Estrogenic and androgenic steroids can be synthesised in the brain and rapidly modulate synaptic transmission and plasticity through direct interaction with membrane receptors for estrogens (ERs) and androgens (ARs). We used whole cell patch clamp recordings in brainstem slices of male rats to explore the influence of ER and AR activation and local synthesis of 17β-estradiol (E2) and 5α-dihydro...

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a non-malignant enlargement of the prostate gland. Itis a leading disorder of the elderly male population. Excessive production of dihydrotestosteronehas been implicated in this pathological condition. Steroidal 5α-reductase is a membrane boundNADPH dependent enzyme which is responsible for the conversion of testosterone (T) todihydrotestosterone (DHT). The...

Endemic yarrow (Achillea eriophora DC.) has been widely used in folk medicine for centuries. The impact of climatic and edaphic conditions was investigated on essential oil (EO) yield and compositions of different yarrow ecotypes, native to Kerman province in southeast of Iran. The aerial part of plants was collected from 13 naturalhabitats. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis...

One of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the immune system by steroid hormones could be the monocytic-macrophage system. In this study the effect of the male hormone 5a-DHT on cytokine release by peritoneal macrophages (mΦ) of male and female NZB/BALBc mice was investigated. Macrophages from male mice activated with LPS produced a greater amount of IL-1β (21.8%) (p<0.05) and IL-...

Neuroactive testosterone metabolites synthesized by enzymes 5α-reductase and 3α/3β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase are critical physiological modulators of the central nervous system (CNS) function. Indeed, as discussed in this review, they exert a variety effects on myelination, brain maturation, neurotransmission, reproductive behavior, stress responses. The expression synthesis these well leve...

In the title cholestane derivative, C(28)H(48) [systematic name: (1S,2S,7R,10R,11R,14R,15R)-2,5,10,15-tetra-methyl-14-[(2R)-6-methyl-heptan-2-yl]tetra-cyclo-[8.7.0.0(2,7).0(11,15)]hepta-dec-4-ene], the cyclo-hexene ring adopts a half-chair conformation. The parent 5α-cholest-2-ene and the equivalent fragment of the title compound are almost superimposable (r.m.s. deviation = 0.033 Å).

The title compound, C(19)H(30)O(4), is an androstan-17-one derivative synthesized from the dehydro-epiandrosterone through a sequential addition of an oxidant, followed by a trans-diaxial opening of the epoxide generated, with Bi(OTf)(3) (OTf is trifluoro-methane-sulfonate). The six-membered rings have a slightly flattened chair conformation, while the five-membered ring adopts a 14-α envelope ...

The title compound, C(21)H(30)O, was isolated from the soft coral Sinularia sp. The mol-ecule contains four alicyclic rings, all trans-fused, among which three six-membered rings are in different distorted chair conformations while a five-membered ring assumes an envelope form.