According to a recent study, enzymes that are used for synthesis of steroids in snails, insects, and corals are not related to those used in humans.

This research included French and American scientists, including Michael E. Baker, PhD, professor in UC San Diego’s Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology-Hypertension at the Université de Lyon, ENS Lyon.

The research was helpful in offering a clear insight into the evolution of steroid hormone signaling. It also studied the relationship of steroid synthesis to enzymes, which detoxify many harmful chemicals in the environment.

Vincent Laudet, Professor in the Institute of Functional Genomics of Lyon, Division of Molecular Zoology remarked that the toxic effects of chemicals on corals and snails continue to remain a great cause of environmental concern.

From Scienedaily.com:

Steroids hormones are key to many vital physiological responses in humans, ranging from anti-inflammatory agents to regulating events during pregnancy. They are also the target of many chemical pollutants, known as endocrine disruptors. As part of a program to understand the evolution of steroid hormone signaling, Laudet – along with Gabriel Markov, a student in the Institute of Functional Genomics, initially trained by Raquel Tavares at Université de Lyon, characterized the evolutionary relationships between proteins that synthesize steroids in animals. They traced the origin of such enzymes from vertebrates, insects, snails and jelly fish and interpreted these results through extensive discussions with Baker, Chantal Dauphin-Villemant at Université Paris 6, and Barbara Demeneix from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Through an analysis of several invertebrate genomes, the scientists discovered that snails and insects utilize steroid-synthesizing enzymes that are not vertebrate–related, but instead belong in an invertebrate family. Moreover, these invertebrate steroidogenic enzymes have a strong evolutionary connection to enzymes that detoxify chemicals (called xenobiotics).

This unexpected finding led them to hypothesize that these steroid-synthesizing enzymes arose independently from specific pathways used by snails and worms for detoxifying environmental chemicals.

Laudet added that the findings strongly emphasize on the need of more cross-disciplinary studies between zoologists, endocrinologists, and toxicologists.

Tags: evolution of steroid hormone signaling, steroid hormone, steroid hormone signaling, steroids, synthesis of steroids

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A study conducted by the University of Utah genetics researchers revealed that ecdysone, a steroid hormone, can play an important role in controlling an important phase in the embryonic development of insects. This study has provided an unexpected parallel with the role played by ecdysone in controlling metamorphosis.

Carl S. Thummel, Ph.D., a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of human genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine, said that there is very little known about the roles played by hormones during development of embryonic despite the fact that several studies have established an important role for it to control insect metamorphosis.

From News.Bio-Medicine.Org:

“To find the answer, Thummel and Tatiana Kozlova, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research associate, looked at the activation pattern of the receptor for ecdysone. They found that this receptor is highly activated in an extraembryonic tissue called amnioserosa, a tissue that does not itself form part of the embryo, but is nonetheless required for embryonic development. Thummel said the source of ecdysone in the early embryo, prior to the development of the insect endocrine organ, has always baffled scientists. “Our findings suggest that the earliest source of hormone is the amnioserosa,” he said, “although other sources are likely to contribute at later times.”

In addition, Kozlova and Thummel found that disruption of ecdysone signaling resulted in defects in major morphogenetic movements–germband retraction and head involution–that were known to be dependent on the amnioserosa.

These processes convert the body plan from a nondescript embryo to a larva with distinct segments, in preparation for the next stage of development.

This role for ecdysone is unexpectedly similar to the role that the hormone plays in converting the body plan of the larva into an adult insect during metamorphosis, uncovering a new hormone-dependent phase in the insect life cycle.”

Thummel was of the view that amnioserosa is an important source of steroids despite not being a part of the embryo like the placenta. He also remarked that this study is critical to geneticists for understanding the role played by steroid hormones in controlling movement of cells and maturation in the general parlance.

Tags: ecdysone, insect embryonic development, metamorphosis, steroid hormone, steroids

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In a recent study, UK researchers reported that adolescent boys suffering from Asperger syndrome did not show any response linked with cortisol flow. Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland and released in response to stress. Upon awakening there is a surge to cortisol, which can explain some of the symptoms of Asperger syndrome.

The research team explained in an article published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology that along with other functions, the ability to adapt changes is controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which controls increase of cortisol during awakening period and this is referred as “the cortisol awakening response.”

“The cortisol awakening response is a robust and reproducible neuroendocrine phenomenon which has been positively correlated with psychological and physical well-being,” they added.

Dr. Mark Brosnan from University of Bath and his colleagues said that their study focused on the lack of response in individuals with Asperger syndrome. They also said that the research might help in explaining why such people face difficulties if even minor changes happened in their routine or environment.

From Reuters:

Upon awakening, there is normally a surge in cortisol, a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland and released in response to stress. Now, UK researchers report that this response is absent in adolescent boys with Asperger syndrome, which may explain some of the symptoms of the condition, such as the need for routine and resistance to change.

Among other functions, the ability to adapt to change is controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which controls the dramatic increase in cortisol upon awakening, referred to as “the cortisol awakening response,” the study team explains in an article in press in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

“The cortisol awakening response is a robust and reproducible neuroendocrine phenomenon which has been positively correlated with psychological and physical well-being,” they add.

During the research, the investigators measured cortisol amount in saliva of 20 adolescent males with the problem and 18 normal control individual at the time of awakening and 30 minutes later. A significant cortisol awakening response was evident in the control group while in the Asperger group the response was absent.

Brosnan and colleagues write in the article that in the study, the typical marked rise in cortisol peaks around 30 minutes after waking and was found of required level only in developing control group. Therefore, Asperger syndrome, at least in adolescent males, appeared to be characterized by an impaired cortisol awakening response. However, they also said that further research would be required to address this “intriguing phenomenon” in Asperger syndrome.

Tags: Asperger syndrome, cortisol, steroid hormone

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Several weeks ago it was Chinese dairy products contaminated with industrial chemical melamine that had caught international attention. Now, another Chinese product has been getting publicity – very bad publicity – since it has been discovered to be tainted with a potentially hazardous ingredient.

A skin cream, which has been used to treat eczema in babies, was discovered to contain clobetasol propionate, a steroid hormone. The Miaoling Medical Technology Group, manufacturer of the product, said it had recalled and stopped production of the cream.

Clobetasol, technically a corticosteroid, is  used in medicines prescribed for dermatologic and gynecologic treatments. Although the hormone is used to treat skin disorders, it is not recommended to be used on children under 12 years old.

Among the side effects of this hormone include changes in blood sugar and Cushing’s syndrome, an endocrine disorder characterized by rapid weight gain often referred to as central obesity and a ‘moon face’.

The packaging of the cream stated that it only contained 25 natural ingredients and clostebol was not listed as one of these ingredients.

According to AFP report, the company’s license is likely to be revoked.

A report published in Xiaoxiang Morning News in central China said that an eight-month-old girl in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, had appeared to menstruate after being given the cream for seven months. Doctors there said the hormone was the cause.

Tags: Chinese cream, clobetasol propionate, corticosteroid, steroid hormone, steroids

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