Steroid Hormone Receptors in Cardiometabolic Disease

About this Research Topic

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death worldwide, with over 17 million deaths annually. Although the incidence of CVD has been declining, this has slowed in recent years, arguably because of the substantial increase in obesity which in turn amplifies cardiovascular risk factors including metabolic dysfunction (hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension). An important unmet need is devising therapies which target metabolic dysfunction and thereby ameliorate its consequences for cardiovascular disease.

Steroid hormones are crucial regulators of physiological processes including stress regulation, immune function, sexual development, and fuel metabolism. Produced by the adrenal glands and gonads, they are grouped into five classes: androgens, estrogens, glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids and progestogens. Since the discovery of adrenal insufficiency by Thomas Addison in 1855, numerous studies have characterized the influence of different steroid hormones, including cortisol and testosterone, on cardiovascular disease and its associated risk factors. Defining the molecular mechanisms underlying the cardiometabolic actions of these steroid hormones remains a central challenge in the field of endocrinology. To this day, the ‘two-step’ model for steroid action proposed by Jensen and Gorski in 1968 is pivotal in understanding steroid hormone action, depicting binding of the hormone to a specific high-affinity receptor within target cells, followed by the activation of hormone-receptor complex and the resulting induction of hormone-responsive genes. However, our knowledge of steroid hormone receptor (SHR) action continues to advance as we aim to identify therapeutic strategies to combat cardiovascular disease.

This Research Topic aims at gathering contributions highlighting the crucial role of steroid hormone receptors in cardiometabolic endocrinology. We welcome original articles, reviews, and perspectives on the following topics:

• Expression and regulation of SHRs in key cardiometabolic tissues
• SHR-mediated signaling pathways in CVD
• Identification of novel SHR ligands relevant to CVD
• Design of selective SHR ligands as therapies to reduce CVD risk
• Novel approaches to study SHR function in CVD

Keywords: cardiometabolic disease, steroid hormones, steroid hormone receptor

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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