TY - JOUR
T1 - Several effects of boron are induced by uncoupling steroid hormones from their transporters in blood
AU - Bello, Martiniano
AU - Guadarrama-García, Concepción
AU - Velasco-Silveyra, Luz M.
AU - Farfán-García, Eunice D.
AU - Soriano-Ursúa, Marvin A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/9
Y1 - 2018/9
N2 - Boron is increasingly added to food supplements due to multiple effects that have been reported in mammals after boric acid administration. Among these effects are inflammatory process control, bone and muscle strength enhancement, protein expression regulation, and a decreased risk of developing some pathologies in which these processes are key, such as osteoporosis, dermatological inflammatory non-infectious maladies and diseases affecting the central nervous system. Experimental data have suggested that steroid hormone levels in plasma change after boric acid administration, but a clear mechanism behind these variations has not been established. We analyzed possibilities for these changes and hypothesized that boric acid disrupts the interactions between steroid hormones and several carriers in plasma. In particular, we proposed that there is an uncoupling of the interactions between sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and estrogens and testosterone and that there are alterations in the binding of hydrophobic ligands by other carrier proteins in plasma. Further experimental and computational studies are required to support the hypothesis that boric acid and probably other boron-containing compounds can displace steroid hormones from their plasma carriers. If such phenomena are confirmed, boron administration with a clear mechanism could be employed as a therapeutic agent in several diseases or physiological events that require modulation of steroid hormone levels in plasma.
AB - Boron is increasingly added to food supplements due to multiple effects that have been reported in mammals after boric acid administration. Among these effects are inflammatory process control, bone and muscle strength enhancement, protein expression regulation, and a decreased risk of developing some pathologies in which these processes are key, such as osteoporosis, dermatological inflammatory non-infectious maladies and diseases affecting the central nervous system. Experimental data have suggested that steroid hormone levels in plasma change after boric acid administration, but a clear mechanism behind these variations has not been established. We analyzed possibilities for these changes and hypothesized that boric acid disrupts the interactions between steroid hormones and several carriers in plasma. In particular, we proposed that there is an uncoupling of the interactions between sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and estrogens and testosterone and that there are alterations in the binding of hydrophobic ligands by other carrier proteins in plasma. Further experimental and computational studies are required to support the hypothesis that boric acid and probably other boron-containing compounds can displace steroid hormones from their plasma carriers. If such phenomena are confirmed, boron administration with a clear mechanism could be employed as a therapeutic agent in several diseases or physiological events that require modulation of steroid hormone levels in plasma.
KW - Bone
KW - Boric acid
KW - Boron
KW - Estrogen
KW - Muscle strengthening
KW - SHGB
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85048942975&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.06.024
DO - 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.06.024
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 30037620
SN - 0306-9877
VL - 118
SP - 78
EP - 83
JO - Medical Hypotheses
JF - Medical Hypotheses
ER -