We have examined the binding of 44% saponin from Panax ginseng, and extracts from Eluthrococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng) to classical steroid receptors in vitro. Both extracts had demonstrable affinity for progestin, mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors; the Siberian ginseng also bound to estrogen receptors. Highest affinity binding was to glucocorticoid receptors, with an approximate Ki of 8 x 10(-6) M for Panax ginseng. Such interactions may explain the reported glucocorticoid-like effects of ginseng in vivo.
Abstract: Androgen receptor binding of radiolabelled methyltrienolone ( 3 H‐R1881) was determined in cultured genital skin fibroblasts from 17 normal male controls and from 65 males with genital abnormalities. Analysis of the results was performed with patients grouped according to the predominant clinical features. Of 16 patients with complete male pseudohermaphroditism, 12 had androgen receptor (AR) deficiency, one had “receptor‐positive” Testicular Feminization, and in three, alternative diagnoses were established (17ahydroxylase deficiency; 20,22‐desmolase deficiency; mixed gonadal dysgenesis). In contrast, only four of 16 patients investigated for ambiguous genitalia (phallus intermediate between male and female, perineal urethra) showed AR deficiency. Borderline or slightly low AR levels were found in each of four boys in whom the sole abnormality was micropenis. In 26 boys with penile hypospadias, however, only one had low AR. Very low levels of AR (levels comparable to those seen in complete Testicular Feminization) were found in two of three men with infertility associated with abnormally high serum testosterone levels.
We determined, in urethan-anesthetized rabbits, whether pharmacological alteration of neuronal function in the ventrolateral medulla oblongata, including the A1 area, and in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), alters plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and vasopressin and whether inhibition of neuronal function in the ventrolateral medulla impairs the secretion of ACTH normally observed in response to hemorrhage or constriction of the inferior vena cava. We also tested whether the increase in plasma ACTH and vasopressin after pharmacological inhibition of neuronal function in the NTS is dependent on a pathway that synapses in the A1 area of the ventrolateral medulla. Activation of the A1 area with bicuculline increased both ACTH and vasopressin. Inhibition of the NTS with muscimol increased levels of both hormones, as did hemorrhage and constriction of the inferior vena cava. Inhibition of neuronal function within the A1 area with muscimol eliminated the secretion of vasopressin but did not significantly alter the secretion of ACTH, obtained by injecting muscimol into the NTS. Injection of muscimol into the A1 area eliminated the secretion of both ACTH and vasopressin in response to constriction of the inferior vena cava and, in the case of vasopressin, in response to hemorrhage. Although hemorrhage-initiated secretion of ACTH was significantly reduced by injection of muscimol into the A1 area, it was not completely eliminated by these injections or by injections of muscimol into a more rostrocaudally extensive region of the medulla oblongata. We conclude that the net output from the NTS tonically inhibits secretion of both ACTH and vasopressin, reflecting tonic baroreceptor tone. For vasopressin, the pathway from the NTS to the hypothalamus is dependent on a synapse in the A1 area. For ACTH, there are pathways to the hypothalamus that do not synapse in the A1 area, but neurons in this region do have an excitatory effect on secretion of ACTH.
Patterns of protein synthesis by genital skin fibroblasts from three unrelated normal individuals and three unrelated patients with complete testicular feminization were compared to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. cell lines were maintained in monolayer culture and pulse labeled with [35S]methionine. Cells were lysed in 9 M urea, and aliquots of 20 microliters subjected to isoelectric focussing and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography. Gels of control fibroblasts showed two proteins (mol wt approximately 45,000, approximately 85,000; pKi approximately 5.0) markedly more prominent than on gels from affected fibroblasts. This pattern was unaltered by prior exposure to dihydrotestosterone, suggesting differences in constitutive proteins of the fibroblast cells. Parallel studies demonstrated a marked reduction in the ability of fibroblasts from patients with complete testicular feminization to bind androgens in vitro compared with those of normal individuals. The relationship between these proteins, androgen receptors, and androgen insensitivity requires further investigation.
J ug douching effects considerable economies in cotton-wool, antiseptics, and the preparation of sterile water; it is simpler to carry out and more comfortable to the patients.We wish to record our thanks to Mr. N. W. Please for con- stant advice in planning and carrying out this trial;
'/%3e%3c/defs%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0h10080v5040H0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='.6' d='m0 0 6 3m0-3L0 3' clip-path='url(%23b)' transform='scale(840)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23e4002b' stroke-width='.4' d='m0 0 6 3m0-3L0 3' clip-path='url(%23c)' transform='scale(840)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='840' d='M2520 0v2520M0 1260h5040'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23e4002b' stroke-width='504' d='M2520 0v2520M0 1260h5040'/%3e%3cg fill='%23fff'%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23d' x='2520' y='3780'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' x='7560' y='4200'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' x='6300' y='2205'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' x='7560' y='840'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' x='8680' y='1869'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23e' x='8064' y='2730'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
