Deoxycorticosterone Concentrations Research Articles

Estimation of aldosterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, 18-hydroxy-11-deoxy-corticosterone, corticosterone, cortisol and 11-deoxycortisol in human plasma by gas-liquid chromatography with electron capture detection.

A method for determining the plasma concentrations of six major corticosteroids, aldosterone, 18-hydroxy-11-deoxycorticosterone (18-OH-DOC), corticosterone, deoxycorticosterone (DOC), cortisol and 11-deoxycortisol using gas-liquid chromatography with electron capture detection is described. Esterification of suitable derivatives of these compounds with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFB) allowed detection of quantitities of steroid, ranging from 0-3 pg for androstenetrione HFB (from cortisol) to 2-3 pg for corticosterone HFB. No detectable reagent blank was obtained for any compound when water was used instead of plasma and this was also the case when plasma from an adrenalectomized subject was analysed, with the exception of 18-OH-DOC where a reproducible but negligibly small blank occurred. Coefficients of variation for replicate determinations ranged from 8% for corticosterone to 17% for aldosterone. Concentrations in a series of normal human plasma samples were as follows: aldosterone, 4-0- 18-0 ng/100 ml; 18-OH-DOC, 20-16- ng/ml; corticosterone, 0-08 - 0.-80 mug/100 ml; DOC, 2-8 - 16-0 ng/100 ml; cortisol, 2-5 - 10-0 mug/100 ml; and 11-deoxycortisol, 40-0 - 400-0 ng/100 ml. When seven normal subjects were treated with dexamethasone concentrations of DOC, cortisol and 11-deoxycortisol fell to below the limit of the normal range, those of 18-OH-DOC and corticosterone were at the lower end of the normal range while the concentration of aldosterone was not significantly affected.

Changes in steroid concentration in blood of female Tilapia aurea (teleostei, cichlidae) during initiation of spawning.

Steroids were quantitatively determined in blood of females of a bony fish, Tilapia aurea, before and after initiation of spawning. The steroids were determined by acetylatihg them with labeled acetic anhydride, collecting the acetates from a gas-liquid chromatographic column and by achieving constant specific activity of 3 derivatives prepared from the steroid acetates. By initiation of spawning the following changes in concentrations of these steroids were noted: testosterone increased 8-fold; 11-ketotestosterone increased 2.6-fold; 11²-hydroxytestosterone was detected only after initiation of spawning, and the concentration of deoxycorticosterone, a steroid postulated to be of importance in triggering ovulation, was found to increase 38-fold. No estradiol-17² was detected, although thoroughly looked for. These changes in steroid concentration in blood following initiation of reproductive activity point to the possible importance of steroids as hormones of reproduction in teleosts. (Endocrinology 95: 96...

The effect of synthetic corticotropin analogues on adrenocortical, anterior pituitary and testicular function.

ABSTRACT Plasma levels of 11-hydroxycorticosteroids (11-OHCS), deoxycorticosterone (DOC), aldosterone, Δ4-androstenedione, testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured following the intramuscular administration of αl-24 ACTH Zn and substituted αl-18 ACTH 1 mg in 5 dexamethasone-suppressed healthy male volunteers. There was a marked rise in the plasma concentration of 11-OHCS, DOC and aldosterone following the injection of each preparation, αl-24 ACTH Zn having the more prolonged duration of action of at least 24 hr. In contrast, in 2 patients with collagenoses treated with αl-24 ACTH Zn 0.5 mg im twice weekly for 27 and 48 months respectively, there was no rise in the plasma level of aldosterone following αl-24 ACTH Zn 1 mg im, whereas plasma deoxycorticosterone reached higher levels than those observed in the normal subjects in the 1 patient in whom it was estimated. The plasma level of the adrenocortical androgen, Δ4-androstenedione, increased, whereas the ...

Secretion rates and plasma levels of deoxycorticosterone and removal rates of deoxycorticosterone and aldosterone in the pregnant dog.

ABSTRACT. Plasma levels and adrenal secretion rates of deoxycorticosterone (DOC) were measured in pregnant and nonpregnant dogs by a double-isotope derivative assay.The removal rates of DOC and aldosterone were also determined following the intravenous injection of these tritiated hormones in pregnant and nonpregnant dogs. Plasma DOC concentrations averaged 2.7 (±1.3 SEM) ng⁄ml for 4 conscious pregnant dogs compared to 4.3 (±0.7) ng⁄ml for 6 nonpregnant dogs. The secretion rate of DOC in 3 anesthetized pregnant dogs averaged 377 (±51) ng⁄min compared to 503 ± 78 ng⁄min for 7 nonpregnant dogs. The differences in plasma DOC concentration and DOC secretion rate in the pregnant and nonpregnant groups were not statistically significant (NS = p > 0.05). In 4 pregnant dogs the plasma half-life ° (t½) for DOC was 24.9 min while the t½ for DOC in 5 nonpregnant dogs averaged 20.7 min (NS); the t½ for aldosterone in 5 pregnant dogs averaged 21.1 min while in 6 nonpregnant dogs the aldosterone t½ averaged 20.3 min (N...

Regulation of Steroidogenesis by Adrenocorticotropic Hormone in Isolated Adrenal Cells of Rat

Abstract The data presented with the isolated adrenal cells in the present study show that adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulates the synthesis of pregnenolone from (20S)-20-hydroxycholesterol which is cycloheximide-insensitive. The stimulatory effect of the hormone is not eliminated by preloading the cells with (20S)-20-hydroxycholesterol. Furthermore, adenosine cyclic 3':5'-monophosphate does not mimic this stimulatory action of ACTH. Previous studies from other laboratories (which have been supported from this laboratory) have shown that the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone is inhibited by cycloheximide. The transformation of cholesterol to (20S)-20-hydroxycholesterol has been shown to be the rate-limiting step and this step has been implicated to be inhibited by cycloheximide. It is, therefore, concluded from the present study that ACTH stimulates this step as well as the second step which is the conversion of (20S)-20-hydroxycholesterol to pregnenolone. This second step has been herein shown to be cycloheximide-insensitive. The latter effect of ACTH is not mediated by adenosine cyclic 3':5'-monophosphate. It is, further, proposed that the mode of action of ACTH in the isolated adrenal cell is both dependent and independent of adenosine cyclic 3':5'-monophosphate. Another observation in the present study is that exogenous cholesterol inhibits ACTH-stimulated steroidogenesis. Of further significance is the finding that high concentrations of deoxycorticosterone are formed from (20S)-20-hydroxycholesterol in the cell. This suggests that in this biosynthetic pathway, the last step, which is the conversion of deoxycorticosterone to corticosterone, is a relatively slow reaction. This latter step, however, may not be under the control of ACTH.

The effect of adrenalectomy or pharmacological inhibition of adrenocortical function on macromolecule uptake by the new‐born rat intestine

1. Bilateral adrenalectomy in 18-day-old rats resulted in an extension by approximately 4 days of the period during which the villous epithelial cells of the small intestine took up polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) of mean mol. wt. 160,000.2. The eventual termination of PVP uptake (;closure') closely resembled normal closure in control animals: the time course of the decline in uptake and the histological changes indicated that more mature ;PVP-impermeable' cells progressively ascended the villi.3. Injection of Metopirone was ineffective in animals 10 days after birth, but when injected after day 13 caused closure within 3 days.4. Metopirone injection significantly reduced the plasma concentration of corticosterone and caused a marked rise in the plasma concentration of deoxycorticosterone.5. Aminoglutethimide injection also produced precocious closure and had an effect similar to Metopirone on the plasma concentrations of corticosterone and deoxycorticosterone.6. Injection of Metopirone or aminoglutethimide increased the relative adrenal weight compared with control animals. Aminoglutethimide was more effective and caused approximately a 100% increase in adrenal weight.

The role of deoxycorticosterone in adrenal regeneration hypertension.

The role of deoxycorticosterone (DOC) in the pathogenesis of adrenal regeneration hypertension (ARH) was investigated. DOC concentration in the peripheral plasma of rats was measured by a competitive protein binding method at intervals of 1 day to 7 weeks after adrenal enucleation. Immediately after adrenal enucleation plasma DOC dropped to near unmeasurable levels but as adrenal regeneration occurred it rose rapidly to a peak at 3 weeks, approximately 6 times that of controls. The plasma concentrations attained were shown to be sufficient to account for the observed concomitant hypertension. After 3 weeks plasma levels of DOC declined gradually and reached normal levels at 7 weeks but the hypertension progressed. Hence, while DOC alone can probably account for the initiation of ARH, other factors may be involved in its maintenance. (Endocrinology91: 921, 1972)

Determination of deoxycorticosterone in plasma; Double isotope and immunoassay methods

Double isotope and radioimmunoassay (RIA) methods have been developed which are capable of determining deoxycorticosterone concentrations in human peripheral plasma. The levels found in control subjects were similar by both techniques. Using RIA, the mean level was 5 ng/100 ml plasma, with a range of 1 to 12 ng/100 ml.