Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P01189 (beta-endorphin)
 21,003 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The purpose of this study was to compare the steroidogenic potential of the granulosa, theca, and medullary tissues from polycystic and normal ovaries. These ovarian endocrine compartments were isolated from appropriate ovaries and were cultured in vitro for three days in the absence (control) and presence of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)/luteinizing hormone (LH) (1 lU/ml), N6,O2-dibutyryladenosine-3':5''-cyclic monophosphoric acid (Bu2cAMP) (10(-2)M), and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) (1.3 U/ml). After the incubation, steroids in the media were measured by radioimmunoassay. Granulosa cells (10(5) cells per dish) from 4 to 7 mm follicles of normal and polycystic ovaries secreted progesterone spontaneously during the culture period and the production of progesterone was markedly stimulated (between tenfold and thirtyfold) by gonadotropins and Bu2cAMP but not by ACTH. Little, if any, androgen (androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, and testosterone) or estrogen (estrone and estradiol) accumulated in the media of any granulosa cell culture. The control cultures of theca tissue from normal and polycystic ovaries secreted large amounts of androstenedione and progesterone and the production of these steroids by normal and polycystic ovary theca was stimulated in most cases by LH/FSH and Bu2cAMP but not by ACTH. Both normal and polycystic ovary theca secreted some testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone but little, if any, estrone or estradiol accumulated in any theca culture. The medullary tissue of normal and polycystic ovaries produced only trace amounts of steroids in vitro except for the results from one polycystic ovary with hyperthecosis in which case significant quantities of C19 and C18 steroids were secreted. These experiments have demonstrated that isolated granulosa and theca cells from midantral follicles of normal and polycystic ovaries have a similar capacity to secrete C21 and C19 steroids in the absence and presence of trophic agents. Therefore, it seems probable that chronic anovulation in patients with polycystic ovaries is not caused by an obvious deficiency in the de novo steroidogenic potential of the multiple midantral follicles of the polycystic ovaries or by the absence of gonadotropin receptors on the polycystic ovary follicular cells.
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PMID:Endocrine studies of normal and polycystic ovarian tissues in vitro. 22 Aug 77

We report a radioimmunoassay sensitive enough to determine 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations in 200 microliter of parotid fluid or mixed whole saliva. Because the correlation of concentrations in matched samples of parotid fluid and saliva was excellent (r = 0.98), we exclusively used saliva, which is easier to collect, in later studies. The assay is specific; saliva samples assayed with and without thin-layer chromatographic purification showed no significant difference. The assay is also precise, and has a lower limit of sensitivity of 4 pg per assay tube. In 14 patients having congenital adrenal hyperplasia from a C21-hydroxylase enzyme deficiency, all of whom were receiving cortisol replacement therapy, the range in 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations observed in saliva (67-26,300 pmol/L) was about 20-fold that seen in 32 healthy children (90-1520 pmol/L). The close correlation (r = 0.91) between 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations in matched samples of saliva and plasma from these patients indicates that determination of steroids in saliva could well replace determination in plasma. This concept is supported by 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations monitored throughout 24 h from one patient and following stimulation with synthetic corticotropin in another patient.
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PMID:Radioimmunoassay of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone in saliva, parotid fluid, and plasma of congenital adrenal hyperplasia patients. 46 63

Some newer knowledge concerning the metabolism of the ascorbic acid as well as its importance for the pituitary gland, the adrenal glands, the immune system and the bone formation are described. A large enrichment of the ascorbic acid is present in the pituitary gland and in the adrenal glands. In the pituitary gland the compound is constituent of the Cu-containing peptidyl-glycine-alpha-amidizating-monooxygenase which among others is necessary for the formation of alpha-MSH a lack of ascorbic acid diminishes the formation of alpha-MSH at stress the increased binding of ACTH to the cells of the middle and inner layer of the adrenal cortex leads to the fact that about 40 to 60% of the quantity of ascorbic acid are delivered. This evokes an increase of the activity of the adenylate cyclase as well as of the C21-hydroxylase: The synthesis and secretion of glucocorticosteroids increases. When there is a deficiency of ascorbic acid the content of cortisol in the plasma increases. The ascorbic acid is a constituent of the dopamine-beta-hydroxylase.
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PMID:[Some recent discoveries of metabolism and function of ascorbic acid]. 219 15

The effects of prolonged treatment with corticotropin (ACTH1-24, 200 micrograms s.c. daily during 12 days) on the production of androgens and glucocorticoids were studied on rabbit dispersed adrenocortical cells. The steroidogenic capacity of adrenocortical cells, expressed in terms of the maximal response to ACTH of glucocorticoid (i.e. corticosterone and cortisol) production, was significantly increased after treatment with ACTH. This was associated with a loss of sensitivity to this peptide: indeed, the concentration of ACTH required to induce a half maximal secretory response was one order of magnitude higher with cells from ACTH-treated animals. Among the C21 steroids measured the changes observed involved the 17 alpha-hydroxylated compounds (cortisol, cortisone, 11-deoxycortisol) while corticosterone production was significantly depressed. This effect of prolonged ACTH treatment on steroidogenic pathways involving 17 alpha-hydroxylation, was further evidenced by a clear-cut enhancement in androgen secretion (dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione and testosterone) by adrenocortical cells from ACTH-treated animals. The changes observed after treatment of the animal with ACTH were equally obvious, whether the adrenocortical cells were incubated with ACTH or with dibutyryl-c-AMP.
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PMID:Enhanced androgen production by rabbit adrenocortical cells stimulated chronically with corticotropin: evidence for increased 17 alpha-hydroxylase activity. 300 69