Edocrinology - Lecture 1 Flashcards
What are the two major communication systems in the body
Endocrine System
Nervous System
What are the two major differences between the endocrine and nervous systems?
The route of communication
The onset and duration of their effects
What is the route of communication of the endocrine system?
Chemical signals that go through the blood
What is the onset and duration of the effects of the endocrine system?
Duration is prolonged
Onset is delayed
Why is the onset of endocrine systems delayed?
Hormones have to be released from one gland, travel through the blood, and then communicate with something else
T/F - Endocrine glands have ducts.
False. They are ductless and have a broadcast nature
The specificity of hormone responses are due to what?
Receptors (not the source of the signal)
At what levels can hormones be regulated?
Release organ (secretion) Transport (make it more/less available in the blood) Target receptor (add/remove receptors)
What are the three major classes of hormones and what are they based on?
Peptide, Steroid, Amine
They are based on chemical structure
What is the most common type of hormone?
Peptide
What is the size of peptide proteins?
Very variable…can be either 3 amino acids or very large proteins
What holds peptide proteins together?
Peptide bonds
What can cause variability in peptide hormones?
Glycosylations - adding sugars to the amino acids
What do glycosylations do to peptide hormones?
Effects the binding of the hormone to its receptors
T/F - Peptide hormones are the same between species.
False - Peptide hormones are very variable between species (species-specific) and sometimes even individuals.
This is because the amino acids are coded by the DNA
T/F - Peptides function as both hormones and neurotransmitters
True - It’s the same molecule, but it is released in the synapses and not the blood
Describe the process of peptide hormone synthesis
Prehormones are synthesized by ribosomes (they include extra amino acids and folding)
Prohormone is formed by cleaving those extra amino acids in the RER and is packaged into the Golgi
Hormone is formed by additional cleaving prior to packaging, or further cleavage can occur within the vesicle (so some get formed in the vesicle or are finished while in the vesicle)
What happens when prohormones get further cleaved in a vesicle?
Prohormone fragments get released along with the hormone
What’s an advantage of packaging and storing peptide hormones in vesicles?
Allows for quick release of a large number of hormones
Prevents the hormones from being degraded
Prevents negative feedback which prevents more hormones from being made
Steroid hormones
Relatively small lipid hormones derived from cholesterols
What are teh glandular sources of steroids?
Gonads
Adrenal cortex
Placenta
T/F - Steroids are the same between species.
True - they are products of enzymatic reactions within the cell and are not tied to the DNA
What are the 5 classifications of steroid hormones?
Progesterones Androgens Estrogens Glucocorticoids Mineralcorticoids
Where does most of the cholesterol used to make steroids come from?
Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) from circulation
Describe the process of steroid synthesis
Peptide hormones from other glands activate GPCRs, which activates adenyl cyclase, which increases cAMP, which activates PKA, which stimulates the activity of cholesterol esterases, which releases free cholesterol into the cytoplasm.
StAR binds to free cholesterol and transports it to the mitochondria
P450 enzymes in the mitochondria either add -OH or cleave C-C to make cholesterol into a steroid
Steroid gets sent to the SER to be modified
Steroidogenic enzymes
Proteins that determines which steroid is produced
What is the steoidogenic pathway?
Cholesterol –> Progesterone –> Corticosteroids or Androgens –> Estrogens
Steroidogenic enzymes
Proteins that determines which steroid is produced
T/F - Steroidogenic reactions are unidirectional and have a predictable outcome
False (kind of) - Sterodogenic reactions are in fact unidirectional. However, there are 2 possible products that can happen, it just depends on which enzymes are present and how much of them there are