Factors associated with increased estrogen synthesis increase breast cancer risk. Increased aromatase and estrogen receptor α (ERα) in both normal epithelium and ductal carcinoma in situ lesions are found in conjunction with breast cancer, leading to the idea that altered estrogen signaling pathways predispose the mammary gland to cancer development. Here, we developed a transgenic mouse that c...

Endocrine disruptors can affect the endocrine system without directly interacting with receptors, for example, by interfering with the synthesis or metabolism of steroid hormones. The aromatase that converts testosterone to 17beta-estradiol is a possible target. In this paper we describe an assay that simultaneously detects aromatase inhibition and estrogenicity. The principle is similar to tha...

Steroidal thiosemicarbazones, semicarbazones and hydrazones have received extensive attention of scientists recently because they exhibit some biological activities such as antibacterial, antiviral and anticancer. Using different steroids as starting materials, through different chemical methods, 24 steroidal compounds with thiosemicarbazone, semicarbazone or hydrazone groups in their structure...

1-Phenylsulfinyl-3-(pyridin-3-yl)naphthalen-2-ols and related compounds were synthesized and evaluated for inhibition of aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2), a potential target for cardiovascular diseases associated with elevated plasma aldosterone levels like congestive heart failure and myocardial fibrosis. Introduction of substituents at the phenylsulfinyl moiety and changes of the substitution p...

The potential of aromatase (estrogen synthetase) within the breast to provide a significant source of estrogen mediating tumor proliferation is suggested by studies reporting 4- to 6-fold higher estrogen levels in tumors than in plasma of postmenopausal patients with breast cancer. Recent studies in our laboratory have identified aromatase and its mRNA in tumor epithelial cells using immunocyto...

OBJECTIVE Aromatase, the key enzyme involved in estrogen synthesis, is expressed in a variety of cells and tissues including human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). The present study was designed to evaluate PBL aromatase gene expression in male and female subjects of different age groups. In addition, differences in gene expression during the follicular and luteal phase of the menstrual cycl...

Unlike that of mammals, the brain of teleost fish exhibits an intense aromatase activity due to the strong expression of one of two aromatase genes (aromatase A or cyp19a1a and aromatase B or cyp19a1b) that arose from a gene duplication event. In situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and expression of GFP (green fluorescent protein) in transgenic tg(cyp19a1b-GFP) fish demonstrate that aromat...

Numerous steroid hormones, including 17β-estradiol (E2), activate rapid and transient cellular, physiological, and behavioral changes in addition to their well-described genomic effects. Aromatase is the key-limiting enzyme in the production of estrogens, and the rapid modulation of this enzymatic activity could produce rapid changes in local E2 concentrations. The mechanisms that might mediate...

Aromatase is one of the key estrogen-producing enzymes and is regarded as one of the therapeutic targets in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer patients. Human colon carcinoma has also been recently proposed as being an estrogen-responsive malignancy, but the detailed status of aromatase has not yet been reported. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the aromatase expression in colon car...

The enzyme aromatase, which converts androgens into oestrogens, is expressed throughout the brain in zebra finches. Aromatase is enzymatically active in both cell bodies and synaptic terminals of neurones of the songbird brain, particularly within the forebrain motor and auditory networks. Aromatisation within synaptic terminals could thus provide localised and acute modulatory oestrogens withi...