The adipocyte-derived hormone leptin is a central modulator of food intake, metabolism and neuroendocrine functions. It is also involved in a physiological loop linking the activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and adipose tissue. At the adrenal level, leptin has been shown to antagonize the effects of ACTH on glucocorticoid biosynthesis by decreasing the expression of various enzy...

The skeleton is the preferred site for prostate cancer (PC) metastasis leading to incurable castration-resistant disease. The increased expression of genes encoding steroidogenic enzymes found in bone metastatic tissue from patients suggests that up-regulated steroidogenesis might contribute to tumor growth at the metastatic site. Because of the overall sclerotic phenotype, we hypothesize that ...

In addition to its ability to remove cholesterol from cells, HDL also delivers cholesterol to cells through a poorly defined process in which cholesteryl esters are selectively transferred from HDL particles into the cell without the uptake and degradation of the lipoprotein particle. The HDL-cholesteryl ester selective uptake pathway is known to occur in human, rabbit, and rodent hepatocytes w...

Basal plasma ACTH(1-39) concentrations are elevated in long-term hypoxic (LTH) fetal sheep. This study was designed to determine whether the expression of genes regulating cortisol biosynthesis was altered after LTH. Pregnant ewes were maintained at high altitude (3,820 m) from day 30 of gestation to near term, when the animals were transported to the laboratory. Reduced PO2 was maintained by n...

During the last month of intra-uterine life, the steroidogenic response of the ovine fetal adrenal glands to ACTH increases and becomes maximal at the time of birth. This development involves modifications at different steps of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) action mechanism. It has been shown that the enhanced capacity of the cells to produce cAMP is related to at least three factors: ...

Ad4BP/SF-1 was identified as the steroidogenic tissue-specific transcription factor regulating the expression of the steroidogenic cytochrome P450 genes. In addition to the steroidogenic endocrine tissues such as adrenal cortex, testis, and ovary, the factor was found to be expressed in the pituitary gonadotroph and the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Considering the roles of the hypothalamu...

BACKGROUND Main function of corpus luteum is progesterone synthesis that is significantly accompanied with an increase in levels of mRNA encoding of steroidogenic enzymes known as luteal markers. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to evaluate effects of lithium chloride on the release of steroid hormones and steroidogenic enzymes in gonadotropin-stimulated rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Immatur...

The nuclear receptor steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) is essential for adrenal development and steroidogenesis. The atypical orphan nuclear receptor Dax-1 binds to SF-1 and represses SF-1 target genes. Paradoxically, however, loss-of-function mutations of Dax-1 also cause adrenal hypoplasia, suggesting that Dax-1 may function as an SF-1 coactivator under some circumstances. Indeed, we found that D...