The structures of DHEA derivatives and effects on the Adiol-induced AR transcriptional activity. (A) The structures of compounds nos. 4, 6, 8, and 10, DHEA, Adiol, and testosterone. (B) CAT activity was determined in PC-3 cells transiently cotransfected with 1.5 μg of WtAR and 4.5 μg of MMTV-CAT. After a 24-h transfection, cells were cultured in the presence of 50 nM Adiol and simultaneously treated with increasing concentrations of various DHEA derivatives for an additional 24 h. The second bar from the left shows the activity of Adiol alone (set as 100%). Values represent the means ± SD of at least three determinations. Suppression effects are seen with nos. 4, 6, 8, and 10. No suppression effects are seen with nos. 18, 15, 22, 13, 0, and 5.