corticosterone n : secreted by the adrenal cortex; involved in regulating water and electrolyte balance in the body

English

Noun

1. A corticosteroid hormone, produced in the adrenal glands, involved in metabolism.

Corticosterone is a 21 carbon steroid hormone of the corticosteroid type produced in the cortex of the adrenal glands.

Functions

In many species, including rodents, corticosterone is the principal glucocorticoid, involved in regulation of fuel metabolism, immune reactions, and stress responses.

However, in humans, corticosterone is produced primarily in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex. It has only weak glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid potencies in humans and is important mainly as an intermediate in the steroidogenic pathway from pregnenolone to aldosterone. Corticosterone is converted to aldosterone by aldosterone synthase, found only in the mitochondria of glomerulosa cells. Glomerulosa cells are found in the Zona glomerulosa, which is the most superficial region of endocrine cells in the adrenal cortex.

Additional images

Image:Steroidogenesis.gif|Steroidogenesis Image:Deoxycorticosterone.svg|Deoxycorticosterone Image:Aldosterone.svg|Aldosterone