Endocrine Abstracts

Background and aims: Previously we showed that the bioactive liquorice constituent glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) inhibits not only 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase enzymes but also the sulphation of corticosteroids by the enzyme sulphotransferase 2A1 (SULT2A1). Since pregnenolone, 17α-hydroxy-pregnenolone, deoxycorticosterone (DOC) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are all prime substrates for SULT2A1, GA could have important effects in directing pathways of glucocorticoi...

Introduction: Androgens have long been known to play an important role in health and wellbeing. A range of clinical disorders in males and females can arise due to disruption to production and action of androgens. Androgen receptor (AR) is widely expressed throughout the adrenal cortex, yet the wider role for androgen signalling in the adrenal remains underexplored due to the lack of suitable animal models.Methods: An adrenal-specific androgen receptor k...

Ovarian cancer is the most fatal of all gynaecological malignancies. EOC accounts for >90% of malignant ovarian tumours and is thought to originate mostly from OSE cells. Epidemiological data suggest EOC is oestrogen responsive and we previously showed active oestrogen could be produced locally by EOC cells, but not by normal OSE cells, through the combined activities of steroid sulfatase (STS) and 17βhydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. We now investigate if EST, which conv...

It is now generally acknowledged that local tissue concentrations of cortisol and cortisone are modulated by site-specific actions of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) isoenzymes 1 and 2. Cortisone, the inactive metabolite of cortisol is produced by type 2 11β-HSD. To assess 11β-HSD type 1 and 2 activity, the cortisone/cortisol ratio has to be accurately determined. Immunoassays to measure cortisone levels are not widely available and tend to lack ...