Endocrine Abstracts

Estrogen excess is a major contributing factor to the development and progression of post-menopausal Estrogen Receptor positive (ER+) breast cancers. Increased activity of aromatase, the enzyme that converts androgens to estrogens, and upregulation of its encoding gene CYP19A1 is often observed in breast adipose fibroblasts (BAFs) surrounding ER+ tumours. Understanding the process by which CYP19A1 is regulated between normal and diseased breast stroma may help to improve outco...

Context: 18-Oxocortisol (18-oxoF) is a derivative of cortisol that is produced by aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2). The potential for this steroid, as a biomarker for differentiating patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) from those with idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA), has not been examined.Objectives: We measured 18-oxoF, aldosterone (A) and cortisol (F) in plasma from adrenal vein sampling (AVS) patients. We compared 18-oxoF and 18-oxoF/F...

18-Oxocortisol (18-oxoF) is a derivative of cortisol (F) that is produced by aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2), and its clinical usefulness has not been clarified. We prospectively measured 18-oxoF, using highly sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS), in peripheral plasma of patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) who underwent adrenal venous sampling (AVS) to differentiate aldosterone producing adenoma (APA) from bilateral hyperplasia. The study was...

Background: The human adrenal cortex is composed of 3 distinct zones: the zona glomerulosa (ZG), the zona fasciculata (ZF), and the zona reticularis (ZR). Steroidogenic enzymes are expressed in a zone-specific manner. The promoters of CYP11B1 and CYP11B2 possess a number of target sites for DNA methylation that is closely associated with gene silencing.Methods and Materials: Adrenals from 5 autopsy subjects were assessed for immunohistrochemically define...

Introduction: It has been reported that primary aldosteronism(PA) is often associated with subclinical Cushing syndrome (SCS). In the present study, we investigated the frequency of SCS in subjects with PA.Method: Subjects included consecutive patients (n=43) who were diagnosed as PA between 2003 and 2011 in our institute. They were screened by plasma renin activity (PRA (ng/ml/h)) plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC (pg/mL)) ratio (ARR) above 2...