Endocrine Abstracts

In mammalian tissues, two isozymes of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) catalyze the interconversion of hormonally active cortisol (F) and inactive cortisone (E). 11β-HSD2 is a high affinity dehydrogenase expressed in adult kidney that inactivates F to E protecting the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) (which has equal affinity for F and aldosterone in vitro) from cortisol excess. ‘Cushing’s disease of the kidney’ occurs in the hyper...