In this minireview we summarize evidence that the association of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) with hsp90 may determine three functional states of the receptor. First, there is a direct correlation between hsp90 binding to the receptor and repression of DNA binding activity. Temperature-dependent dissociation of hsp90 from the cytosolic GR-hsp90 complex is promoted by hormone with simultaneo...

Heat shock proteins (HSP) are components of the steroid receptor complex and are released into the cell cytosol after hormone binding. We tested whether HSPs released from steroid receptors mediate an increase in calcineurin phosphatase activity by steroid hormones. Aldosterone increased calcineurin activity in microdissected rat cortical collecting ducts (CCD) and connecting tubules, but not i...

The determination of estradiol and progesterone receptor concentrations in mammary tumors is useful in predicting the hormone responsiveness. As this assay is carried out on tumor tissue which may have been subjected to radiotherapy, the possibility of an ionizing irradiation affecting the steroid receptor levels in neoplastic tissue should be taken into account. The steroid receptor concentrat...

The predominance of meningiomas in females, their accelerated growth during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy, and the association between meningiomas and breast cancer have led to a number of studies examining the potential role of steroids on the growth of meningiomas. There are numerous discrepancies in the literature about the mitogenic effects of steroids on meni...

The AR (androgen receptor) is a ligand-regulated transcription factor, which belongs to the steroid receptor family and plays an essential role in growth and development of the prostate. Transcriptional activity of steroid receptors is modulated by interaction with co-regulator proteins and yeast two-hybrid analysis is commonly used to identify these steroid receptor-interacting proteins. Howev...

Epidemiological and experimental findings suggest that the development of gastric cancer (GC) is regulated by steroid hormones. In postmenopausal women and older men, the majority of steroid hormones are produced locally in peripheral tissue through the enzymatic conversion of steroid precursors. Therefore, using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, the mRNA ex...

Steroid hormones are lipophilic hormones based on the cholesterol molecule. Steroid hormones include the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone; glucocorticoids mainly cortisol in human; and mineralocorticoids. The main mammalian mineralocorticoid is aldosterone. Steroid and steroid-like hormones such as vitamin D and thyroid hormone are lipophilic and exert their predominant act...

Steroid hormones like estrogen are signalling molecules that are involved in a vast array of physiological processes in many species. Steroid hormone effects can be divided into slow genomic and rapid non-genomic responses. The slow response to steroid hormones is reasonably well understood; it is mediated by soluble, cytoplasmic receptors that enter the nucleus after binding with their ligand,...

Recently, Pregnane X receptor (PXR), a new member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, was shown to mediate the effects of several steroid hormones, such as progesterone, glucocorticoid, pregnenolone, and xenobiotics on cytochrome P450 3A genes (CYP3A) through the specific DNA sequence for CYP3A, suggesting that PXR may play a role in steroid hormone metabolism. In this paper, we demonstrated t...

Sirtuins, which are class III NAD-dependent histone deacetylases that regulate a number of physiological processes, play important roles in the regulation of metabolism, aging, oncogenesis, and cancer progression. Recently, a role for the sirtuins in the regulation of steroid hormone receptor signaling is emerging. In this mini-review, we will summarize current research into the regulation of e...