Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2012 Aug 15;359(1-2):92-100. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2011.06.005. Epub 2011 Jun 22.
The adrenal gland is composed of two separate endocrine tissues that control a multitude of bodily functions in their adaptation to external and internal stressors through hormone secretion. The functions of the adrenal gland are regulated by circulating, neural and local factors that ensure proper cell growth and hormone production. Activins and inhibins are among the locally expressed growth factors affecting adrenal cell function. They have been found to influence several aspects of adrenal cell development, adrenocortical steroidogenesis, adrenocortical tumor formation and adrenomedullary cell differentiation. Especially the finding that inhibin α-subunit knockout mice develop adrenocortical carcinomas after gonadectomy has prompted research on the physiological and pathophysiological roles of activin and inhibin in the adrenal cortex. It is now clear that both peptides control adrenocortical physiology and are involved in adrenocortical tumorigenesis at multiple levels, both in murine models as well as in human patients.
肾上腺由两个独立的内分泌组织组成，通过激素分泌来控制身体对内外应激源的多种功能。肾上腺的功能受循环、神经和局部因素的调节，这些因素可确保细胞的正常生长和激素的产生。激活素和抑制素是影响肾上腺细胞功能的局部表达生长因子之一。它们被发现影响肾上腺细胞发育、肾上腺皮质类固醇生成、肾上腺皮质肿瘤形成和肾上腺髓质细胞分化等多个方面。特别是发现抑制素 α 亚单位敲除小鼠在性腺切除术后会发展为肾上腺皮质癌，这促使人们研究激活素和抑制素在肾上腺皮质中的生理和病理生理作用。现在已经清楚，这两种肽都控制着肾上腺皮质的生理学，并在多种水平上参与了肾上腺皮质肿瘤的发生，无论是在小鼠模型还是在人类患者中。
