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Adrenal gland

Aldosterone-producing mutations in normal adrenal glands

Nature Reviews Endocrinology volume 11, page 567 (2015)Cite this article

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New research has identified somatic mutations that lead to increased aldosterone production in aldosterone-producing cell clusters (APCC), which are found in normal adrenal glands. However, the spectrum of mutations differs from that found in aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) and indicates that APCC might also be a distinct source of primary aldosteronism.

Using laser capture microdissection to remove both APCC and normal adrenal gland tissue, the investigators first performed microarray analysis to compare the transcriptomes of the different tissues. Expression of CYP11B2, which encodes aldosterone synthase, was increased by 5.9-fold in APCC compared with cells from the zona glomerulosa (P = 0.0008). This increase was also confirmed using quantitative PCR and indicates that APCC are a source of aldosterone.

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References

  1. Nishimoto, K. et al. Aldosterone-stimulating somatic gene mutations are common in normal adrenal glands. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 10.1073/pnas.1505529112

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  1. Tim Geach
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Geach, T. Aldosterone-producing mutations in normal adrenal glands. Nat Rev Endocrinol 11, 567 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2015.145

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