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Steroid biosynthesis

About: Steroid biosynthesis is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1721 publications have been published within this topic receiving 58977 citations.


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TL;DR: This gene ontology analysis identified a number of ontologies and genes likely to be involved in the complex mechanism of PCOS, including the insulin receptor signaling pathway, steroid biosynthesis, and the regulation of gonadotropin secretion among others.
Abstract: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex but frequently occurring endocrine abnormality. PCOS has become one of the leading causes of oligo-ovulatory infertility among premenopausal women. The definition of PCOS remains unclear because of the heterogeneity of this abnormality, but it is associated with insulin resistance, hyperandrogenism, obesity and dyslipidaemia. The main purpose of this study was to identify possible candidate genes involved in PCOS. Several genomic approaches, including linkage analysis and microarray analysis, have been used to look for candidate PCOS genes. To obtain a clearer view of the mechanism of PCOS, we have compiled data from microarray analyses. An extensive literature search identified seven published microarray analyses that utilized PCOS samples. These were published between the year of 2003 and 2007 and included analyses of ovary tissues as well as whole ovaries and theca cells. Although somewhat different methods were used, all the studies employed cDNA microarrays to compare the gene expression patterns of PCOS patients with those of healthy controls. These analyses identified more than a thousand genes whose expression was altered in PCOS patients. Most of the genes were found to be involved in gene and protein expression, cell signaling and metabolism. We have classified all of the 1081 identified genes as coding for either known or unknown proteins. Cytoscape 2.6.1 was used to build a network of protein and then to analyze it. This protein network consists of 504 protein nodes and 1408 interactions among those proteins. One hypothetical protein in the PCOS network was postulated to be involved in the cell cycle. BiNGO was used to identify the three main ontologies in the protein network: molecular functions, biological processes and cellular components. This gene ontology analysis identified a number of ontologies and genes likely to be involved in the complex mechanism of PCOS. These include the insulin receptor signaling pathway, steroid biosynthesis, and the regulation of gonadotropin secretion among others.

36 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The variety of factors that influence the EC50 and position of the dose-response curve for steroid hormone receptors are reviewed, what is known about the mechanisms is discussed, and promising areas for future research are highlighted.
Abstract: The position of the dose-response curve for steroid-regulated gene expression determines how much variation in response will accompany the normal physiological changes in circulating steroid. Over the last several years, it has become clear that the concentration of steroid hormone required for half-maximal induction or repression by a given receptor-steroid complex, which is normally called the EC50, is not constant for all responsive genes. Thus, the position of the dose-response curve can change so that a single concentration of steroid produces very different percentages of maximal activity. This, in turn, allows for the differential expression of genes by a common steroid hormone concentration during development, differentiation, and homeostasis. Here we review the variety of factors that influence the EC50 and position of the dose-response curve for steroid hormone receptors, discuss what is known about the mechanisms, and highlight promising areas for future research.

36 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, mutations in genes involved in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species were identified in patients with primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI), which is a rare condition in childhood which is either inherited or acquired.
Abstract: Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is a rare condition in childhood which is either inherited (mostly) or acquired. It is characterized by glucocorticoid and maybe mineralocorticoid deficiency. The most common form in children is 21-hydroxylase deficiency, which belongs to the steroid biosynthetic defects causing PAI. Newer forms of complex defects of steroid biosynthesis are P450 oxidoreductase deficiency and (apparent) cortisone reductase deficiency. Other forms of PAI include metabolic disorders, autoimmune disorders and adrenal dysgenesis, e.g. the IMAGe syndrome, for which the underlying genetic defect has been recently identified. Newer work has also expanded the genetic causes underlying isolated, familial glucocorticoid deficiency (FGD). Mild mutations of CYP11A1 or StAR have been identified in patients with FGD. MCM4 mutations were found in a variant of FGD in an Irish travelling community manifesting with PAI, short stature, microcephaly and recurrent infections. Finally, mutations in genes involved in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species were identified in patients with unsolved FGD. Most mutations were found in the enzyme nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase, which uses the mitochondrial proton pump gradient to produce NADPH. NADPH is essential in maintaining high levels of reduced forms of antioxidant enzymes for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Similarly, mutations in the gene for TXNRD2 involved in this system were found in FGD patients, suggesting that the adrenal cortex is particularly susceptible to oxidative stress.

36 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This Review describes the current understanding of androgen synthesis and the evidence for its role in castration resistance, and examines the evidence supporting and or rebutting the relevance of each pathway to patients with prostate cancer.
Abstract: The accumulation of high concentrations of signalling androgens within prostate tumours that progress despite use of androgen-deprivation therapy is a clinically important mechanism of the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer. In the past 5 years, data from a number of studies have increased our understanding of the enzymes and substrates involved in intratumoural androgen biosynthesis, and have implicated three competing pathways, which are likely to account for these observations. These pathways ('canonical', 'backdoor' and '5α-dione'), which can all ultimately generate the potent signalling androgen, dihydrotestosterone, involve many of the same enzymes, but differ in terms of substrate preference, reaction sequence and the organs and tissues in which they occur. For this reason, the relative importance of each pathway to the development and progression of prostate cancer remains controversial. In this Review, we describe the current understanding of androgen synthesis and the evidence for its role in castration resistance, and examine the evidence supporting and or rebutting the relevance of each pathway to patients with prostate cancer.

36 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that retinoids are capable of enhancing StAR protein, P-StAR, and steroid production in granulosa, adrenocortical, glial, and epidermal cells and indicate thatretinoid therapy may have important implications in age-related complications and diseases.

36 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202315
202221
2021117
2020109
201975
201860