Principles of Animal Physiology

Endocrine System
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ All cells secrete material into their environment
for three main functions
▸ Protection
▸ Communication
▸ Feeding
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Types and functions of Secretions
▸ Autocrine - secreted substance affects the secreting
cell itself
▸ Paracrine - substance affects neighboring cells
▸ Endocrine - substance released into blood stream
and affects distal target tissue
▸ Exocrine - substance that is released onto the
surface of the animal and other internalized
structures
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Cell communication through various pathways
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ It brings about changes via chemical
messengers, hormones, released into the
blood stream or hemolymph and carried to
target organs.
▸ Endocrinology - the study of hormones and the
endocrine organs they control.
▸ Endoceine system - all of the glands that secrete
hormones
♦ Endocrine and exocrine glands
▸ Exocrine glands - have ducts through which their
nonhormonal products travel to the membrene
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪Endocrine glands - release their substances
into the surrounding fluid (ductless glands)
▪They include the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid,
adrenal, pineal, and the thymus glands. Also
included are the pancreas and gonads. They
hypothalamus is called a neuroendocrine organ.

▸ Know Table 7.1

 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Endocrine organs
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▸Hormones - chemical messengers carried by the
blood from endocrine glands to the cell upon which
they act.
♦ Are chemical messengers
♦ Secreted into the blood by endocrine cells or neurons
♦ Affect distal targets

▸Affect target cells by controlling

♦ Rate of enzymatic reactions
♦ Transport of molecules across cell membrane
♦ Gene expression and protein synthesis
♦ Stimulation of mitosis
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Tropic hormones
▸ Its primary function is to regulate the production
and release of other hormones
▸ Stimulate and maintain their endocrine target
tissue
▸ Eg., TSH maintains the structural integrity of the
thyroid gland, but also cause it to secrete its
hormones
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Nontropic hormone
▸ Exerts its effects on nonendocrine target tissues
▸ Thyroid hormone increases the metabolic activity
of almost every cell
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Complexity of Endocrine Function
♦A single endocrine gland may produce multiple hormones
♦A single hormone may be secreted by more than one
endocrine gland
♦A single hormone may have more than one type of target
cell and may induce more than one effect
♦Secretory rate may vary considerably over time
♦A single target cell may be affected by more than one
hormone
♦A single chemical messenger may be a hormone or a
neurotransmitter
♦Some organ are purely endocrine while other may have
nonendocrine functions
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Classification of hormones
▸ Peptide hormones - 3 or more amino acids
♦ Hydrophilic
▸ Steroid hormones - derived from cholesterol
♦ Lipophilic
▸ Amine hormones - single amino acids
♦ Hydrophilic

▸ Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)

♦ Nonnative hormonelike substances
♦ By-products of manufactured organic compounds
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Peptide hormone - eg: Insulin
▸ Synthesis - RER, preprohormone
▸ Packaged in vescicles
▸ In Golgi apparatus, pre to pro hormone then to
hormone and fragments
▸ Released into ECF when cell is signaled to do so
▸ Transported in blood, half-life - minutes
▸ Mechanism of action - bind to cell surface receptors.
Many use cAMP and some use tyrosine kinase
▸ Action - open or close membrane channels or
modulate metabolic enzymatic activity or transport
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Peptide hormone
synthesis, packaging, and
release
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Steroid hormones, eg: estradiol
▸ Synthesis - SER, lipophilic, sythesized as needed
▸ Found bound (inactive) to protein carriers in blood
▸ Half-life - hours
▸ Mechanism - diffuses across cell membrane to
cytoplasmic and nuclear receptors. Interact with
DNA
▸ Slow response by cells - hours
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Action of Steroid Hormones
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Steroidogenic pathways
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Amine hormones
▸ Nitrogen-containing
▸ Most derived from tryptophan or tyrosine
▸ like peptide hormones (catecholamines) or like steroid
hormones (thyroid hormones)
▸ Thyroid hormones: produced by thyroid gland found
in the lower part of the neck. It secretes 3 hormones:
♦ Thyroxine - T4
♦ Triiodothyromine - T3
♦ Calcitonin
▸ The first two are collectively known as thyroid
hormones (TH) and contain iodine
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Amine hormone, Adrenal medullary hormones
▸ The adrenal gland consists of a medullary and
cortical section. The cortex secretes steroid
hormones.
▸ The adrenal medulla secretes two hormones
♦ Epinephrine (E) and
♦ Norepinephrine (NE)
▸ These are also called catecholamines
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Mechanism of action of lipophilic hormones
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Second messenger mechanisms of amino
acid-based hormones
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Hormonal Specificity
▸ All major hormones circulate to virtually all tissues
(target cells), but for these cells to respond to a hormone,
they must have a specific protein receptor on their
plasma membrane or in their interior.
▪ Hormone-target interaction depends on:
▸ Blood levels of the hormone
▸ The relative number of receptors for that hormone
▸ The affinity of the bond between the hormone and the
receptor
▪ Up-regulation and down-regulation
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Onset, Duration, and Half-life
▸ Onset varies greatly, from almost immediately to
hours or days
▸ Duration can range from several minutes to several
hours
▸ Half-life is the length of time the hormone
concentration takes to drop by half
♦ From a fraction of a minute to several hours
▸ Concentration determined by its rate of release and
the speed of deactivation and removal
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Introduction
▪ Endocrine glands are stimulated by humoral,
neural and hormonal means.
▸ Humoral stimuli - changing levels of blood ions and
nutrients. Example:- ↓calcium →↑parathyroid hormone
▸ Neural stimuli - nerve fiber stimulates hormonal release.
Example:-↑nervous input to adrenal medulla → release of
catecholamines
▸ Hormonal stimuli (tropic hormones) - endocrine glands
release their hormones in response to hormones produced
by other endocrine organs. Example:- hypothalamic
hormones → anterior pituitary to release hormones → other
endocrine glands to produce even more hormones
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Invertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hormone action in invertebrates
▸ Prothoracicotropic hormone
♦ Produced by neurosecretory cells of the brain
▸ Juvenile hormone
♦ Produced by non-neural cells near the brain
▸ Ecdysone
♦ Steroid-like hormone produced by glands in the thorax
▸ Eclosion hormone
♦ A peptide hormone produced by cells near the brain
▸ Bursicon
♦ Produced by neurosecretory cells of the brain and
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Invertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hormone production in
an insect
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Invertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Development sequence
in the cecropia moth
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Invertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Developmental
hormones in insects
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hypothalamic-Pituitary system
▸ Pituitary gland (hypophysis) - lies just below
hypothalamus, in pocket of bone at base of brain.
Consists of two adjacent lobes - the anterior pituitary
(adenohypophysis) and the posterior pituitary
(neurohypophysis)
▸ Posterior pituitary hormones
♦ Oxytocin and vasopressin are released
♦ Made in hypothalamus, move down the neural axons
and accumulate in the axon terminals in the posterior
pituitary
♦ Vasopressin - blood pressure and kidney function
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hypothalamus
▸ The hypothalamus also secretes hormones that
control the secretion of ALL the anterior pituitary
hormones. The basic pattern is as follows:
♦ Secretion of a hypothalamic hormone, which controls
secretion of
♦ An anterior pitiutary hormone, which controls the
secretion of
♦ A hormone from some other endocrine organ/gland
▸ Anterior Pituitary Hormones
♦ At least eight secreted, six with well-established
functions
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Anatomy of the Pituitary gland
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hypothalamic-Pituitary system
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ The Intermediate Lobe
▸ Rudimentary after birth in human fetus
▸ Secretes melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH)
▸ Secretion inhibited by hypothalamic dopamine
▸ MSH controls skin coloration via melanin
▸ MSH may help regulate food intake and suppress
the immune system
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hypothalamus and the Posterior Pituitary
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Posterior Pituitary
▸ Receives input from supraoptic and paraventricular
nuclei
▸ Stores and releases vasopressin and oxytocin
▸ A single neuron produces a single hormone
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Posterior Pituitary
▸ Vasopressin
♦ Antidiuretic hormone (ADH); arginine vasotocin (AVT)
in lower vertebrates
♦ Enhances water retention
♦ Stimulates arteriolar smooth muscle contractions
♦ Releases due to increased plasma osmolarity
▸ Oxytocin
♦ Stimulates uterine contraction in mammals
♦ Promotes milk ejection from mammary glands
♦ In nonmammals it is called mesotocin (MT)
– Influences blood flow
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hypothalamic Releasing Hormones (Table 7-
2)
▸ Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH)
▸ Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone (TRH)
▸ Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH)
▸ Somatostatin (SS) also called Growth hormone
releasing Inhibitin Hormone (GIH)
▸ Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH)
▸ Prolactin Releasing Hormone (PRH)
▸ Prolactin releasing Inhibiting Hormone (PIH)
M l t Sti l ti H (MSH)
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Anterior Pituitary Hormones
▸ Gonadotropic Hormones
♦ Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
♦ Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
▸ Growth Hormone (GH)
▸ Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
▸ Prolactin (PRL)
▸ AdrenoCorticoTropic Hormone (ACTH)
▸ Tropic hormones
– TSH, ACTH, FSH, AND LH
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Functions of Anterior Pituitary Hormones
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Feedback control in the Endocrine System
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Vascular link between the hypothalamus and
anterior pituitary
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Physiological Effects of Four Major Categories
▸ Metabolic and Developmental Hormones
♦ Glucocorticoids and catecholamines
♦ Thyroid hormones
♦ Growth hormone
♦ Insulin and glucagon
▸ Hormones that Regulate Water and Electrolyte Balance
♦ Vasopressin - prevents water loss
♦ Aldosterone - prevents sodium (and water) loss
♦ Atrial Natriuretic Peptide - increases sodium (and
water) loss
♦ ParaThyroid Hormone - increases plasma Ca++ levels
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Physiological Effects of Four Major Categories
▸ Reproductive Hormones
♦ Estrogens - female characteristics and secretions
♦ Androgens - male characteristics and secretions
♦ Progesterone - supports estrogens
▸ Prostoglandins
♦ May be paracrine or endocrine in nature
♦ Act on smooth muscles of many tissues
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hormonal action of Parathyroid hormone
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Hormonal action of Insulin and Glucagon
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Amine hormone, Adrenal medullary hormones
▸ The adrenal gland consists of a medullary and
cortical section. The cortex secretes steroid
hormones.
▸ The adrenal medulla secretes two hormones
♦ Epinephrine (E) and
♦ Norepinephrine (NE)
▸ These are also called catecholamines
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Amine hormone, Adrenal medullary hormones
▸ The adrenal gland consists of a medullary and
cortical section. The cortex secretes steroid
hormones.
▸ The adrenal medulla secretes two hormones
♦ Epinephrine (E) and
♦ Norepinephrine (NE)
▸ These are also called catecholamines
 Principles of Animal Physiology
Endocrine System
Vertebrate Endocrinology
▪ Amine hormone, Adrenal medullary hormones
▸ The adrenal gland consists of a medullary and
cortical section. The cortex secretes steroid
hormones.
▸ The adrenal medulla secretes two hormones
♦ Epinephrine (E) and
♦ Norepinephrine (NE)
▸ These are also called catecholamines