Estrogen Signaling in the Adrenal Cortex

Estrogen Signaling in the Adrenal Cortex

Currently, more than a quarter of the female adult world population and 3-fold more of postmenopausal women in the United Sates have arterial hypertension. Sex differences in blood pressure (BP) and rate of hypertension play an important role in the susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Moreover, hypertension is often undiagnosed or inadequately controlled in women, especially after menopau...

Signaling Interactions in the Adrenal Cortex

The major physiological stimuli of aldosterone secretion are angiotensin II (AII) and extracellular K(+), whereas cortisol production is primarily regulated by corticotropin (ACTH) in fasciculata cells. AII triggers Ca(2+) release from internal stores that is followed by store-operated and voltage-dependent Ca(2+) entry, whereas K(+)-evoked depolarization activates voltage-dependent Ca(2+) chan...

Estrogen Signaling in the Adrenal Cortex: Implications for Blood Pressure Sex Differences.

The Interplay between Estrogen and Fetal Adrenal Cortex

Estrogen is a steroid hormone that regulates embryogenesis, cell proliferation and differentiation, organogenesis, the timing of parturition, and fetal imprinting by carrying chemical messages from glands to cells within tissues or organs in the body. During development, placenta is the primary source of estrogen production but estrogen can only be produced if the fetus or the mother supplies d...

The adrenal cortex in childhood.

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is the most important cause of the adrenogenital syndrome in infancy and childhood. It is a classic example of an 'inborn error of metabolism' and represents the clinical expression of a hereditary defect in the biosynthesis of cortisol. Studies on patients with this disorder have enriched our knowledge on the biosynthesis and metabolism of adrenocortical st...