There is increasing concern that certain chemicals in the environment can cause endocrine disruption in exposed humans and wildlife. Investigations of potential effects on endocrine function have been limited mainly to interactions with hormone receptors. A need exists for the development of alternate in vitro methods to evaluate chemicals for their potential to disturb various endocrine functi...

BACKGROUND Estradiol (E(2)) is an important promoter of the growth of both eutopic and ectopic endometrium. The findings with regard to the expression and activity of steroidogenic enzymes in endometrium of controls, in endometrium of endometriosis patients and in endometriotic lesions are not consistent. METHODS In this study, we have looked at the mRNA expression and protein levels of a ran...

4-{[(4-Cyanophenyl)(4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)amino]methyl}phenyl sulfamate and its ortho-halogenated (F, Cl, Br) derivatives are first-generation dual aromatase and sulfatase inhibitors (DASIs). Structure-activity relationship studies were performed on these compounds, and various modifications were made to their structures involving relocation of the halogen atom, introduction of more halogen ato...

A series of 5alpha-androst-3-enes and 3alpha,4alpha-epoxy-5alpha-androstanes were synthesized and tested for their abilities to inhibit aromatase in human placental microsomes. In these series the original C-17 carbonyl group was replaced by hydroxyl, acetyl and hydroxyimine groups. Inhibition kinetic analysis on the most potent steroid of these series revealed that it inhibits the enzyme in a ...

A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) approach by use of the minimal topological difference (MTD) method including 46 derivatives of 4-androstene-3,17-dione and 5 alpha-androstane-3,17-dione is applied to give indications about the role of the C4 = C5 double bond in competitive inhibition of human placental aromatase and about sterical requirements in steroid-aromatase interacti...

Neuromodulators including gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and sex steroids help integrate an animal's internal physiological state with incoming external cues, and can have profound effects on the processing of behaviorally relevant information, particularly from the olfactory system. While GnRH and steroid receptors are present in olfactory processing regions across vertebrates, little i...

1 Introduction In the last decade or so, our knowledge of the roles of the steroids referred to as 'sex hormones' namely testosterone and estradiol, has undergone a quiet revolution. In the first place, models of androgen and estrogen insufficiency, whether they be natural or engineered, have revealed new and unexpected roles for sex steroids, some of which have nothing to do with reproduction....

Many egg-laying reptiles have temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), where the offspring sex is determined by incubation temperature during a temperature-sensitive period (TSP) in the middle third of development. The underlying mechanism transducing a temperature cue into an ovary or testis is unknown, but it is known that steroid hormones play an important role. During the TSP, exogeno...

OBJECTIVE The aromatase enzyme catalyzes the final stage of estrogen biosynthesis pathway from androgens. Its expression in the adrenal is poorly studied except for the rare estrogen-producing adrenocortical tumors. In order to further characterize aromatase expression in the adrenal, we evaluated the aromatase enzyme activity, Cyp19a1 gene expression level, and promoter utilization in normal a...