Box 4.11Cortisol and the aldosterone receptor in the kidney
- Cortisol and aldosterone have equal affinity for the mineralocorticoid (AT1) receptor.
- Circulating concentrations of cortisol are 100 times higher than aldosterone but it does not normally interact with the aldosterone receptor because cortisol is rapidly metabolized to inactive cortisone by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-OHSD) type 2.
- From a scientific point of view this is a novel method of achieving hormonal specificity and from the medical point of view it involves the observation that eating large amounts of liquorice causes hypertension.
- The active component of liquorice is glycyrrhetinic acid which inhibits 11β-OHSD.
- Cortisol, in excess, can saturate the activity of 11β-OHSD and then interacts with the aldosterone receptor.
- Box 4.11, Cortisol and the aldosterone receptor in the kidney - EndocrinologyBox 4.11, Cortisol and the aldosterone receptor in the kidney - Endocrinology
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