Endocrine Abstracts

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) transports sex steroids (androgens and estrogens) in the blood and regulates their access to tissues. In humans and other vertebrates, the liver produces the SHBG that circulates in the blood, and in most species the gene encoding SHBG is also expressed in the testis. The testicular cell types in which SHBG is produced vary between species; in most mammals, expression of the Shbg gene in Sertoli cells gives rise to a secreted protein ...

The IGFs are present ubiquitously at very high levels throughout the body and affect virtually every aspect of cell function. These high levels are maintained due to their association with 6 distinct binding proteins (IGFBP-1 to -6) which specifically bind IGFs (but not insulin). The IGFs are not stored within any cells but are stored in the circulation due to their binding to IGFBP-3 which then results in its association with a large glycoprotein, the acid labile subunit (ALS...

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