Hormones storage/secretion

BIOSYNTHESIS, STORAGE, SECRETION, AND METABOLISM OF THYROID HORMONES... 

Parathyroid hormone also exists in storage vesicles. As much as 80-90% of the proPTH synthesized is degraded before it enters this final storage compartment, especially when Ca + levels are high in the parathyroid cell (see above). PTH is secreted when Ca is low in the parathyroid cells, which contain a several-hour supply of the hormone. 

The diversity in storage and secretion of hormones is illustrated in Table 42—5. 

The recruitment of zinc for a structural role, or to activate an enzyme, has been observed. The zinc ion induces the dimerization of human growth hormone (hGH), with two Zn ions associated per dimer of hGH. This is confirmed by replacement of possible zinc binding residues resulting in weakened binding of the zinc ion. Formation of a zinc-hGH dimeric complex may be important for storage of hGH in secretory granules.975 In a toxic role, anthrax lethal factor is one of the three components of the secreted toxin and is a zinc-dependent protease that cleaves a protein kinase and causes lysis of macrophages.976... 

LH promotes synthesis of testosterone, the major male androgen (Box 11.5) by the testicular Leydig cells. FSH sensitizes these cells to the activities of LH, probably by increasing LH receptor numbers on the cell surface. Leydig cells have a limited storage capacity for testosterone ( 25 pg), but secrete 5-10 mg of the hormone into the bloodstream daily in young healthy males. 

Thyroxine (T4) and the more potent triiodothyronine (T3) are cleaved from a large precursor protein called thyroglob-ulin. Thyroglobulin exists as a dimer of two identical polypeptides (Mr 330,000). It is a storage protein for iodine and can be considered a prohormone of the circulating thyroid hormones. Thyroglobulin is secreted into the lumen of the thyroid gland, where specific residues are iodinated in... 

CM and VLDL secreted by intestinal cells and VLDL synthesized and secreted in the liver have similar metabolic fates. After secretion into the blood, newly formed CM and VLDL take up apoprotein (apo-C) from HDL and are subsequently removed from the blood (plasma half-life of less than 1 h in humans [137]) primarily by the action of lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Lipoprotein lipase is situated mainly in the vascular bed of the heart, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue and catalyzes the breakdown of core TG to monoglycerides and free fatty acids, which are taken up into adjacent cells or recirculated in blood bound to albumin. The activity of LPL in the heart and skeletal muscle is inversely correlated with its activity in adipose tissue and is regulated by various hormones. Thus, in the fasted state, TG in CM and VLDL is preferentially delivered to the heart and skeletal muscle under the influence of adrenaline and glucagon, whereas in the fed state, insulin enhances LPL activity in adipose tissue, resulting in preferential uptake of TG into adipose tissue for storage as fat. 

Once formed, hormones are either stored or secreted. Amounts of protein hormones sufficient to maintain normal secretory rates for hours to a day, are stored in the secretory granules. The limited capacity of the synthesizing tissues to store hormones is a chemical consequence of their unsuitability for incorporation into any of the three main storage compartments of the body (lipids, glycogen or protein). As a consequence of these factors the body pools of most hormones tend to be small. 

The thyroid gland is made up of multiple follicles that consist of a single layer of epithelial cells surrounding a lumen filled with colloid (thyroglobulin), the storage form of thyroid hormone. A diagram of the steps in thyroid hormone synthesis and secretion is shown in Figure 25.6. 

The ovaries perform two major functions (i) the storage, maturation, and expulsion of healthy haploid germ cells (i.e., oocytes) for fertilization, and (ii) the synthesis and secretion of hormones to prepare the reproductive tissues for the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy, to properly regulate gonadotropin secretion from the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, to induce appropriate sexual behaviors, and to provide lactation. The two primary functional units in the ovaries are the maturing follicles and the corpora lutea. 

Liver Storage and Release of Retinol Tissues can take up retinyl esters from chylomicrons, but most is left in the chylomicron remnants that are taken up into the liver by endocytosis. The retinyl esters are hydrolyzed at the hepatocyte cell membrane, and free retinol is transferred to the rough endoplasmic reticulum, where it binds to apo-RBP. Holo-RBP then migrates through the smooth endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi and is secreted as a 1 1 complex with the thyroid hormone binding protein, transthyretin (Section 2.2.3). 

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