The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR) participates in steroidogenesis through the mitochondrial transfer of cholesterol to cytochrome P450scc. The rat adrenal Star gene is transcribed as a 3.5-kilobase pair (kb) and 1.6-kb mRNA with the larger mRNA predominating (ϳ85% of total) in vivo. Hypophysectomy (HPX) produced a 3-5-fold decrease in Star mRNA along with a loss of adrenal steroids, whereas P450scc mRNA decreased by less than 2-fold.
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