D K McCammon | Search PubMed

PubMed1995

Factitious hypercortisoluria.

A case of factitious hypercortisoluria due to the presumed addition of glucocorticoid to the urine collections is presented. The discrepancy between urine and blood steroid hormone levels first suggested that the patient had tampered with the urine collections. Plasma steroid hormone levels were normal, whereas the urinary free cortisol level fluctuated in a totally random fashion. Urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroid and urinary free corticosterone levels were normal. Partition chromatography of the urine indicated that the cortisol immunoactivity coeluted with authentic cortisol. This study illustrates the value of multiple urinary and plasma steroid determinations, especially urinary or plasma corticosterone measurements, in suspected cases of factitious Cushing's syndrome.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

PubMed1993

An androgenic affinity ligand covalently binds to cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase from human genital skin fibroblasts.

A 56 kDa protein expressed in human genital skin fibroblasts was first identified by independent laboratories on the basis of its specific expression in androgen target cells and its ability to covalently bind androgenic affinity ligands. Recently, immunoscreening of a cDNA library with antisera directed against this protein resulted in the isolation of a partial cDNA clone identical to human cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH1). We report here the preparation of a full-length cDNA encoding ALDH1 from human genital fibroblasts. Translation of the encoded protein in a cell-free system yields a 56 kDa product that can be covalently radiolabeled with [3H]dihydrotestosterone 17 beta-bromoacetate (DHT-BA). Expression of the full-length clone in mammalian cells also results in expression of a 56 kDa DHT-BA binding protein. The covalent binding of DHT-BA by ALDH1 is an intrinsic property of the enzyme and is not dependent on androgen receptor expression.

Affinity Labels↗