So the final result is aldosterone which belongs to a group of hormones called mineralocorticoids, which help regulate the body’s sodium concentration.Īldosterone binds to receptors on the cells that line the distal tubules and collecting ducts in the kidney, and increases the expression of sodium/potassium ion pumps, which are on the basolateral surface of the cells - the side facing the blood. Whew! That’s like going through the washing machine twice.Īldosterone synthase is stimulated by the hormone angiotensin II, which is produced in the lungs in response to decreased blood volume and blood pressure.

11 deoxycorticosterone then gets turned into corticosterone by the enzyme 11 beta-hydroxylase.Īnd finally, corticosterone is turned into aldosterone by the enzyme aldosterone synthase. Next, progesterone is turned into 11 deoxycorticosterone (or 11- DOC) by the enzyme 21 hydroxylase. The first step in aldosterone production is when an enzyme called 3 beta- hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, (or 3 beta- HSD) turns pregnenolone into progesterone. The outermost layer is the zona glomerulosa, and it’s full of cells that make the hormone aldosterone. The adrenal cortex is subdivided into three more layers, the zona glomerulosa, zona fasciculata, and the zona reticularis, which secrete steroid hormones under the control of adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH.Īdrenocorticotropic hormone is released by the anterior pituitary gland and binds to receptors on adrenal cortex cells in all three layers, and makes them take up cholesterol from the blood.ĪCTH also stimulates an enzyme called cholesterol desmolase inside these cells, which converts cholesterol to pregnenolone, which is the precursor to all of the adrenal cortex hormones. Each one has an inner layer called the medulla and an outer layer called the cortex. The adrenal glands are two glands that sit like a hat, one on top of each kidney.

Cortisol produced by adrenal cortex