Endocrine Abstracts

Aldosterone synthase and 11beta-hydroxylase catalyse the final steps of glucocorticoid (corticosterone) and mineralocorticoid (aldosterone) production in the rat adrenal cortex. They are encoded by the CYP11B2 and CYP11B2 genes respectively. Recent studies have shown that CYP11B1 and CYP11B2 are also expressed in the brain, the vascular system and the heart where it has been suggested that aldosterone influences cardiac function and plays a role in cardiac fibrosis. However, i...