Adrenal Flashcards
the adrenals are a pair of glands weighing a total of about ____g, which are located one near each _____.
10g
kidney
each adrenal is actually ___ glands in one, the outer _____ that produces _____ and inner _____ that produces _____.
2 outer adrenal cortex steroid hormones (cortisol, androgens) inner adrenal medulla catecholamines (NE & E)
the adrenal cortex is around ____% of adrenal mass
90%
the adrenal medulla is around ____% of adrenal mass
10%
blood flowing through adrenal cortex drains into medullary ______, hence part of the blood supply supplying adrenal medulla is rich in _______.
what is the clinical significance of this? (what is the function)
medullary capillary sinusoids
corticosteroids (cortical steroids)
the corticosteroid-rich blood modulates or fine-tunes the ratio of E:NE released from the medulla such that elevated cortisol will increase the proportion of E
T/F: cortisol increases ratio of epinephrine secreted from adrenal medulla
TRUE
What are the 3 layers of the adrenal cortex and what does each produce? (superficial to deep)
- zona glomerulosa - aldosterone
- zona fasciculata - cortisol
- zona reticularis - cortisol & androgens (dehydroepiandosterone & androsternedione)
what are the 2 androgens that are produced in the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex?
dehydroepiandosterone
androstenedione
T/F: you can live without the adrenal cortex (loss by disease or surgery)
FALSE - you will die within 1-2 weeks
What is the most likely cause of death from loss of the adrenal cortex by disease or surgery?
what happens when calorie intake is limited?
sodium depletion –> circulatory collapse
hypoglycemia
what are the 2 types of adrenocortical hormones? what does each produce? what is the function of each hormone produced?
- mineralocorticoids - aldosterone (Na/K+ balance)
2. glucocorticoids - cortisol (maintaining carbohydrate reserves)
T/F: the adrenal androgens have stronger effects than those of male testicular hormones (T, DHT) in puberty
FALSE - similar but weaker than male hormones
T/F: adrenal androgrens appear to be of importance in both sexes in mediating changes occurring in puberty
TRUE
How does the fetal adrenal compare with adult? what does it have?
fetal adrenal is bigger, for body size, than that of the adult
large steroidogenic “fetal zone”
The adrenal medulla embryologically arises from ____ and is innervated by neurons whose cell bodies reside in the _________. axons from these cells pass through the __________ to form ______ nerves.
neuroectoderm
spinal cord
paravertebral sympathetic ganglia
splanchnic nerves
The adrenal medulla stores _____g of catecholamines in _____ granules within ______ cells that stain with ______.
5-6g
secretory
chromaffin
chromium
the cells of the adrenal medulla are modified ____neurons
post-ganglionic
what do adrenal cortical hormones derive from?
cholesterol
what is the rate-limiting step in cortisol synthesis?
the first step: cholesterol –> pregnenolone
what is the role of StAR? (steroid acute regulatory protein)
stimulates transport of cholesterol from cytosol into the mitochondria where it can be acted on by enzyme –> pregnenolone
T/F: mineralocorticoid activity is predominantly associated with aldosterone and glucocorticoid activity with cortisol
TRUE
T/F: cortisol has both glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid effect
TRUE
why doesn’t cortisol bind and influence mineralocorticoid receptors?
mineralocorticoid sensitive tissues contain Type II 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (Type2 11beta-HSDH) that converts cortisol into cortisone, reducing mineralocorticoid effect
what is the role of Type II 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase
cortisol –> cortisone (reduce mineralocorticoid effect of cortisol)
steroid secretion represents _____ synthesis, since steroid hormones can’t be stored.
de novo (synthesis from scratch)
T/F: catecholamines of adrenal medulla cannot be adequately stored
FALSE - stored in chromaffin cells
T/F: steroid hormones cross the membrane by going down their concentration gradient to enter circulation
TRUE - lipid soluble, so passively diffuse through membrane down their conc gradient
in circulation, what are steroid hormones bound to? (3)
transcortin (plasma binding protein)
CBG (corticosteroid binding globulin)
plasma albumin
most adrenal androgens travel in circulation bound to ______ and in the _____ form
albumin
sulfated
how does glucocorticoid binding of albumin differ from that of mineralocorticoids like aldosterone? % bound?
how does this binding affect the hormone effect (half life)?
glucocorticoids binding is favored over aldosterone
95% of glucocorticoids bound
60% of aldosterone bound
glucocorticoids have longer half life in plasma (90 minute vs 30 minutes for aldosterone) and has longer hormonal effect
how does half life and stability of DHEAS differ from that of glucocorticoids/mineralocorticoids?
DHEAS more stable
half life 10-20 hours (longest)
total plasma conc exceeds of other adrenal steroids in young adults
T/F: clearance of hormones is largely by renal/hepatic mechanisms
TRUE
compare b/w steroid hormones and peptide/amine hormones:
entry into cells
binding to what?
target
steroid entry: passive diffusion
peptide entry: don’t enter (work via secondary messengers at membrane)
steroid binding: cytoplasmic receptor proteins
peptide binding: plasma membrane receptors
steroid target: nucleus
peptide target: plasma membrane
what receptors do mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids bind in cytosol? is there overlap?
mineralocorticoids bind type 1 receptors
glucocorticoids bind preferentially to type 2 receptors but can also bind to type 1 but usually intercepted in mineralocorticoid-sensitive tissues by type2beta11HSDH and inactivated
where are the greatest amounts of type 1 receptor for mineralocorticoids found?
kidney
colon
sweat/salivary glands
give the full mechanism in which steroid hormones affect gene trx
free steroid hormones diffuse through plasma membrane of cell
displace heat shock proteins (HSP90) which give up receptors that can now bind to ligand/hormone
HR complex enters nuclear membrane and binds to HRE (palindromic on DNA)
affected DNA sequence creates appropriate proteins for hormonal response
ACTH is derived from what pituitary prohormone?
it is required for the normal function of the zona ____ and zona ______. ACTH is the controlling factor for the synthesis/secretion of _____. in the absence of ACTH, the 2 zonas _____.
POMC
zone fasciculata and reticularis (where is secretes cortisol)
cortisol and androgens
atrophy
T/F: ACTH binds to only receptors in the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex
FALSE - ACTH binds to receptors in all three layers of the adrenal cortex
in the zona glomerulosa, ACTH has a (major/minor) role in aldosterone production, although the prime regulator in this layer is _____.
minor
AngII
what layer of the adrenal cortex has necessary enzymes for DHEA production?
zona reticularis
how does ACTH stimulate the production of androgrens (steroid hormones)?
give the mechanism with all substrates and related enzymes
ACTH binds to receptor –> rise in intracellular cAMP
production of StAR protein that stimulates entry of cholesterol from cytosol to mitochondria –> cholesterol into pregnenolone
T/F: ACTH stimulation of steroid hormone secretion takes hours
1-2 minutes (peaking 15 minutes)
what controls the production of ACTH?
CRH (hypothalamic neuron)
T/F: ACTH has a circadian rhythm
TRUE
T/F: cortisol has a circadian rhythm
TRUE
How does ACTH secretion rates differ in the morning and evening?
peak rate in the morning before you wake up
steady decline in the evening hours
How does cortisol secretion rates differ in the morning and evening?
same as ACTH
peak rate in the morning (cortisol wakes you up)
steady decline in the evening hours