Deconvolution Analysis as a Hormone Pulse-Detection Algorithm

Abstract

This chapter describes an iterative parametric deconvolution technique to identify and quantitate basal and pulsatile hormone release, while concurrently estimating endogenous hormone half lives. Simulated examples of the application of this methodology indicate that at least for plausible synthetic time series, this parametric deconvolution approach is superior to the CLUSTER method in locating hormone secretion events. PULSE4 also provides crucial information about secretion-event burst mass, elimination half-lives, and basal secretion. The accompanying simulations also offer guidelines about the features of the experimental data that are required for an accurate characterization of the pulsatile nature of hormone release. The sampling frequency should be such that there are approximately four or more data points per elimination half-life. Parametric deconvolution-based hormone pulse identification methods also have specific limitations in the maximum detectable hormone pulse frequency. After each secretion event, the concentration of the hormone begins to decrease according to the elimination kinetics. To accurately parameterize the elimination process and basal secretion, a significant amount of elimination must take place before the next secretion event.