ESPE Abstracts

Glucocorticoids regulate a wide range of biological processes including metabolism. Patients with adrenal insufficiency show impaired glucocorticoid biosynthesis either caused by adrenal defects (primary adrenal insufficiency) or by defects in the pituitary gland or hypothalamus (secondary or tertiary adrenal insufficiency). The systemic consequences of differentially disrupted steroid hormone biosynthesis remain unclear. Increasing evidence suggested steroid hormone precursor...

Glucocorticoids are important regulators of systemic homeostasis. However, the role of these steroid hormones has been mainly studied by using synthetic glucocorticoids or in states of glucocorticoid excess. Thus, the pathophysiologic consequences of cortisol deficiency on metabolic and biosynthesis pathways remain largely elusive. Zebrafish is a well-established vertebrate model for studying whole organism biology. Similar to humans, zebrafish are day active and the key gluco...

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) is caused by mutations in the CYP21A2 gene. Steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency results in impaired synthesis of mineralcorticoids and glucocorticoids (GC), plus androgen excess. Hormonal imbalances in 21OHD are postulated to result in systemic transcriptomic and metabolomic alterations. Such perturbations are likely to be underlying co-morbidities, which are increasingly observed in individua...