The steroid hormones are synthesized in the adrenal cortex, the gonads, and the placenta;
are all derived from cholesterol and many are of clinical importance. Steroid hormones
are synthesized in the mitochondria and smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Because they
are lipophilic, they cannot be stored in vesicles from which they would diffuse easily
and are therefore synthesized when needed as precursors. Upon stimulation of the parent
cell, steroid hormone precursors are converted to active hormones and diffuse out
of the parent cell by simple diffusion as their intracellular concentration rises.
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Article info
Footnotes
☆This work was supported by grant M01RR13297-05 from the General Clinical Research Center Program of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
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© 2004 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
