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Lipid-Soluble Hormone Action

Meaning

Lipid-Soluble Hormone Action describes the mechanism by which steroid hormones, such as testosterone, estrogen, and cortisol, exert their effects by easily passing through the target cell’s lipid bilayer membrane. Once inside the cell, these hormones bind to specific intracellular receptors, forming a hormone-receptor complex that then translocates to the nucleus. This complex acts as a transcription factor, directly modulating gene expression by binding to DNA response elements. This mechanism results in a relatively slow but sustained change in cellular protein synthesis.