Endocrine Physiology

Part 1

April 2023 Johanna Namene

[email protected]
 Learning outcomes

General principles of endocrine physiology

Hormone structure and function

Hormone receptors and intracellular signaling

Endocrine system

- A collection of glands that coordinate multiple organs/body systems by

secreting hormones

- Control and coordinate body processes

- Endocrine cells release secretions into extracellular fluid

- Endocrine organs are scattered throughout the body

Endocrine processes

Overall, the major processes that the Endocrine system can regulate:

Reproduction
Growth and Development
Electrolyte, water, nutrient balance of blood
Cellular metabolism and energy balance
Immune defenses

“The endocrine system is a principal defender of homeostasis”

Intercellular communication

- Direct communication (cell-to-cell contact)

• Exchange of ions and molecules between adjacent cells across gap junctions
• Occurs between two cell of the same type

- Paracrine communication
• Local acting chemicals that affect cells other than those that secrete them
Intercellular communication
- Autocrine communication

• Messages affect the same cells that secrete them

• Chemicals involved are autocrines
• Example: prostaglandins secreted by smooth muscle cells cause the same
cells to contract

- Endocrine communication
• Endocrine cells release chemicals (hormones) that are transported in
bloodstream
• Alter metabolic activities of many organs
Transport of hormones
Target cells
- Have receptors needed to bind and “read” hormonal messages

Hormones: chemical messengers that influence the function of target cells by:

- Change types, quantities or activities of enzymes and structural proteins in target

cells
- Can alter metabolic activities of multiple tissues and organs at the same time
- Affect long-term processes like growth and development
Hormone receptors of the target cell have two main functions:

- to recognise and bind with high affinity to their particular hormones

- to initiate a signal to appropriate intracellular effectors
Characteristics of hormones

1. Specific rates and rhythms of secretion which occur in 3 basic secretion patterns:

(a) circadian or diurnal patterns: sleep and wake or day and night cycles
(e.g. Melatonin that maintains the biological clock)

(b) pulsatile and cyclic patterns: regular temporal secretion

(e.g. Insulin and glucagon or anterior and posterior pituitary hormones)

(c) patterns that depend on levels of circulating substrates

(e.g., calcium, sodium, potassium, or the hormones themselves).
Characteristics of hormones

2. Operate within feedback systems (positive or negative), to maintain an optimal internal

environment.

3. Affect cells with appropriate receptors and act on those cells to initiate specific cell
functions or activities.

4. Steroid hormones are either excreted directly by the kidneys or metabolised by the liver

5. Peptide hormones are catabolised by circulating enzymes and eliminated in the faeces or
urine.
Classification of hormones

Hormone structure - Hormone chemical composition

Gland of origin
Hormone effects
*Some hormones are neurotransmitters: epinephrine and norepinephrine, dopamine, vasopressin etc
Classification of hormones

Hormone structure – based on the chemical structure of the

hormone

1. Amino acid derivatives

2. Peptide hormones
3. Lipid derivatives
Classification of hormones

(A). Amino acid derivatives

- Small molecules structurally related to amino acids:
• Thyroid hormones
• Catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine)
• Serotonin and melatonin
Classification of hormones

(B). Peptide hormones

- Chains of amino acid

• Glycoproteins - Proteins more than 200 amino acids long that have
carbohydrate side chains (TSH, LH, FSH)
• Short-chain polypeptides - ADH and OXT
• Small proteins - insulin, growth hormone, prolactin
Classification of hormones

(C ). Lipid derivatives
- Eicosanoids – derivatives from arachidonic acid, a fatty acid
- Steroid hormones – derived from cholesterol (androgens, estrogens,
progesterone, corticosteroids and calcitriol)
Water-soluble hormones (peptides) generally have a short half-life of seconds to minutes
because they are catabolised by circulating enzymes.

Lipid-soluble hormones such as cortisol and adrenal androgens are transported bound to
a carrier protein and remain in the blood for hours to days.
Mechanism of hormone regulation

*secretion and mechanisms of action of hormones represent an

extremely complex system of integrated responses
Transport and inactivation of hormones

- Hormones may circulate freely or travel bound to special carrier proteins

- Free hormones remain functional for less than an hour and are inactivated when

they:

• Diffuse out of the bloodstream and bind to receptors on target cells,

• Are absorbed and broken down by liver or kidneys,

• Are broken down by enzymes in blood or intestinal fluids

Transport and inactivation of hormones

- Hormones that bind to a transport protein, will stay in the blood circulation

longer

- Longer lasting effect

Hormones and hormone receptor

• Hormone receptor

o A protein molecule to which a particular molecule binds strongly

o Different tissues have different combinations of receptors
o Presence or absence of a specific receptor determines hormonal sensitivity
of a cell
Hormones and hormone receptor

Catecholamine and peptide hormone

• Not lipid soluble
• Unable to penetrate plasma membrane
• Bind to receptor protein on outer surface of plasma membrane
(extracellular receptors)

Steroids and thyroid hormones

• Lipid soluble
• Diffuse across plasma membrane and bind to receptors inside cell
(intracellular receptors)
Catecholamine and peptide hormones

First messenger
• Hormone that bind to extracellular receptor
• Promotes release of second messenger in cell

Second messenger
• Intermediary molecule that appears due to hormone-receptor interaction
• Example: cAMP, cGMP, CA2+
Catecholamine and peptide hormones

G Proteins and cAMP

- Steps involved in increasing cAMP level, which accelerates metabolic

activity of cell

1. Activated G protein activates adenylate cyclase

2. Adenylate cyclase converts ATP to cyclic AMP
3. Cyclic AMP functions as a second messenger
Lipid-soluble hormone receptors

Intracellular receptors

• Steroid hormones can alter rate of DNA transcription in nucleus

• Alterations in the synthesis of enzymes or structural proteins
- Directly affect activity and structure of target cell
• Thyroid hormones bind to receptors within nucleus and on mitochondria
- activate genes or change rate of transcription
- increase rate of ATP production
The biological response

Target cell response to hormones or sensitivity depends on:

- the blood levels of the hormone

- the concentration of target cell receptors
- the affinity of the receptor to hormone
- pH
- temperature
Hormone Integration

Synergy: work together

(more than one hormone produces same effect)
Epinephrine, glucagon and cortisol all increase blood glucose during exercise

Antagonists: work against each other

Glucagon increases blood glucose and insulin decreases blood glucose

Permissive: cannot work without the other hormone

(One hormone cannot exert its effect without another hormone being present)
Reproductive hormones need thyroid hormones to have an effect
Feedback mechanisms
Hormones operate within feedback systems, either positive or negative for homeostasis
Hormone Metabolism and Excretion

I. The liver and kidneys are the major organs that remove hormones from the plasma
by metabolising or excreting them.

II. The peptide hormones and catecholamines are rapidly removed from the blood.

III. The steroid and thyroid hormones are removed more slowly, in part because they
circulate bound to plasma proteins.

IV. After their secretion, some hormones are metabolised to more active molecules in
their target cells or other organs (like conversion of T3 and T4).
Thank you!