{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T03:05:02Z","timestamp":1760238302880,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,30]],"date-time":"2020-07-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1596067200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PTDC\/MEC-ONC\/31384\/2017","UID\/ Multi\/00215\/2019"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PTDC\/MEC-ONC\/31384\/2017","UID\/ Multi\/00215\/2019"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biomedicines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Autonomous steroid secretion is a common feature of adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC), although not always clinically evident owing to inefficient steroidogenesis with increased release of steroid precursors. Our study aim was to analyze the expression profile of four key proteins involved in the steroidogenesis cascade, in different adrenocortical tumors. Expression of proteins involved in steroidogenesis, namely steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), 11\u03b2-hydroxylase (CYP11B1), aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) and 17\u03b1-hydroxylase (CYP17A1), were analyzed by immunohistochemistry in ACC (n = 14), adenomas presenting with Cushing\u2019s syndrome (ACAc) (n = 11) and clinically non-functioning adenomas (ACAn) (n = 15). A percentage of the stained area for each protein was analyzed using ImageJ software for computerized morphometric quantification. CYP11B1, StAR and CYP17A1 expression were significantly lower in ACC when compared to ACAc. In addition, ACC presented co-staining cells for CYP11B1 and CYP11B2. CYP11B1 was the steroidogenic enzyme with the most discriminative power to distinguish ACC from ACAc, with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 92%, and an expression higher than 4.44%, indicating the presence of a cortisol secreting adenoma. ACC depicts an incomplete pattern of steroidogenic protein expression, with decreased CYP11B1 and CYP17A1, which could explain the predominant secretion of steroid precursors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biomedicines8080256","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,31]],"date-time":"2020-07-31T04:15:31Z","timestamp":1596168931000},"page":"256","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Incomplete Pattern of Steroidogenic Protein Expression in Functioning Adrenocortical Carcinomas"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6947-4560","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sofia S.","family":"Pereira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade (I3S), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Cancer Signalling &amp; Metabolism group, Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP), 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Endocrine, Cardiovascular &amp; Metabolic Research group, Multidisciplinary Unit for Biomedical Research (UMIB), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Biom\u00e9dicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Madalena M.","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endocrine, Cardiovascular &amp; Metabolic Research group, Multidisciplinary Unit for Biomedical Research (UMIB), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Biom\u00e9dicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9882-2082","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Celso E.","family":"Gomez-Sanchez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endocrinology Section, G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA"},{"name":"Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0662-1831","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariana P.","family":"Monteiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endocrine, Cardiovascular &amp; Metabolic Research group, Multidisciplinary Unit for Biomedical Research (UMIB), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Anatomy, Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Biom\u00e9dicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Duarte","family":"Pignatelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade (I3S), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Cancer Signalling &amp; Metabolism group, Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP), 4200-135 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Endocrinology, Centro Hospitalar Universit\u00e1rio de S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"G1","DOI":"10.1530\/EJE-16-0467","article-title":"Management of adrenal incidentalomas: European Society of Endocrinology Clinical Practice Guideline in collaboration with the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors","volume":"175","author":"Fassnacht","year":"2016","journal-title":"Eur. 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