Corticosterone (C21H30O4, also called 11β,21-Dihydroxyprogesterone, Reichstein’s Substance H, or Kendall’s Compound B) is, like cortisol and cortisone, a glucocorticoid hormone secreted from the cortex of adrenal gland. Corticosterone is derived from cholesterol through a series of enzymatically mediated steps and also serving as a precursor of aldosterone. It is a primary glucocorticoid in mice and rats and other animals (such as rabbits, birds, amphibians, and reptilians) in which the 17α-hydroxylase is supposed not to exist in adrenal gland. Corticosterone is produced under the control of ACTH and the production has a circadian rhythm with peak levels in the latter portion of the day in nocturnal animals like rats and is believed to play a decisive role in sleep-wake cycles. Corticosterone can be used as a non-invasive biomarker of stress study through the collection of urine and feces to avoid corticosterone increase of blood levels which is caused by normal invasive methods. Corticosterone is also being studied in different fields such as impairment of long-term memory retrieval, chronic corticosterone elevation due to dietary restrictions and response to burn injuries etc. Since most of corticosterone in blood is bound to a plasma protein called corticosteronebinding globulin (CBG), the determination of blood corticosterone with presently available commercial assay kits requires an initial extraction procedure. On the other hand, the present assay kit for corticosterone newly developed by our laboratory provides a tool for direct determination of corticosterone in blood by simple dilution of blood samples with the diluent included in the kit. Furthermore, assays using the kit can be completed within a short period. The corticosterone EIA kit newly developed will be a quite useful tool for further development of corticosterone research.
- References to Corticosterone