Sex Hormone

Information about Sex Hormone

Sex steroids, also known as gonadal steroids, are steroid hormones that interact with vertebrate androgen or estrogen receptors. The term sex hormone nearly always is synonymous with sex steroid.

Production

Natural sex steroids are made by the gonads (ovaries or testes), by adrenal glands, or by conversion from other sex steroids in other tissues such as liver or fat.

Functions

Sex steroids play important roles in inducing the body changes known as primary sex characteristics and secondary sex characteristics.

The development of both primary and secondary sexual characteristics is controlled by sex hormones after the initial fetal stage where the presence or absence of the Y-chromosome and/or the SRY gene determine development.

Synthetic sex steroids

There are also many synthetic sex steroids. Synthetic androgens are often referred to as anabolic steroids. Synthetic estrogens and progestins are used in methods of hormonal contraception. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a synthetic estrogen.

Types

In many contexts, the two main classes of sex steroids are androgens and estrogens, of which the most important human derivatives are testosterone and estradiol, respectively. Other contexts will include progestagen as a third class of sex steroids, distinct from androgens and estrogens. Progesterone is the most important and only naturally-occurring human progestagen.

Sex steroids include:

External links

MeSH Sex+Steroid+Hormones
Sex+hormones at eMedicine Dictionary

• • [ e] Sex hormones and related agents (primarily G03, also L02, H01C) - human endogenous in CAPS
Progestogens: (receptor)	PROGESTERONE, Desogestrel, Drospirenone, Dydrogesterone, Ethisterone, Etonogestrel, Ethynodiol diacetate, Gestodene, Gestonorone, Levonorgestrel, Lynestrenol, Medroxyprogesterone, Megestrol, Norelgestromin, Norethisterone, Norethynodrel, Norgestimate, Norgestrel, Norgestrienone, Tibolone Selective progesterone receptor modulator: Asoprisnil, CDB-4124 Antiprogestogen: Mifepristone
Androgens: (receptor)	TESTOSTERONE, Androstanolone, Fluoxymesterone, Mesterolone, Methyltestosterone, (see also anabolic steroids) Antiandrogens: Bicalutamide, Cyproterone, Flutamide, Nilutamide, Spironolactone
Estrogens: (receptor)	ESTRADIOL, ESTRIOL, ESTRONE, Chlorotrianisene, Dienestrol, Diethylstilbestrol, Ethinylestradiol, Fosfestrol, Mestranol, Polyestradiol phosphate Selective estrogen receptor modulator: Bazedoxifene, Clomifene, Fulvestrant, Lasofoxifene, Raloxifene, Tamoxifen, Toremifene Aromatase inhibitor: Aminogluthetimide, Anastrozole, Exemestane, Formestane, Letrozole, Vorozole
Gonadotropins: (FSHR/LHCGR)'	ovulation stim.: Clomifene, Urofollitropin Antigonadotropins:'' Danazol, Gestrinone
GnRH: (receptor)	agonist: Buserelin, Goserelin, Histrelin, Leuprorelin, Nafarelin, Triptorelin antagonist: Abarelix, Cetrorelix, Ganirelix

Steroid hormones are steroids which act as hormones. Mammalian steroid hormones can be grouped into five groups by the receptors to which they bind: glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, androgens, estrogens, and progestagens.
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Vertebrata
Cuvier, 1812

Classes and Clades

See below
Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata (within the phylum Chordata), specifically, those chordates with backbones or spinal columns.
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Androgen is the generic term for any natural or synthetic compound, usually a steroid hormone, that stimulates or controls the development and maintenance of masculine characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors.
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Estrogens (alternative spellings: oestrogens or œstrogens) are a group of steroid compounds, named for their importance in the estrous cycle, and functioning as the primary female sex hormone.
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For other uses, see Receptor.

In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein on the cell membrane or within the cytoplasm or cell nucleus that binds to a specific molecule (a ligand), such as a neurotransmitter, hormone, or other substance, and initiates
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The gonad is the organ that makes gametes. The gonads in males are the testes and the gonads in females are the ovaries. The product, gametes, are haploid germ cells. For example, sperm and egg cells are gametes.
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For ovary as part of plants see ovary (plants)

An ovary is an egg-producing reproductive organ found in female organisms. They are usually purple. It is often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system.
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The testicle (from Latin testis, meaning "witness",^[1] plural testes) or ballock is the male generative gland in animals. This article will concentrate on mammalian testicles unless otherwise noted.
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In mammals, the adrenal glands (also known as suprarenal glands) are the triangle-shaped endocrine glands that sit on top of the kidneys; their name indicates that position (ad-, "near" or "at" + -renes, "kidneys").
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A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined, is any of those anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in a complex organism; namely:

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Secondary sex characteristics are traits that distinguish the two sexes of a species, but that are not directly part of the reproductive system. Some have argued that in general they evolved to give an individual an advantage over its rivals in courtship.
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Sex refers to the male and female duality of biology and reproduction. Unlike organisms that only have the ability to reproduce asexually, sexed male and female pairs have the ability to produce offspring through meiosis and fertilization.
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The Y chromosome is the sex-determining chromosome in humans and most other mammals. In mammals, it contains the gene SRY, which triggers testis development, thus determining sex.

Overview

Most mammals have one pair of sex chromosomes in each cell.
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SRY (Sex-determining Region Y) is a sex-determining gene on the Y chromosome in humans and other primates. It is not the only, or even most common sex-determining gene in mammals. Most non-primate mammals use the Y chromosome gene UBE1 for the same purpose.
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Anabolic steroids, also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids or AAS, are a class of steroid hormones related to the hormone testosterone. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue (anabolism), especially in muscles.
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Hormonal contraception refers to birth control methods that act on the hormonal system.

Currently, all hormonal contraceptives are designed for use by women rather than men, though research on a male hormonal contraceptive (“the male Pill”) has been underway for
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Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a drug, an orally active synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen that was first synthesized in 1938. In 1971 it was found to be a teratogen when given to pregnant women.
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Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. Testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid.
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Estradiol (17β-estradiol) (also oestradiol) is a sex hormone. Labelled the "female" hormone but also present in males, it represents the major estrogen in humans.
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Progestagens (also spelled progestogens or gestagens) are hormones that produce effects similar to those of progesterone, the only natural progestagen. All other progestogens are synthetic and are often referred to as progestins.
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Progesterone is a C-21 steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy (supports gestation) and embryogenesis of humans and other species. Progesterone belongs to a class of hormones called progestogens, and is the major naturally occurring human
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Androstenedione (also known as 4-androstenedione) is a 19-carbon steroid hormone produced in the adrenal glands and the gonads as an intermediate step in the biochemical pathway that produces the androgen testosterone and the estrogens estrone and estradiol.
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For other uses, see DHT (disambiguation).

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) (Full name: 5α-Dihydrotestosterone, abbreviating to 5α-DHT; INN: androstanolone
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Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), is a natural steroid prohormone produced from cholesterol by the adrenal glands, the gonads, adipose tissue, brain and in the skin (by an autocrine mechanism).
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