What is the Origin of Selective Hormone Effect?

This principle is central to modern endocrinology, moving beyond the one-hormone-one-effect model to embrace receptor heterogeneity. It explains tissue-specific responses even when circulating hormone concentrations are uniform across the body. The effect highlights the importance of cellular context.

What is the Mechanism of Selective Hormone Effect?

Selectivity is often achieved through the presence of specific receptor subtypes, such as the different estrogen receptor isoforms (ER-alpha vs. ER-beta), which recruit different co-activators or co-repressors upon ligand binding. This differential genomic signaling dictates the specific transcriptional program initiated in that cell type. Therefore, the outcome is determined not just by the ligand concentration but by the cellular machinery available to interpret the signal.

Selective Hormone Effect ∞ Area

Selective Hormone Effect

Meaning

The phenomenon where a single hormone exerts distinct, non-identical biological effects across different tissues or cell types due to differential expression of receptor subtypes or variations in downstream intracellular signaling cascades. For example, testosterone exhibits anabolic effects in muscle and androgenic effects in other tissues mediated by distinct receptor isoforms. This specificity allows for complex, nuanced physiological regulation.