Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the historical perspective into the conceptual evolution of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD) from its pedestrian origin as an enzyme that catalyzes reversible inactivation of corticosteroids to its currently more prestigious role as mediator of steroid-receptor interactions An enzyme responsible for catalyzing the oxidation of cortisol to cortisone is found in rat liver and named “l lβ-hydroxy dehydrogenase” The transformations catalyzed by this enzyme are illustrated in the chapter The catalysis of 11-oxidation and 11-oxoreduction is not uniformly distributed among tissues In liver, 11-oxoreduction is the dominant activity; in most other tissues, it is 11β-hydroxy oxidation The recognition of clinical disorders whose symptomatology could be rationalized as being because of defects in 11-HSD expression It helps in the development of the tools—antibodies, complementary DNA (cDNA)—that facilitate exploration of the enzyme at the molecular level 11-HSD protects cells against the toxic effects of excess corticosteroid The enzyme also serves a conservationist function, as the oxidized form of the steroid can be reduced by 11-oxoreductase to its active reduced form thus contributing to the circulating cortisol, and providing a buffer against the changes in blood level caused by paroxysmal secretion of the adrenal

11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.

Determination of free, total, and esterified cholesterol by high-performance liquid chromatography

Metabolism of free and sulfoconjugated DHEA in brain tissue in vivo and in vitro.

5 – Sites of Steroid Binding and Action in the Brain

Use of nile red for the rapid in situ quantitation of lipids on thin-layer chromatograms.

Corticosteroids in human brain

The use of silica gel modified with ammonium bisulfate in thin-layer chromatography

Cortisol was found in myelinated nerve fibers of the lumbo-sacral plexus (2.0 to 6.0 µg per gram of tissue) and in the sympathetic chain with dorsal root ganglia (0.2 to 0.4 µg per gram of tissue).

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/141/3587/1275.full.pdf

Maria Kasparow

Papers

Corticosteroids in human brain

The use of silica gel modified with ammonium bisulfate in thin-layer chromatography

Cortisol from Human Nerve

Quantitative Spectrodensitometry of Silica Gel Thin Layers Impregnated With Sulfuric Acid

Quantitation of Estriol in Pregnancy Urine by Diazotic Coupling and Direct Thin Layer Densitometry