Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders, affecting 5-10% of reproductive aged women. High levels of androgen hormone can be accounted as the most important symptoms in PCOS. Androgen is the precursor of steroid biosynthesis in ovary. The transport of cholesterol to the inner mitochondrial membrane through StAR protein is also necessary for andr...

Objective PCOS is the most frequent female endocrine disorder, affecting 5%-10% of women, is characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo-/anovulation, and polycystic ovaries. The aim of the present research is to evaluate the expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and CYP19 (aromatase) mRNA in the ovary of EV-induced PCOS rat model and the effect of the treadmill and running w...

Steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) is essential for adrenal and gonadal steroidogenesis, stimulating the translocation of cholesterol to the inner mitochondrial membrane where steroidogenesis commences. StAR mutations in humans cause congenital lipoid adrenal hyperplasia (lipoid CAH), an autosomal recessive condition with severe deficiencies of all classes of steroid hormones. We pre...

In adrenal zona glomerulosa cells, the calcium messenger system is the major signaling mechanism activated by physiological stimulators of aldosterone production. We present here evidence for a dual site of action of the calcium signal: 1) Calcium influx into the mitochondrion is a prerequisite to the activation of steroidogenesis. This calcium entry leads to a rise in mitochondrial calcium con...

BACKGROUND While menopause results in the loss of cyclic steroid production, evidence exists for persistent, albeit reduced, ovarian androgen production. In order to continue to synthesize ovarian androgens, the steroidogenic enzymes necessary for androgen biosynthesis must be present. Few studies have selectively analysed some of the steroidogenic enzymes present in the post-menopausal ovary (...

Emerging evidence indicates that stress hormone glucocorticoids (GC) are an important modulator of brain development and function. To investigate whether GCs modulate neurosteroid biosynthesis in neural cells, we studied the effects of GCs on steroidogenic gene expression in human glioma GI-1 cells. The GC dexamethasone (Dex) reduced steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), CYP11A1 and 3β...

An essential component of regulated steroidogenesis is the translocation of cholesterol from the cytoplasm to the inner mitochondrial membrane where the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme carries out the first committed step in steroidogenesis. Recent studies showed that a 30-kDa mitochondrial phosphoprotein, designated steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), is essential for this tr...