Child D F, Bu'Lock D E, Hillier V F, Anderson D C
Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1979 Oct;11(4):383-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1979.tb03090.x.
Adrenal steroidogenesis has been studied in vivo in normal men and women. Serum levels of nine steroids on the biosynthetic pathway (the delta 5 3-beta-hydroxysteroids, pregnenolone (Pe), 17 alpha-hydroxypregnenolone (17Pe), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), androstenediol (Adiol), and their delta 4 3-keto counterparts, progesterone (Po), 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17Po), androstenedione (Adione), and testosterone (T)) as well as cortisol were measured during adrenal suppression and stimulation. This study demonstrates a marked heterogeneity in adrenal steroid responses between different subjects in the normal population. Thus, in three subjects ACTH stimulation from a dexamethasone-suppressed state resulted in a far greater increment of 17Po than in the other nineteen normal subjects. These three individuals (designated Type 2 responders) may have a partial deficiency of 21-hydroxylase activity. In the remaining nineteen subjects (designated as Type 1 responders) the women had a greater increment of Adiol (P less than 0.05) and a lower increment of Po (P less than 0.01) than the men, suggesting that adrenal 3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/isomerase activity may be slightly lower in women than men.
已经在正常男性和女性体内对肾上腺类固醇生成进行了研究。在肾上腺抑制和刺激期间，测量了生物合成途径上九种类固醇的血清水平（δ5 3-β-羟基类固醇，孕烯醇酮（Pe）、17α-羟基孕烯醇酮（17Pe）、脱氢表雄酮（DHEA）、雄烯二醇（Adiol），以及它们的δ4 3-酮对应物，孕酮（Po）、17α-羟基孕酮（17Po）、雄烯二酮（Adione）和睾酮（T））以及皮质醇。这项研究表明，正常人群中不同受试者的肾上腺类固醇反应存在明显的异质性。因此，在三名受试者中，从地塞米松抑制状态进行促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）刺激导致17Po的增量远大于其他十九名正常受试者。这三名个体（称为2型反应者）可能存在21-羟化酶活性的部分缺陷。在其余十九名受试者（称为1型反应者）中，女性的Adiol增量更大（P<0.05），Po增量更低（P<0.01），这表明女性的肾上腺3-β-羟基类固醇脱氢酶/异构酶活性可能略低于男性。
