Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Two isoforms of the enzyme 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11beta-HSD) interconvert the active glucocorticoid, cortisol, and inactive cortisone. 11beta-HSD1 is believed to act in vivo predominantly as an oxo-reductase using NADP(H) as a cofactor to generate cortisol. In contrast, 11beta-HSD2 acts exclusively as an NAD-dependent dehydrogenase inactivating cortisol to cortisone, thereby protecting the mineralocorticoid receptor from occupation by cortisol. In peripheral tissues, both enzymes serve to control the availability of cortisol to bind to the corticosteroid receptors. Defective expression of 11beta-HSD2 is implicated in patients with hypertension and intra-uterine growth retardation, while 11beta-HSD1 appears to be intricately involved in the conditions of apparent cortisone reductase deficiency, insulin resistance and visceral obesity. The ability of peripheral tissues to regulate corticosteroid concentrations through 11beta-HSD isozymes is established as an important mechanism in the pathogenesis of diverse human diseases. Modulation of enzyme activity may offer a novel therapeutic approach to treating human disease while circumventing the consequences of systemic glucocorticoid excess or deficiency.
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PMID:Cortisol metabolism and the role of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. 1146 11

It remains to be defined whether molecular variants of the genes underlying Mendelian forms of hypertension play some etiological role in essential hypertension. To pursue this issue, we focused on the following three genes: the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, and mineralocorticoid receptor genes. Five sequence variations of these genes, which were either previously reported to show significant association with hypertension or identified as "mild" molecular variants, were chosen for our study. Each variation was screened in 247 severe hypertensive patients with early onset (<45 years) and any detectable variations were subsequently characterized in 291 older normotensive subjects (>60 years) for the case-control comparison. We also investigated the significance of association between the tested variants and biochemical parameters reflecting sodium-water homeostasis, such as plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) and renin activity (PRA). Only the T663A variant (alpha-subunit of ENaC) turned out to be polymorphic in the Japanese population. In disagreement with positive associations previously reported in white and black subjects, we observed no significant association between T663A and hypertension, while allele frequencies of A663 were higher in Japanese (58-64%) compared with a reported prevalence of 29% in whites and 15% in blacks. T663A showed a borderline association (p=0.02) with the PAC/PRA ratio but not with PAC or PRA in the multivariate analysis. Our data did not support the association between Mendelian disease gene variants and essential hypertension in the Japanese. However, the present study did not definitively resolve this issue and further investigation is certainly warranted.
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PMID:Evaluation of selected polymorphisms of the Mendelian hypertensive disease genes in the Japanese population. 1167 45

In this study we evaluated the activity of renal 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD2) in patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH). A reduction of the activity of 11beta-HSD2 leads to pseudohyperaldosteronism due to insufficient interconversion of cortisol to its inactive 11-oxo-metabolite cortisone in the renal tubulus cell. We measured urinary free cortisol and cortisone in patients with and without PIH and calculated the urinary free cortisol to free cortisone ratio, which is well accepted as a correlate of the activity of renal 11beta-HSD2. One hundred twenty-six pregnant women were included. Fifty-nine patients had PIH (mean age 31.5 +/- 4.4 yr, blood pressure 158.7 +/- 16.0/100.8 +/- 9.5 mm Hg), and 67 were normotensive (mean age 29.4 +/- 4.6, blood pressure 112.6 +/- 8.9/68.8 +/- 8.6 mm Hg). The excretion rate of cortisol was increased in the PIH group (138.8 +/- 93.0 vs. 106.5 +/- 65.4 nmol/d, P = 0.027), whereas excretion rate of cortisone was similar (362.9 +/- 254.1 vs. 366.5 +/- 221.7 nmol/d, P = 0.933). The free cortisol to free cortisone ratio was significantly higher in the PIH group (0.47 +/- 0.25 vs. 0.31 +/- 0.12, P < 0.00002). Within this group, the patients with blood pressure in the uppermost quartile had a significantly higher free cortisol to free cortisone ratio than those in the lowest quartile [0.61 +/- 0.31 vs. 0.38 +/- 0.15 (P = 0.019) for diastolic, 0.60 +/- 0.29 vs. 0.35 +/- 0.13 (P = 0.012) for systolic, and 0.62 +/- 0.32 vs. 0.39 +/- 0.16 (P = 0.023) for mean blood pressure, respectively]. We conclude that a reduction of the activity of the 11beta-HSD2 is a relevant factor for the development of PIH. Whether the ratio of urinary free cortisol to free cortisone is a useful risk factor for the development of PIH must be investigated in further prospective studies.
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PMID:Alteration of the activity of the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in pregnancy: relevance for the development of pregnancy-induced hypertension? 1170 81

The importance of hypertension in the pediatric population is not as well appreciated as in adults. This might be related in part to the lower prevalence of high blood pressure in this age group. As with height and weight, blood pressure increases with age during childhood. The underlying causes of significant hypertension in children differ considerably from those in adults: while the prevalence of hypertension in pediatrics is lower than in adults, clinically identifiable causes of hypertension are common. Abnormalities in steroid biosynthesis have been known for years to cause hypertension in some cases of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In these patients, hypertension usually accompanies a characteristic phenotype with abnormal sexual differentiation. Recently, the molecular basis of four forms of severe hypertension transmitted on an autosomal basis has been elucidated: (a) the glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism (GRA), (b) the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME), (c) activating mutation of the mineralocorticoid receptor and (d) Liddle's syndrome. All these conditions are characterized primarily by low or low-normal plasma renin, normal or low serum potassium and salt-sensitive hypertension, indicating an increased mineralocorticoid effect. These forms of juvenile hypertension are a consequence of abnormal biosynthesis, metabolism or action of steroid hormones: (a) GRA is due to expression of a chimeric gene produced by fusion of 11beta-hydroxylase aldosterone-synthase genes. Expression of the chimeric enzyme occurs in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex under the control of ACTH and can be suppressed by administration of glucocorticoids. (b) AME is caused by mutations of the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzyme, an enzyme that metabolizes cortisol into its receptor inactive keto-form cortisone, thus protecting the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) from occupation by glucocorticoids. (c) The activating mutation of the MR results in constitutive MR activity and alters receptor specificity, with progesterone and other steroids lacking 21-hydroxyl groups becoming potent agonists. (d) Liddle's syndrome is due to mutations in the beta or gamma chain of the epithelial sodium channel in distal renal tubule cells. The hyperactivity of this channel caused by the mutations results in increased sodium reabsorption. With the advent of molecular biology in clinical practice it has become evident that some genetic defect may present with a more discrete phenotype, with only moderate hypertension with or without hypokalemia as presenting feature. Considering that hypertension in children and adolescents is often 'nonessential', a search for disorders should be integral part of the diagnostic work-up in young patients with hypertension.
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PMID:Juvenile hypertension, the role of genetically altered steroid metabolism. 1174 Jan 42

Loss-of-function mutations or inhibition of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD-2) results in overstimulation of the mineralocorticoid receptor by cortisol and causes salt-sensitive hypertension. Traditionally, 11beta-HSD-2 activity has been assessed by measurement of the urinary cortisol metabolite ratio (tetrahydrocortisol [THF]+5alpha-THF)/tetrahydrocortisone (THE). Recently, the ratio of urinary free glucocorticoids, UFF/UFE, has been suggested to be a more reliable parameter, an aspect that has not been investigated systematically. Steroid metabolites were measured repeatedly by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in 20 healthy subjects at baseline and after 1 week each of a 30- or 180-mmol/d of sodium diet or 500 mg/d of glycyrrhetinic acid. Intraindividual coefficients of variation from 3 random urine collections for (THF+5alpha-THF)/THE and UFF/UFE ratios were 11+/-9% and 25+/-14% (P<0.001). (THF+5alpha-THF)/THE was more sensitive than UFF/UFE for detection of glycyrrhetinic acid-induced increases higher than the upper 95% confidence interval of the coefficient of variation of the corresponding ratio. Low- or high-salt diet did not alter either ratio. Mean (THF+5alpha-THF)/THE but not UFF/UFE was higher in salt-sensitive than salt-resistant subjects. Absolute glycyrrhetinic acid-related increase in (THF+5alpha-THF)/THE but not UFF/UFE was higher in salt-sensitive than salt-resistant subjects and correlated with changes in mean BP. Intraindividual variability of (THF+5alpha-THF)/THE is lower than that of UFF/UFE. The UFF/UFE ratio does not appear to be more sensitive than (THF+5alpha-THF)/THE for detection of decreased 11beta-HSD-2 activity. The (THF+5alpha-THF)/THE ratio better discriminates between salt-sensitive and salt-resistant subjects. Together with BP responses to glycyrrhetinic acid, these findings support a pivotal role of 11beta-HSD-2 in salt sensitivity.
Hypertension 2001 Dec 01
PMID:In vivo 11beta-HSD-2 activity: variability, salt-sensitivity, and effect of licorice. 1175 13

ABSTRACT. Licorice-associated hypertension is thought to be due to increased renal sodium retention. The active compound of licorice, glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), inhibits renal 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD2) and by that mechanism increases access of cortisol to the mineralocorticoid receptor that causes renal sodium retention and potassium loss. In addition, a direct vascular effect of 11beta-HSD activity has recently been incriminated to promote hypertension, a contention based on in vitro observations. This investigation was designed to establish whether this extrarenal effect of 11beta-HSD is relevant for BP regulation and potassium concentrations in plasma. In a prospective, double-blind, cross-over study, seven patients with anuria on chronic hemodialysis were randomly assigned after a baseline period of 2 wk to placebo or GA (1 g/d) for 2 wk, separated by a washout phase of 3 wk. The ratio of plasma cortisol/cortisone, determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, increased in all patients after GA intake (F = 9.705; P < 0.004), which indicates inhibition of 11beta-HSD. Twenty-four-hour BP values did not change throughout the study. The increase of the plasma cortisol/cortisone ratio was paralleled by a decline in the plasma potassium concentration in every patient. The mean +/- SD plasma potassium concentration decreased from 5.5 +/- 0.6 mM/L at baseline to 4.9 +/- 0.7 and 4.5 +/- 0.8 mM/L after 1 and 2 wk on GA, respectively (F = 9.934, P < 0.003). Extrarenal 11beta-HSD activity influences serum potassium concentrations but does not regulate BP independently of renal sodium retention.
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PMID:Glycyrrhetinic acid decreases plasma potassium concentrations in patients with anuria. 1175 37

Aldosterone, the most important mineralocorticoid, regulates electrolyte excretion and intravascular volume mainly through its effects on renal cortical collecting ducts, where it acts to increase sodium resorption from and potassium excretion into the urine. Excess secretion of aldosterone or other mineralocorticoids, or abnormal sensitivity to mineralocorticoids, may result in hypokalemia, suppressed plasma renin activity, and hypertension. The syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME) is an inherited form of hypertension in which 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11-HSD) is defective. This enzyme converts cortisol to its inactive metabolite, cortisone. Because mineralocorticoid receptors themselves have similar affinities for cortisol and aldosterone, it is hypothesized that the deficiency allows these receptors to be occupied by cortisol, which normally circulates at levels far higher than those of aldosterone. We cloned cDNA and genes encoding two isozymes of 11-HSD. The liver or 11-HSD1 isozyme has relatively low affinity for steroids, is expressed at high levels in the liver but poorly in the kidney, and is not defective in AME. The kidney or 11-HSD2 isozyme has high steroid affinity and is expressed at high levels in the kidney and placenta. Mutations in the gene for the latter isozyme have been detected in all kindreds with AME. Moreover, the in vitro enzymatic activity conferred by each mutation is strongly correlated with the ratio of cortisone to cortisol metabolites in the urine, with age of diagnosis, and with birth weight. This suggests that the biochemical and clinical phenotype of AME is largely determined by genotype.
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PMID:11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and its role in the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess. 1178 Jun 88

Glucocorticoids (GC's) are metabolized in vascular tissue by two isoforms of 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-HSD). 11 beta-HSD2 is unidirectional and metabolizes GC's to their respective inactive 11-dehydro derivatives. 11 beta-HSD1 is bi-directional, also possessing reductase activity and thus the ability to regenerate active GC from the 11-dehydro derivatives. In vascular tissue, GC's amplify the pressor responses to catecholamines and angiotensin II and may down-regulate certain depressor systems such as nitric oxide and prostaglandins. We hypothesize that both 11 beta-HSD2 and 11 beta-HSD1 regulate GC levels in vascular tissue and are part of additional mechanisms that control vascular tone. We examined the effects of specific antisense oligomers to 11 beta-HSD2 and 11 beta-HSD1 on GC metabolism and contractile response to phenylephrine (PE) in rat aortic rings. In aortic rings incubated (24 h) with corticosterone (B) (10 nmol/l) and 11 beta-HSD2 antisense (3 micromol/l), the contractile response to graded concentrations of PE (PE: 10 nmol/l - 1 micromol/l) were significantly (P < 0.05) increased compared to rings incubated with B and 11 beta-HSD2 nonsense. 11 beta-HSD1 antisense oligomers also enhanced the ability of B to amplify the contractile response to PE. In addition, 11 beta-HSD2 and 11 beta-HSD1 antisense also decreased the metabolism of B to 11-dehydro-B. 11-Dehydro-B (100 nmol/l) also amplified the contractile response to PE in aortic rings (P < 0.01), most likely due to the generation of active corticosterone by 11 beta-HSD1-reductase; this effect was significantly attenuated by 11 beta-HSD1 antisense. 11 beta-HSD1 antisense also caused a marked decrease in the metabolism of 11-dehydro-B back to B by 11 beta-HSD1-reductase. These findings underscore the importance of 11 beta-HSD2 and 11 beta-HSD1 in regulating local concentrations of GC's in vascular tissue. They also indicate that decreased 11 beta-HSD2 activity may be a possible mechanism in hypertension and that 11 beta-HSD1-reductase may be a possible target for anti-hypertensive therapy.
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PMID:11 beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase antisense affects vascular contractile response and glucocorticoid metabolism. 1185 43

Epidemiological studies have led to the hypothesis that a major component of the risk of diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and non-insulin-dependent diabetes (the 'metabolic syndrome') is established before birth. Although the underlying mechanisms of this 'programming' of disease have not yet been conclusively determined, a reduced fetal nutrient supply as a consequence of poor placental function or unbalanced maternal nutrition is strongly implicated. It has been proposed that one outcome of suboptimal nutrition is exposure of the fetus to excess glucocorticoids, which restrict fetal growth and programme permanent alterations in its cardiovascular, endocrine and metabolic systems. This review focuses on the effects of endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoid exposure in utero on postnatal hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, both in humans and experimental animals. The physiological consequences and proposed underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms are discussed. Current data indicate that key targets for programming may include not only the HPA axis but also glucocorticoid receptor gene and 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11betaHSD2) gene expression in a range of tissues.
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PMID:Prenatal programming of postnatal endocrine responses by glucocorticoids. 1236 63

Cushing's syndrome is associated with hypertension in approximately 80% of cases. Hypertension contributes to the marked increased mortality risk of past or current Cushing's syndrome, largely because of increased cardiovascular risk. Observation of the pathophysiological effect of chronically elevated ACTH and cortisol values in patients with ectopic ACTH secretion complements the available data from acute studies of the effects of ACTH and glucocorticoid infusions in normal volunteers. In a retrospective case review, we identified 58 patients with Cushing's syndrome caused by ectopic ACTH secretion, who were treated at the National Institutes of Health between 1983-1997. The diagnosis of an ectopic ACTH cause was confirmed by inferior petrosal sinus sampling and/or pathologic examination of tumor. The commonest causes were bronchial carcinoid (40%) and thymic carcinoid (10%), but 18 of 58 (31%) patients had an unknown source of ectopic ACTH. Hypertension (systolic blood pressure >140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure >90 mmHg in adults) was noted in 45 of 58 (78%) ectopic Cushing's patients, a prevalence similar to that noted in other endogenous Cushing's syndrome etiologies. Hypertension was severe, deemed to require 3 or more drugs by the treating physicians, in 26 of 58 (45%) patients. Hypokalemia was much more prevalent than in patients with other causes of Cushing's syndrome, affecting 33 of 58 (57%) patients. The range of plasma ACTH (17-1557 pg/mL, normal <60) and 24-hour urine cortisol (UC) excretion (192-1600 mcg/24 hr, normal <90) allowed analysis of the influence of these hormones on blood pressure and plasma potassium. There was a significant relationship between 24-hour UC excretion and the presence of hypokalemia (P = 0.003). Eight of nine patients with a UC >6000 mcg/24 hr had hypokalemia. There was no relation between ACTH level and hypokalemia. In addition, we did not find blood pressure severity to be related to UC excretion or ACTH levels. Urine and plasma cortisol and cortisol metabolite measurements suggest that cortisol may act as a mineralocorticoid when in excess, perhaps by saturating the 11beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase (11beta-HSD2 enzyme) that inactivates cortisol at the renal tubule. The current data suggest that high cortisol levels may be the principal cause of hypokalemic alkalosis in Cushing's syndrome, rather than inhibition of the 11betaHSD2 enzyme by ACTH or the effects of adrenal steroid biosynthetic intermediaries with mineralococorticoid activity.
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PMID:Association of hypertension and hypokalemia with Cushing's syndrome caused by ectopic ACTH secretion: a series of 58 cases. 1238 48


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