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Cortisol is a steroid hormone in the glucocorticoid class of hormones and a stress hormone.When used as medication, it is known as hydrocortisone.. It is produced in many animals, mainly by the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex in an adrenal gland. [1]
Cortisol reduces the capacity of osteoblasts to produce new bone tissue and decreases the absorption of calcium in the gastrointestinal tract. [ 28 ] The adrenal gland secretes a basal level of cortisol but can also produce bursts of the hormone in response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the anterior pituitary .
A variety of synthetic glucocorticoids, some far more potent than cortisol, have been created for therapeutic use. They differ in both pharmacokinetics (absorption factor, half-life, volume of distribution, clearance) and pharmacodynamics (for example the capacity of mineralocorticoid activity: retention of sodium (Na +) and water; renal ...
Cholesterol can be synthesized de novo in the adrenal cortex. Yet, the major source of cholesterol appears to be cholesterol that is taken up with circulating lipoproteins. [15] The steps up to this point occur in many steroid-producing tissues. Subsequent steps to generate aldosterone and cortisol, however, primarily occur in the adrenal cortex:
Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates, as well as the synthetic analogues of these hormones.Two main classes of corticosteroids, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids, are involved in a wide range of physiological processes, including stress response, immune response, and regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism ...
[8] For example, cholesterol forms part of the cellular membrane in animals, where it affects the cell membrane's fluidity and serves as secondary messenger in developmental signaling. In humans and other animals, corticosteroids such as cortisol act as signaling compounds in cellular communication and general metabolism.
In humans and other animals, the adrenocortical hormones are hormones produced by the adrenal cortex, the outer region of the adrenal gland.These polycyclic steroid hormones have a variety of roles that are crucial for the body's response to stress (for example, the fight-or-flight response), and they also regulate other functions in the body.
However, in humans, cortisol is the primary glucocorticoid that is produced primarily in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex. Corticosterone has only weak glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid potencies in humans and is important mainly as an intermediate in the steroidogenic pathway from pregnenolone to aldosterone.