Mechanisms of Hormonal

Regulation
Chapter 20

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Hormones
 General characteristics
 Specific rates and rhythms of secretion
 Diurnal, pulsatile and cyclic, and patterns depending
on circulating substances
 Operate within feedback systems
 Affect only cells with appropriate receptors
 The liver inactivates hormones, rendering the
hormones more water soluble for renal excretion

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The Endocrine System

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Regulation of Hormone Release
 Hormones are released:
 In response to an alteration in the cellular
environment
 To maintain a regulated level of certain
substances or other hormones
 Hormones are regulated by chemical,
hormonal, or neural factors
 Negative feedback
 Positive feedback
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Feedback

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Hormone Transport
 Hormones are released into the circulatory
system by endocrine glands
 Water-soluble hormones circulate in free,
unbound forms
 Lipid soluble hormones are primarily circulating
bound to a carrier

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Cellular Mechanism of Hormone
Action
 Target cell
 Up-regulation
 Down-regulation
 Hormone effects
 Direct effects
 Permissive effects

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Cellular Mechanism of Hormone
Action
 Hormone receptors
 Located in or on the plasma membrane or in the
intracellular compartment of the target cell
 Water-soluble hormones
 High molecular weight
 Cannot diffuse across the plasma membrane
 Lipid-soluble hormones
 Easily diffuse across the plasma membrane and
bind to cytosolic or nuclear receptors
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Cellular Mechanism of Hormone
Action
 Water-soluble hormones
 First messenger
 Signal transduction
 Second-messenger molecules
 Calcium
 Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)
 Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)

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Cellular Mechanism of Hormone
Action

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Cellular Mechanism of Hormone
Action
 Lipid-soluble hormones
 Steroid hormones
 Androgens, estrogens, progestins, glucocorticoids,
mineralocorticoids, and thyroid hormones
 Diffuse across the plasma membrane
 Bind to cytoplasmic or nuclear receptors
 Activate
 RNA polymerase
 DNA transcription and translation
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Lipid-Soluble Hormones

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Structure and Function of the
Endocrine Glands
 Hypothalamic-pituitary axis
 Hypothalamus
 Pituitary gland
 Anterior pituitary (adenohypophysis)
 Posterior pituitary (neurohypophysis)

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The Pituitary Gland

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Posterior Pituitary Hormones
 Synthesized with their binding proteins in the
supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the
hypothalamus
 Secreted by the posterior pituitary
 Antidiuretic hormone (ADH)
 Controls plasma osmolality
 Oxytocin
 Uterine contractions and milk ejection in lactating
women

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Posterior Pituitary Hormones

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Anterior Pituitary Hormones
 Adrenocorticotropic hormone
 Melanocyte-stimulating hormone
 Growth hormone
 Prolactin
 Thyroid-stimulating hormone
 Luteinizing hormone
 Follicle-stimulating hormone
 β-lipotropin
 β-endorphins
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Anterior Pituitary Hormones

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Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands
 Thyroid gland
 Two lobes lateral to the trachea
 Isthmus
 Follicles (follicle cells surrounding colloid)
 Parafollicular cells (C cells)
 Secrete calcitonin
 Regulation of thyroid hormone secretion
 Thyrotropin-releasing hormone and thyroid
stimulating hormone

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Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands
 Thyroid hormones
 90% T4 and 10% T3
 Bound to thyroxine-binding globulin, thyroxine-
binding prealbumin, or albumin
 Affect growth and maturation of tissues, cell
metabolism, heat production, and oxygen
consumption

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Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands

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Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands
 Parathyroid glands
 Small glands located behind the upper and lower
poles of the thyroid gland
 Produce parathyroid hormone
 Regulator of serum calcium
 Antagonist of calcitonin

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Parathyroid Glands

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Parathyroid Glands

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Endocrine Pancreas
 The pancreas is both an endocrine and an
exocrine gland
 Houses the islets of Langerhans
 Secretion of glucagon and insulin
 Cells
 Alpha—glucagon
 Beta—insulin
 Delta—somatostatin and gastrin
 F cells—pancreatic polypeptide

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Endocrine Pancreas

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Endocrine Pancreas
 Insulin
 Synthesized from proinsulin
 Secretion is promoted by increased blood glucose
levels
 Facilitates the rate of glucose uptake into the cells
of the body
 Anabolic hormone
 Synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids

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Endocrine Pancreas
 Glucagon
 Secretion is promoted by decreased blood glucose
levels
 Stimulates glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, and
lipolysis
 Somatostatin
 Possible involvement in regulating alpha and beta
cell secretions

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Endocrine Pancreas

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Adrenal Glands
 Adrenal cortex
 80% of an adrenal gland’s total weight
 Zona glomerulosa
 Zona fasciculata
 Zona reticularis
 Adrenal medulla
 Innervated by the sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous systems
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Endocrine Pancreas

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Adrenal Glands
 Adrenal cortex
 Stimulated by adrenocorticotropic hormone
(ACTH)
 Glucocorticoid hormones
 Direct effects on carbohydrate metabolism
 Anti-inflammatory and growth-suppressing effects
 Influence awareness and sleep habits
 Most potent naturally occurring glucocorticoid is
cortisol
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Adrenal Glands
 Adrenal cortex
 Mineralocorticoid hormones
 Affect ion transport by epithelial cells
 Increase the activity of the sodium pump of the epithelial
cells
 Cause sodium retention and potassium and hydrogen loss
 Most potent naturally occurring mineralocorticoid is
aldosterone
 Regulated by the renin-angiotensin system

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Aldosterone

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Adrenal Glands
 Adrenal cortex
 Adrenal estrogens and androgens
 Estrogen secretion by the adrenal cortex is minimal
 The adrenal cortex secretes weak androgens
 Androgens are converted by peripheral tissues to stronger
androgens such as testosterone

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Adrenal Glands
 Adrenal medulla
 Chromaffin cells (pheochromocytes)
 Chromaffin cells secrete the catecholamines
epinephrine (majority) and norepinephrine
 Release of catecholamines has been characterized
as a “fight or flight” response
 Catecholamines promote hyperglycemia

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Catecholamines

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Neuroendocrine Response to Stress
 The endocrine system reacts with the nervous
system to respond to stressors
 The stress response also involves the immune
system
 Influenced by corticotropin-releasing
hormone from the hypothalamus

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Tests of Endocrine Function
 Radioimmunoassay
 Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
(ELISA)
 Bioassay

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Aging and the Endocrine System
 Thyroid gland
 Glandular atrophy, fibrosis, nodularity, and
increased inflammatory infiltrates
 Parathyroid glands
 Related to alterations in calcium balance
 Inadequate intake, malabsorption, or renal changes
 Adrenal glands
 Decreased clearance of cortisol
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