Corticosterone

Corticosterone is not a receptor, enzyme, transporter, or classical therapeutic target; it is a steroid hormone and intermediate in steroid biosynthesis, especially prominent in non-human vertebrates. It is considered a chemical messenger rather than a direct molecular drug target. Corticosterone is a 21-carbon steroid hormone of the corticosteroid class produced in the adrenal cortex, mainly in amphibians, reptiles, rodents, and birds, where it serves as the principal glucocorticoid. In humans, corticosterone has minor glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid activity and acts mainly as a biosynthetic precursor to aldosterone, a key hormone regulating sodium and potassium balance. Its production is regulated by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and follows a circadian rhythm. Corticosterone is important in research as a biomarker of stress and adrenal function, but it is not itself a therapeutic drug target or receptor. No approved drugs directly target or act on corticosterone; instead, drugs may affect its synthesis or metabolism via enzymes such as 11β-hydroxylase. As an endogenous hormone, it is not directly a drug target and has no direct therapeutic usage; it acts via glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors.

Other names

17-deoxycortisol11β,21-dihydroxyprogesteroneCompound BReichstein's substance HKendall's compound B11-Hydroxycorticoaldosterone4-Pregnene-11β,21-diol-3,20-dione