title: The activities of 5 beta-reductase and 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in essential hypertension.
abstract: The activities of 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-HSD) and 5 beta-reductase were analyzed in 39 normotensive controls and 128 patients with essential hypertension. The activity of 11 beta-HSD was obtained by dividing the 24-hour urinary tetrahydrocortisone by the sum of tetrahydrocortisol (THF) and allotetrahydrocortisol (aTHF), whereas the activity of 5 beta-reductase was obtained by dividing the 24-hour urinary THF by aTHF. The activity of 5 beta-reductase was significantly lower in essential hypertensives compared with normotensive controls (P < 0.05). However, the activity of 11 beta-HSD did not differ between normotensive controls and essential hypertensives. A positive correlation between the activities of 11 beta-HSD and 5 beta-reductase was observed in essential hypertensives (r = 0.60, P < 0.01). Neither 11 beta-HSD nor 5 beta-reductase activity correlated with indices of renal mineralocorticoid receptor activation, which were assessed by determination of plasma potassium and urinary excretion of sodium as well as potassium. Taken together, these results suggest that disturbances of one of the inactivation pathways of cortisol may contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iki
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Miyamori
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hatakeyama
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Q L
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D042842:11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D006913:Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D010088:Oxidoreductases; D006913:Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D042842:11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D006854:Hydrocortisone