in steroidogenic mitochondria. To seek an explanation, we used CRISPR/Cas9-mediated TSPO knockout steroidogenic MA-10 Leydig cell (MA-10:TspoΔ/Δ) clones to examine changes to core mitochondrial functions resulting from TSPO deficiency. We observed that 1) MA-10:TspoΔ/Δ cells had a shift in substrate utilization for energy production from glucose to fatty acids with significantly higher mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO), and increased reactive oxygen species production; and 2) oxygen consumption rate, mitochondrial membrane potential, and proton leak were not different between MA-10:TspoΔ/Δ and MA-10:Tspo+/+ control cells. Consistent with this finding, TSPO-deficient adrenal glands from global TSPO knockout (Tspo(-/-)) mice also showed up-regulation of genes involved in FAO compared with the TSPO floxed (Tspo(fl/fl)) controls. These results demonstrate the first experimental evidence that TSPO can affect mitochondrial energy homeostasis through modulation of FAO, a function that appears to be consistent with high levels of TSPO expression observed in cell types active in lipid storage/metabolism.

Translocator protein (TSPO) is a mitochondrial outer membrane protein of unknown function with high physiological expression in steroidogenic cells. Using TSPO gene-deleted mice, we recently demonstrated that TSPO function is not essential for steroidogenesis. The first link between TSPO and steroidogenesis was established in studies showing modest increases in progesterone production by adrenocortical and Leydig tumor cell lines after treatment with PK11195. To reconcile discrepancies between physiological and pharmacological interpretations of TSPO function, we generated TSPO-knockout MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells (MA-10:TspoΔ/Δ) and examined their steroidogenic potential after exposure to either dibutyryl-cAMP or PK11195. Progesterone production in MA-10:TspoΔ/Δ after dibutyryl-cAMP was not different from control MA-10:Tspo+/+ cells, confirming that TSPO function is not essential for steroidogenesis. Interestingly, when treated with increasing concentrations of PK11195, both control MA-10:Tspo+/+ cells and MA-10:TspoΔ/Δ cells responded in a similar dose-dependent manner showing increases in progesterone production. These results show that the pharmacological effect of PK11195 on steroidogenesis is not mediated through TSPO.

Function of the mammalian translocator protein (TSPO; previously known as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor) remains unclear because its presumed role in steroidogenesis and mitochondrial permeability transition established using pharmacological methods has been refuted in recent genetic studies. Protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) is considered a conserved endogenous ligand for TSPO. In bacteria, TSPO was identified to regulate tetrapyrrole metabolism and chemical catalysis of PPIX in the presence of light, and in vertebrates, TSPO function has been linked to porphyrin transport and heme biosynthesis. Positive correlation between high TSPO expression in cancer cells and susceptibility to photodynamic therapy based on their increased ability to convert the precursor 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) to PPIX appeared to reinforce this mechanism. In this study, we used TSPO knock-out (Tspo ؊/؊ ) mice, primary cells, and different tumor cell lines to examine the role of TSPO in erythropoiesis, heme levels, PPIX biosynthesis, phototoxic cell death, and mitochondrial bioenergetic homeostasis. In contrast to expectations, our results demonstrate that TSPO deficiency does not adversely affect erythropoiesis, heme biosynthesis, bioconversion of ALA to PPIX, and porphyrin-mediated phototoxic cell death. TSPO expression levels in cancer cells do not correlate with their ability to convert ALA to PPIX. In fibroblasts, we observed that TSPO deficiency decreased the oxygen consumption rate and mitochondrial membrane potential (⌬⌿m) indicative of a cellular metabolic shift, without a negative impact on porphyrin biosynthetic capability. Based on these findings, we conclude that mammalian TSPO does not have a critical physiological function related to PPIX and heme biosynthesis.Mammalian translocator protein (TSPO), 2 previously known as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (1), is a highly conserved protein enriched in the outer mitochondrial membrane (2). Despite extensive efforts to characterize TSPO, its precise physiological function remains elusive (3, 4). High levels of TSPO expression in steroidogenic cells, its localization to the outer mitochondrial membrane, and increased steroid production upon pharmacological binding led to the primary prospective model that TSPO was a mitochondrial cholesterol transporter essential for steroidogenesis (5). In recent studies using precise genetic tools, we and others have systematically refuted the involvement of TSPO in this process (6 -10). Similarly, copurification of TSPO with putative members of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) (11) and effects mediated by TSPO binding drugs on modulating apoptosis (12, 13) resulted in a secondary model that TSPO was associated with MPTP function and cell death (14). Again, recent discovery of the molecular identity of MPTP (15) Binding of porphyrins to TSPO has been a consistent property reported in bacteria (18), plants (19), and animals (17). In Rhodobacter sphaeroides, TSPO was found localized to the outer membrane (18) and pl...

The synthesis of steroid hormones occurs in specific cells and tissues in the body in response to trophic hormones and other signals. In order to synthesize steroids de novo, cholesterol, the precursor of all steroid hormones, must be mobilized from cellular stores to the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) to be converted into the first steroid formed, pregnenolone. This delivery of cholesterol to the IMM is the rate-limiting step in this process, and has long been known to require the rapid synthesis of a new protein(s) in response to stimulation. Although several possibilities for this protein have arisen over the past few decades, most of the recent attention to fill this role has centered on the candidacies of the proteins the Translocator Protein (TSPO) and the Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein (StAR). In this review, the process of regulating steroidogenesis is briefly described, the characteristics of the candidate proteins and the data supporting their candidacies summarized, and some recent findings that propose a serious challenge for the role of TSPO in this process are discussed.

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MA-10 cells, established four decades ago from a murine Leydig cell tumor, has served as a key model system for studying steroidogenesis. Despite a precipitous loss in their innate ability to respond to luteinizing hormone (LH), use of a cell permeable cAMP analog for induction ensured their continued use. In parallel, a paradigm that serum-free conditions are essential for trophic steroidogenic stimulation was rationalized. Through selection of LH-responsive single-cell MA-10Slip clones, we uncovered that Leydig cells remain responsive in the presence of serum in vitro, and that exogenous cholesterol delivery by lipoproteins provided a significantly elevated steroid biosynthetic response (>2-fold). In scrutinizing the underlying regulation, systems biology of the MA-10 cell proteome identified multiple Rho-GTPase signaling pathways as highly enriched. Testing Rho function in steroidogenesis revealed that its modulation can negate the specific elevation in steroid biosynthesis observed in the presence of lipoproteins/serum. This signaling modality primarily linked to regulation of endocytic traffic, is evident only in the presence of exogenous cholesterol. Inhibiting Rho function in vivo also decreased hCG-induced testosterone production in mice. Collectively, our findings dispel a long-held view that use of serum could confound or interfere with trophic stimulation, and underscore the need for exogenous lipoproteins when dissecting physiological signaling and cholesterol trafficking for steroid biosynthesis in vitro. The LH-responsive MA-10Slip clones derived in this study present a reformed platform enabling biomimicry to study the cellular and molecular basis of mammalian steroidogenesis.

Translocator protein (TSPO), first identified as a secondary target of benzodiazepines and termed the ‘peripheral’ benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), is a highly conserved protein in the outer mitochondrial membrane. Despite intensive research for the past 25 years, the exact function of TSPO remains elusive. High TSPO expression seen in steroidogenic mitochondria, and induction of steroid hormone production by TSPO binding drugs, led to a proposed function for TSPO in mitochondrial cholesterol import, the rate‐limiting step in steroidogenesis. However, this prevalent model was recently refuted based on Tspo gene deletion studies in vivo and in vitro that indicated no deficits in steroidogenesis. Seeking a new functional definition for TSPO, we found that high TSPO expression is not exclusive to steroidogenic cells, but also to other cell types active in lipid metabolism such as liver and adipose tissues. We therefore hypothesized that TSPO plays an important role in mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism. Using steroidogenic MA‐10 Leydig cells that express very high levels of TSPO as the model, we generated CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated TSPO knockout MA‐10 clones (MA‐10:TspoΔ/Δ) and examined changes to core mitochondrial functions after TSPO deletion. MA‐10:TspoΔ/Δ cells showed a shift in substrate utilization for energy production from glucose to fatty acids with significantly higher mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO), and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Overexpression of TSPO using a lentiviral system reversely reduced expression of FAO genes in MA‐10 cells. Extending this in vitro observation to in vivo tissues in global TSPO knockout (Tspo−/−) mice, we observed that loss of TSPO in adrenal glands (a major steroidogenic tissue), and liver (the chief metabolic compartment), both significantly upregulated FAO genes compared to the control floxed (Tspofl/fl) tissues. These results demonstrate the first experimental evidence that TSPO affects mitochondrial energy homeostasis through controlling FAO at the level of outer mitochondrial membrane, possibly through regulating activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT1). Therapeutic modulation of TSPO function using available TSPO binding drugs could be beneficial for increasing energy expenditure through FAO in lipid metabolic disorders.Support or Funding InformationStartup funds from Cornell University