Endocrine Abstracts

Background and aims: Dehydroepiandrosterone fatty acid esters (DHEA-FAEs) belong to a unique family of naturally occurring hydrophobic steroid hormone derivatives with long-lasting hormonal activity. DHEA-FAEs function through hydrolysis of DHEA-FAEs into free DHEA and further metabolized to biologically active steroids. The lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) mediates the intracellular hydrolysis of cholesterol esters. This study aims to study the possible role of LAL on the hydrolys...

Background and aims: Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an important prohormone and precursor of all sex steroids. DHEA fatty acid esters (DHEA-FAEs) belong to a unique family of naturally occurring hydrophobic steroid hormone derivatives with long-lasting hormonal activity, which are exclusively transported in lipoproteins. In the circulation, DHEA is esterified in a reaction catalyzed by lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase associated with HDL particles. The physiological role...

Sex Hormone binding globulin (SHBG) is a plasma steroid binding protein that is the major determinant androgen and estrogen access to target tissues. Several ligands of SHBG have been predicted by computational methods or discovered through basic research, they include pharmaceutical, natural plant extracts and anthropogenic endocrine disrupting compounds. In this study we characterized 3,4-Divanillyltetrahydrofuran (DVT), a non-steroidal ligand of SHBG, and Danazol, a synthet...