Endocrine Abstracts

The human adrenal cortex can be divided into distinct zones that have both morphologic and biochemical differences. The production of aldosterone in the zona glomerulosa can be traced to the zone-specific expression of the enzymes involved in steroid biosynthesis. This is particularly true for its expression of the enzyme aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2). For aldosterone biosynthesis, CYP11B2 expression has often been called the ‘late rate-limiting’ step. We and others...

Ligand-activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), a nuclear hormone receptor, dimerises with retinoid X receptor(RXR) and acts as a transcription factor translating nutritional, pharmacological and metabolic stimuli into changes in gene expression. PPARgamma is thought to serve several roles in adipocyte differentiation, fatty acid and lipid metabolism, insulin sensitivity and ovarian steroidogenesis. PPARgamma has also been shown to increase gluco...

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) is one of the isoforms of the PPAR-family of nuclear hormone receptors. Ligand activated PPARs dimerise with retinoid X receptor and act as transcription factors translating nutritional, pharmacological and metabolic stimuli into changes in the expression of genes. PPARgamma is thought to serve several roles in adipocyte differentiation, fatty acid and lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity. PPARgamma has also been...