抄録
Peripheral steroid hormones cross the blood-brain barriers due to their chemically lipid solubility, and act on brain tissues through intracellular receptormediated mechanisms which regulate several important brain neuronal functions. 1,2 Therefore, the brain is considered to be a target site of peripheral steroids. Additionally, new findings have been obtained which suggest that the nervous system itself may form steroids de novo. The pioneering discovery of Baulieu and his colleagues, using rodents, has opened the door of a new research field for many laboratories. Pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone, as unconjugated steroids, and their fatty acid or sulfate esters, accumulate within the brains of several mammalian species. 3-10 The brain content of these steroids remains constant even after the removal of peripheral steroids by procedures such as adrenalectomy, castration, and hypophysectomy. This suggests that the brain can synthesize steroids de novo. 3-9 In contrast to extensive mammalian studies, little is known regarding de novo steroidogenesis in the brain of nonmammalian vertebrates. We therefore looked for steroids, formed from cholesterol, in the brains of both avian 11-14 and amphibian species. 15 Independently, other groups such as the Vaudry laboratory 16 and the Schlinger laboratory 17 have also contributed to this area. The formation of several steroids from cholesterol is now known to occur in nonmammalian vertebrates. Such steroids synthesized in vertebrate brains are called neurosteroids.
本文言語 | English |
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ホスト出版物のタイトル | Neuroplasticity, Development, and Steroid Hormone Action |
出版社 | CRC Press |
ページ | 101-116 |
ページ数 | 16 |
ISBN(電子版) | 9781420041194 |
ISBN(印刷版) | 084930962X, 9780849309625 |
出版ステータス | Published - 2001 1月 1 |
外部発表 | はい |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- 神経科学(全般)
- 医学(全般)
- 生化学、遺伝学、分子生物学(全般)