Endocrinology Physiology Flashcards
endocrinology
-study of signaling between organs in the body —> hormones and metabolites travel through the blood to act on target tissues
-contrasts GI system that interacts with outside world
endocrine glands
use hormones to regulate other organs and organ functions directly to blood
clinical endocrinology
-deals with diseases that affect the “classic” endocrine organs like the thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary, adrenals, pancreatic islets, and gonads (ovaries and testes) as well as osteoporosis, lipid disorders and hypertension, and obesity
-overlaps with other specialties: ENDO pancreas (islets) vs EXOCRINE pancreas (digestion) managed by GI
basic science
-study of hormones and their actions
-receptors, intercellular signalling, transcriptional regulation, intracellular communication within a tissue or between organs
-leads to the discovery of new hormones, newly recognized functions of known hormones, and emergence of diseases
endocrine vs nervous systems
-endocrine relies on release of hormones into bloodstream @ a distance that is indirect
-with nervous system, the release is localized and has direct communication
-endocrine targets all tissues, while the nervous targets neurons, muscles, some endocrine gland cells, and fat cells
-the effect onset of the nervous is immediate/rapid, whereas the effect onset for the endocrine is gradual
-the effect duration for the nervous is very short and for the endocrine short to long
-the effect recovery for the nervous is fast, while the effect recovery for the endocrine is variable
hormone
chemical signal secreted into the bloodstream to act on distant tissues to regulate function of a target cell
what are the two types of hormones?
-act on nuclear receptors
-act on cell surface receptors
nuclear receptors
-“classic” hormones
-thyroid hormones (derived from tyrosine)
-steroid hormones (derived from cholesterol) —> with intact steroid nucleus (gonadal and adrenal steroids) and with broken steroid nucleus (vitamin D)
cell surface receptors
-require signal transduction via second messengers intracellularly
-polypeptides —> some are small (TRH is 3 amino acids), some are big (GH is ~200 amino acids), and some are glyosylated (TSH, FSH, LH, and hCG)
-monamines and derivatives (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine)
-prostaglandins
nuclear receptor hormones structures
multiple ring structure with substitutions that define how they bind
nuclear receptor superfamily
comprised of:
-steroid hormone receptors (estrogens, progesterone, androgen, glucocorticoids, mineralcorticoids)
-heterodimeric receptors (retinoic acid, thyroid hormones, vitamin D, oxysterols, bile acids, xenobiotics)
-orphan receptors (SF-1, LRH-1, SHP, TLX)
cell surface receptors
peptide hormones and amine derivatives
mechanism of nuclear receptor hormones
nuclear receptors reside inside the cell —> binding of the ligand will translocate the nucleus —> regulate transcription
mechanisms of cell surface receptor hormones
growth factor receptors like receptor tyrosine kinases and G-protein coupled like the seven membrane spanning domain receptor like E, NE, TRH, GnRH, LH, FSH
where do endocrine hormones act?
hormone is secreted into the bloodstream —> transported to another site (target), where it it exerts its function (stimulatory or inhibitory)
where do paracrine hormones act?
hormone acts locally on nearby cells (sex steroids in the ovary)
where do autocrine hormones act?
hormone acts locally on the cell that produced it (insulin)
where do hormones come from?
-several endocrine glands that make specific hormones that could be studied
-ductless (do not have a duct system like liver or pancreas) and highly vascularized
-there are “classical” endocrine glands
-many “non-classical” endocrine organs have primary functions
“classical” endocrine glands
discrete organs with hormone secretion as their primary functions
how do hormones get where they are going? hormone synthesis and release (secretion)
-cells generating hormones will secrete from pool of precursors in regulated fashion to the bloodstream
-tonic/basal secretion @ low levels then stimulated secretion in response to stimulus measured by cell
-populations of hormone levels in the blood can vary —> stochastic spitting out in relation to environment and cycles that are periodic especially during the day Ex. circadian rhythm
how do hormones circulate?
-free or bound hormones with their carriers
-need equilibrium between bound and free fraction hormones
free hormones
-the active fraction for cellular action and feedback
-amines and polypeptide hormones usually circulate free in the bloodstream with a shorter half-life since they are water soluble
-EXCEPT insulin-like growth factors bound to IGFBPs
bound hormones and their carriers
-steroid and thyroid hormones are not very water soluble —> need carrier proteins
-fraction that is bound to the carrier protein, the largest one, is inactive
-specific: TBG for T4 and T3, SHBG for T and E2, CBG for cortisol
-non-specific- albumin and pre-albumin
-EXCEPT the minerlcorticoid steroids (aldosterone) don’t have a carrier protein
-hormones that are heavily protein bound are cleared more slowly from the circulation by the liver and kidneys —> longer half-life
how to measure free and bound hormones?
-ideally in the lab one should measure the free hormone, but this is not always possible
-if you measure the total hormone and there is a carrier protein abnormality, the total hormone may not reflect accurately the free hormone
hormonal pharma: action, metabolism, and clearance
-agonist, partial agonist, antagonist
-only a small fraction of the circulating hormone is taken up by the target tissue
-the bulk clearance is done by kidneys and liver
-only a small fraction is excreted intact in urine or feces
-if the hormone is acting like a ligand, it can act as ligand for target receptor
hormonal regulation
-most organs secrete hormones then have another hormone regulating it —> stimulatory (trophic) and inhibitory
feedback
interaction between hormones