REVIEW: Hormones as Life Regulators in the Current Molecular Endocrinology

Yu. A. Pankov

Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Endocrine Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, ul. Moskvorech'e 1, Moscow, 115478 Russia; fax: (095) 310-7000; E-mail: pankov@microdin.ru

Received February 3, 1998; Revision received March 6, 1998

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This review considers results of studies on six hormones-- leptin, adrenomedullin, parathyroid hormone-related protein, vascular endothelium growth factor, fibroblast growth factor 2, and prolactin. Genes of these hormones are markedly expressed in various tissues which can synthesize and release the corresponding hormones into the intercellular space and blood. The structure of hormone receptor genes and their expression in various tissues which are target organs of the hormones are discussed. All organs, tissues, and cells of the body are concluded to be endocrine and releasing their specific hormones into blood. Hormones regulate vital processes, provide communications between organs and tissues, and integrate them into a united entity. All hormones are multifunctional compounds of wide spectrum of biological activities. The regulation of gene expression via various mechanisms is a common property of all hormones. Many tissue-specific hormones are yet to be discovered.

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KEY WORDS: hormone, receptor, exon, intron, gene expression, splicing, reverse transcription PCR

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