Endocrine System Flashcards
What is the meaning of endocrine?
hormone that is produced and secreted within the body, acts at a distance from the release site
What is the meaning of exocrine?
hormone which is secreted outside the body
What is paracrine?
acts on nearby cells
What is autocrine?
acts on its own secreting cell
What is neuroendocrine?
synthesized by nervous tissue and carried in blood
What is a gland?
cluster of cells organized for synthesis/release of compound, glands can be exocrine or endocrine
What is a hormone?
regulatory chemicals produced in an endocrine gland or scattered cells, secreted into the blood and carried to its target cell that responds by altering its metabolism
- Involved in maintaining homeostasis
- Subjected to tight regulation by feedback from target organs
- Regulation of hormones synthesis and mode of action differ greatly based on their structure
What is feedback control?
cyclic loops that control the amount of hormone released
What is a steroid hormone?
stepwise conversion of cholesterol by multiple enzymes
What type of solubility do steroid hormones possess?
lipid-soluble = leave production cells and enter target organ by diffusion throguh the membrane
What are peptides, proteins and glycoproteins made out of?
chains of amino acids = sequence determines the primary structure and nature
What are the steps of turning DNA into a protein?
DNA -> (txn in nucleus) mRNA -> (tln in ribosome or cytosol) protein
What are two types of post translational modifications of proteins?
glycosylation = carbohydrate chains attached
phosphorylation = phosphate group attached
Where are proteins modified/packaged?
in ER and golgi
How are proteins secreted?
exocytosis
What are two hormones that are amino acid derivatives?
thyroid hormones and catecholamines which are generally derived from tyrosine and tryptophane
What is a hormone that is a fatty acid derivative?
prostaglandins, derived from cell membrane phospholipids (arachidonic acid)
Where are fatty acid derived hormones produced and what type of effects can they have?
produced locally, have mainly autocrine, paracrine effects
Where is the pineal gland located?
roof of the 3rd ventricle encapsulated by meninges
What does the pineal gland secrete?
melatonin
What is the pineal gland under influence by?
direct influence of the hypothalamic circadian center
What is the role of the pineal gland and when is it secretion necessary?
major role during sleep patterns and recognition of seasons, melatonin secretion is stimulated during dark phases
What are the hormone secretions of the GI tract?
Stomach wall: gastrin, local stimulation of acid secretion
SI
- secretin: stimulates pancreas
- cholecystokinin: stimulates pancreas and gall bladder
- gastric inhibitory peptide: inhibits stomach activity
What are the hormone secretions of the kidney?
renin: increases aldosterone secretion by adrenal cortex
erythropoietin: increases production of RBCs in bone marrow
What are the hormone secretions by the adipose tissue?
adipocytes release leptins and other adipokins
Where can leptin receptors be found?
in the hypothalamus
What do leptins give us information about?
energy storage status, and regulates appetite
Draw out the table in Endocrine I
refer to slides
What are the functions of hormones?
hormones are secreted in the blood and act at a distance from the release site, they need to travel in the blood (solubility), survive long enough and be active at the target site, hormones trigger specific actions in specific target cells, principle of action is based on hormone biochemical structure/properties
What is the requirement for hormone recognition?
a receptor
What are the two types of hormones?
lipophillic hormones
water soluble hormones
What are some properties of lipophillic hormones?
- insoluble in water
- diffuse out of producing cells
- circulate mainly bound to carriers in the blood
- diffuse in target cells: intracellular receptors
What are some properties of water soluble hormones?
- secreted (exocytosis)
- circulate free in the blood (except IGF-1)
- stay out of target cell: surface extracellular receptor
- cannot pass the phospholipid membrane barrier
What are two lipophillic hormones?
steroid and thyroid hormones
What are some specific and non-specific carrier proteins for lipophillic hormones?
specific - globulins (CBG, DBG, SHBG, TBG)
non-specific - albumin and prealbumin
What is a distinct characteristic of lipohillic hormone carrier proteins?
they are big, they keeps the hormones in the vessel and prevent hormone degradation
What happens to the lipophillic hormone not bound to a carrier protein?
remains free and diffuses to the tissues
What makes a lipophillic hormone active?
free hormones not bound to carrier proteins, however these hormones are also susceptible to degradation
Are bound or free hormones involved in feedback loops?
free form
What is the point of a carried hormone?
serves as a hormone reservoir, hormone buffer and hormone protector
Draw the graph of the carrier protein chart from endocrine II
refer to slides
Describe how lipophillic hormones take action on target tissue
- free hormones diffuse through PM of target
- binds to a specific intracellular recepor (nuclear hormone receptor - NHR)
- hormone-receptor complex translocates to the nucleus and binds to specific DNA sequence (response element)
- stimulates gene expression - de novo protein synthesis
- after acting, hormones dissociate form the receptor, can be partly degraded in target cells (T3/4) and then goes back to circulation and degraded in the liver
What is NHR considered?
txn factor
What is the special case of NHR in thyroid hormones?
NHR is already in the nucleus and hormones diffuse all the way there
What are the four parts of a nuclear hormone receptor (NHR)?
ligand binding domain: binds hormone
DNA binding domain: binds DNA of the target gene
activation domain: stimulates gene transcription
orphan receptor: NHR cloned but no ligand found (yet)
Are lipophillic hormones slow or fast acting?
slow - the action affects the synthesis of new proteins by gene regulation
What are some special characteristics of water soluble hormone action?
- secreted in vesicle by exocytosis
- bind to specific receptors on surface of target cell
- do not enter the cell to act: need second messengers
- receptor is key mediator between hormone and second messenger
What are two types of water soluble hormone?
proteins and catecholamines
What type of hormone has a cell surface receptor?
water soluble
How do cell surface receptors work? Structure?
- hydrophobic region: hiding in the membranes phospholipids (TMD)
- hydrophilic regions located outside (exracellular domain ECD) and inside (intracellular domain ICD) the cell
- hormone receptor: activated of intracellular second messengers
What are the major types of cell surface receptors and their second messengers?
G-proteins coupled: adenylate cyclase (cAMP) and phospholipase C (Ca2+)
tyrosine kinase: auto phosphorylation
interleukin/cytokine family: JAK-STAT
serine kinase (TGFbeta) family: SMADs
What is the G-protein coupled receptor pathway?
- hormone binds to a receptor coupled to g-proteins
- change in receptor conformation = exchange of GDP with GTP on Galpha SU
- Galpha SU dissociated from beta gamma SU and activates a membrane protein
- activated membrane protein stimulates a cascade of second messengers
- the second messengers elicit the biological response in the cell
How many major types of G-proteins are there?
3
What is the adenylate cyclase-cAMP-pKA characteristics?
- receptor coupled to G-proteins alpha(s) or alpha(i)
- membrane associated enzyme is Adenylate cyclase (AC)
- Galpha(s) stimulates AC; Galpha(i) inhibits AC
- AC hydrolyses ATP into cyclic AMP (cAMP)
What is the phospholipase C pathway (PLC)?
- receptor coupled to G-protein alpha(q)
- membrane associated protein is PLC
- Galpha(q) stimulates PLC
- results in the activation of: Ca2+ and protein kinase C = phosphorylation cascade followed by biological action
What is the tyrosine kinase receptor pathway?
- binding of hormone
- activation of receptor
- autophosphorylation
- becomes a kinase
- phosphorylates tyrosines on target proteins
Does the tyrosine kinase receptor need a second messenger?
no, it directly phosphorylates target proteins
What are the three domains of a tyrosine kinase receptor?
- transmembrane domain
- extracellular domain for ligand recognition
- cytoplasmic domain with autophosphorylation site that transmits regulatory signals and contains ATP binding sites
What are the receptors for cytokines?
GH, prolactin, erythropoietin, interferons and interleukins
Do receptors for cytokines have intrinsic kinase activity?
no
What are some characteristics of cytokine receptors?
- receptor exists as monomer, binding of hormone causes dimerization and binding of JAS tyrosine kinase which phosphorylates the receptor
- phosphotyrosine act as docking sites for intracellular signalling molecules - STATs which activate various genes
How does the serine kinase receptor work?
- binding of hormone results in heterodimer formation: receptor I + receptor II
- RII is specific to the hormone. after binding, H-RII complex recruits RI (same RI can be recruited by different H-RII complexes)
- serine residues on RI get phosphorylates by RII
- activated receptor phosphorylates Smads proteins that will dimerize, translocate in the nucleus and modulate gene txn
What is a serine kinase receptor?
TGFbeta family (activin, inhibitin, MIS) mainly involved in control of cell proliferation and differentiation
How do cell surface receptors have a large impact?
cascade of intracellular messengers amplifies the signal several thousand times
What do actions on the target cells depend on for cell surface receptors?
specific effects on target cells depend on the type and amount of messenger activated
What are two types of effects of a hormone?
immediate effect: enzyme activation, exocytosis
slow effect: stimulation of gene txn, de novo protein synthesis
What happens to the receptor-hormone complex after signal is transmitted?
receptor-hormone complex is internalised
- fuses to lysosome and is degraded
- dissociates and receptor is recycled to cell surface
What are some characteristics of the hypothalamus?
major integration center
- part of the brain
- regulates ANS and most of endocrine
- processes most sensory info
Where is the pituitary gland located?
- small gland attached to the hypothalamus
What are the three parts of the pituitary gland?
posterior lobe: neurons from hypothalamus
anterior lobe: major endocrine part (glandular tissue)
intermediate: major function in amphibians and fish
What is the hypothalamo-pituitary axis?
the major form of communication between the hypothalamus and the pituitary
Describe how the hypothalamo-pit axis works
since the hypothalamus is composed of neuroendocrine cells some project axons down post pit and some release factors into pit stalk portal venous system to feed the anterior pit
- endocrine cells from ant and int pit release their hormones in a second capillary network to enter systemic circ
What is the role of the intermediate pit in mammals?
produces MSH (melanocyte stimulating hormone which increases skin pigment)
produces beta LPA: which is released during stress (analgesia)
What are the two hormones that the post pit releases?
ADH (vasopressin) and oxytocin
Where are oxytocin and ADH produced?
In cell body of hypothalamic neurons
How are oxytocin and ADH released from the post pit?
transported to the pit along axons in vesicles, stored in nerve endings, released when AP is fired, after secretion, hormones diffuse into blood vessels
What is the role of ADH?
regulates extracellular fluid
acts in the kidneys: regulates the density of aquaporins (water channels) in the distal tubule and collecting duct
ADH increases the reabsorption of water
What is ADH primarily regulated by?
hypothalamic osmoreceptors and stretch receptors in blood vessels
What is the primary action of oxytocin?
uterus smooth muscle: contraction during parturition
mammary gland: contraction increases pressure to drive milk towards excretory ducts and the teas (milk ejection reflex)
What is the receptor for oxytocin?
G-coupled receptor with activation of PLC (Ca pathway)
What is the secretion of oxytocin regulated by?
reflexes such as stimulation of the teat
How many cell types are there in the anterior pit?
endocrine part has 5 different cell types
How many hormones are produced in the ant pit in the endocrine part?
6 different
What are the 6 hormones that the ant pit releases?
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) - thyrotrope
LH/FSH (gonadotropins) - gonadotrope
ACTH (adrenocorticotropin) - corticotrope
GH (growth hormone) - somatotrope
PRL (prolactin) - mammotrope (lactotrope)
What are tropic effects?
regulation of other endocrine glands
Is the ant pit under direct control of the hypothal?
yes