In the circulation, testosterone and other sex hormones are bound to binding proteins, which play an important role in regulating their transport, distribution, metabolism, and biological activity. According to the free hormone hypothesis, which has been debated extensively, only the unbound or free fraction is biologically active in target tissues. Consequently, accurate determination of the partitioning of testosterone between bound and free fractions is central to our understanding of how its delivery to the target tissues and biological activity are regulated and consequently to the diagnosis and treatment of androgen disorders in men and women. Here, we present a historical perspective on the evolution of our understanding of the binding of testosterone to circulating binding proteins. On the basis of an appraisal of the literature as well as experimental data, we show that the assumptions of stoichiometry, binding dynamics, and the affinity of the prevailing models of testosterone binding to sex hormone-binding globulin and human serum albumin are not supported by published experimental data and are most likely inaccurate. This review offers some guiding principles for the application of free testosterone measurements in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with androgen disorders. The growing number of testosterone prescriptions and widely recognized problems with the direct measurement as well as the computation of free testosterone concentrations render this critical review timely and clinically relevant.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/er.2017-00025 | DOI Listing |
Recent Pat Biotechnol
January 2025
Center of Excellence in Recombinant Biopharmaceutical Proteins, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza, Egypt.
Background: poses a considerable global public health challenge. In Egypt, approximately 60% of the inhabitants in the Northern and Eastern areas of the Nile Delta are affected by this parasite, whereas the Southern region experiences a significantly lower infection rate of 6%.
Aim: Construction of an immune phage display Nbs library based on the VHH framework for selecting -specific Nbs for seeking cost-effective, sensitive, and specific diagnostic tools for rapidly detecting mansoni.
Front Genet
January 2025
Molecular Bio-Computation and Drug Design Laboratory, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa.
Objectives: Unlike other diseases, cancer is not just a genome disease but should broadly be viewed as a disease of the cellular machinery. Therefore, integrative multifaceted approaches are crucial to understanding the complex nature of cancer biology. Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2), encoded by the human BCL-2 gene, is an anti-apoptotic molecule that plays a key role in apoptosis and genetic variation of Bcl-2 proteins and is vital in disrupting the apoptotic machinery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComput Struct Biotechnol J
December 2024
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
More than 50 % of proteins bind to metal ions. Interactions between metal ions and proteins, especially coordinated interactions, are essential for biological functions, such as maintaining protein structure and signal transport. Physiological metal-ion binding prediction is pivotal for both elucidating the biological functions of proteins and for the design of new drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Pharmacol
January 2025
Department of Pharmacy, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanbian University, Yanji, China.
Introduction: Despite evidence of the efficacy of decursinol angelate (DA), a prescription medication derived farom traditional Chinese medicine, in alleviating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the precise mechanisms behind its action remain unclear.
Methods: Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) induction were used as and models of IBD, respectively, to assess the role of DA in alleviating IBD. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in mouse serum, Western blot was performed to detect the expression of TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway tight junction (TJ) proteins in colon tissues and cells, and immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR were used to validate the proteins related to this signaling pathway.
Front Immunol
January 2025
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Human rhinovirus C (HRV-C) is a significant contributor to respiratory tract infections in children and is implicated in asthma exacerbations across all age groups. Despite its impact, there is currently no licensed vaccine available for HRV-C. Here, we present a novel approach to address this gap by employing immunoinformatics techniques for the design of a multi-epitope-based vaccine against HRV-C.
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