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Specifications

  • Assay Type Competitive ELISA
  • Sample Types Urine, Extracted Serum, Extracted Plasma (EDTA and Heparin), Dried Feces, Tissue Culture Media
  • Sensitivity 129.7 pg/mL
  • Species Allopregnanolone is identical across species
  • Assay Duration 2.5 Hours or Overnight
  • Samples/Plate 39 in Duplicate
  • Readout Colorimetric, 450 nm
  • Standard Curve
  • Description

    Allopregnanolone (3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one, THP, THPROG) is a prototypic neurosteroid present in the blood and the brain. It is a metabolite of progesterone and potent modulator of GABAA receptors. Allopregnanolone has pharmacological properties including anxiolytic and anticonvulsant activity. The biosynthesis of allopregnanolone involves the conversion of progesterone into 5α-dihydroprogesterone by the enzyme 5α-reductase type I. Subsequently, 3α-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase isoenzymes convert this intermediate into allopregnanolone. Anxiety and depression are common side effects of 5α-reductase inhibitors such as finasteride and dutasteride, and they are believed to be caused, in part, by the prevention of the endogenous production of allopregnanolone. Allopregnanolone aids neurogenesis and has been found to reverse neuron proliferative deficit and cognitive deficits in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.