title: Local Control of Aldosterone Production and Primary Aldosteronism.
abstract: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is caused by excessive production of aldosterone by the adrenal cortex and is determined by a benign aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) in a significant proportion of cases. Local mechanisms, as opposed to circulatory ones, that control aldosterone production in the adrenal cortex are particularly relevant in the physiopathological setting and in the pathogenesis of PA. A breakthrough in our understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms in APA has been the identification of somatic mutations in genes controlling membrane potential and intracellular calcium concentrations. However, recent data show that the processes of nodule formation and aldosterone hypersecretion can be dissociated in pathological adrenals and suggest a model envisaging different molecular events for the pathogenesis of APA.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Pharmacologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire CNRS, 06560 Valbonne, France; NEOGENEX CNRS International Associated Laboratory, 06560 Valbonne, France; Université de Nice - Sophia Antipolis, 06560 Sophia Antipolis, France. Electronic address: ninino@ipmc.cnrs.fr.
authors.forename: Enzo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lalli
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de PhysioMédecine Moléculaire CNRS-UNS UMR 7370, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France; Laboratories of Excellence, Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, 06107 Nice, France.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barhanin
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMRS 970, Paris Cardiovascular Research Center, Paris, France; Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Service de Génétique, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Maria-Christina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Zennaro
authors.affiliation: Medical Cell Biology - University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Warth
mesh_terms: D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D000306:Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D018246:Adrenocortical Adenoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D006929:Hyperaldosteronism / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D000450:Aldosterone
keywords: adrenal cortex; aldosterone; calcium; potassium channels