Special Issue "Steroids"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Erkki Kolehmainen
Department of Chemistry, University of Jyväskylä, P. O. Box 35, FI-40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
Website: https://www.jyu.fi/kemia/tutkimus/orgaaninen/staff/kolehmainen/
E-Mail: erkki.t.kolehmainen@jyu.fi
Phone: +358 14 260 2653
Fax: +358 14 260 2501
Interests: structural chemistry; bile acid chemistry

Dear Colleagues,

Steroid research has a long and brilliant history. It has helped us to understand vital and fatal processes in our bodies, to develop efficient drugs and pharmaceutical preparations, to manage age dependent athropies etc. In spite of that, steroid research is continuing its triumph. As examples can be mentioned recent genomic studies of primitive animals which has provided important data for understanding the origins of enzymes that synthesize adrenal and sex steroids and the receptors that mediate physiological response to these vertebrate steroids. Another new discovery is the hormonal activity of bile acids which means that their physiological role is much larger than as fat solubilizing agents alone. Further, steroidal conjugates of drug molecules can act as proper prodrugs via enterohepatic circulation or various types of steroid receptors. Taking into account the increased morbidity connected with obesity (diabetes, vascular disease, cancer etc.) in developed countries, functional food supplies based on phytosterols can be of great value. A basic aim of this “Steroids” special issue is to collect papers on the above mentioned new trends in steroid research but also other steroidal studies are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Erkki Kolehmainen
Guest Editor

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• vitamin D
• steroid hormone synthesis
• bile acid
• phytosterols and their conjugates
• steroids

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Brassinosteroid Labelled by Isotopes of Hydrogen and Carbon
Author: Tomas Elbert
Affiliation: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry ASCR, v.v.i., Flemingovo nám. 2, 16610 Prague 6, Czech Republic; E-Mail: elbert@uochb.cas.cz
Abstract: Brassinosteroids are plant hormones discovered thirty years ago. These compounds have been intensively studied and exhibit not only growth regulation functions in plants but also some promising antiviral activities. To study the mechanism of action of brassinosteroids on molecular level the corresponding isotopically labelled compounds are needed. The present review will cover the synthetic efforts in this field from the time of discovery of first brassinosteroids until nowadays.

Type of Paper: Review
Title: The Use Of Stable And Radioactive Sterol Tracers As A Tool To Investigate Bile Acid Metabolism In Humans In Vivo
Authors: M. Bertolotti¹, M. Del Puppo²
Affiliation: ¹Dipartimento di Medicina, Endocrinologia, Metabolismo e Geriatria, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
²Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy; E-Mail: bertma18@unimo.it
Abstract: Alterations of cholesterol homeostasis bear important implications in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and inherent cardiovascular complications. Different clinical-experimental approaches have been devised to study the metabolism of cholesterol and bile acids, the main catabolic product of cholesterol. Most of the evidence in humans has derived from studies utilizing the administration of labeled sterols; these have several advantages over in vitro assay of enzyme activity and expression, which requires an invasive procedures such as a liver biopsy, or the determination of fecal sterols, which is rather cumbersome and requires sophisticated analytical equipment. Pioneering evidence with administration of radioactive derivatives of cholesterol or bile acids has allowed to characterize the alterations of cholesterol metabolism and degradation in different situations, including spontaneous disease conditions, aging, and treatment with drugs affecting sterol metabolism. Along with the classical isotope dilution methodology, evidence has been brought with other approaches, among which isotope enrichment. In more recent years, stable isotope studies have become relatively popular, allowing to overcome radioactivity exposure. The assay of isotope enrichment during labeled sterol infusion has allowed to characterize changes in the degradation of cholesterol both via the “classical” and the “alternative” pathways of bile acid synthesis. The evidence brought by tracer studies in vivo, which will be summarized in this review, provides an exceptional tool for the investigation of sterol metabolism, and a valuable complement to the studies in vitro on human tissue.