| Sex hormone | |
|---|---|
| Drug class | |
 | |
| Class identifiers | |
| Synonyms | Sex steroid; Gonadal steroid |
| Use | Various |
| Biological target | Sex hormone receptors |
| Chemical class | Steroidal;Nonsteroidal |
| Legal status | |
| In Wikidata | |
Sex hormones, also known assex steroids,gonadocorticoids andgonadal steroids, aresteroid hormones that interact withvertebratesteroid hormone receptors.[1] The sex hormones include theandrogens,estrogens, andprogestogens. Their effects are mediated by slow genomic mechanisms throughnuclear receptors as well as by fast nongenomic mechanisms through membrane-associated receptors andsignaling cascades.[2] Certainpolypeptide hormones including theluteinizing hormone,follicle-stimulating hormone, andgonadotropin-releasing hormone – each associated with thegonadotropin axis – are usually not regarded as sex hormones, although they play major sex-related roles.
Natural sex hormones are made by thegonads (ovaries ortesticles),[3] byadrenal glands, or by conversion from other sex steroids in other tissue such as liver or fat.[4]
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| Sex | Sex hormone | Reproductive phase | Blood production rate | Gonadal secretion rate | Metabolic clearance rate | Reference range (serum levels) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SI units | Non-SI units | ||||||
| Men | Androstenedione | – | 2.8 mg/day | 1.6 mg/day | 2200 L/day | 2.8–7.3 nmol/L | 80–210 ng/dL |
| Testosterone | – | 6.5 mg/day | 6.2 mg/day | 950 L/day | 6.9–34.7 nmol/L | 200–1000 ng/dL | |
| Estrone | – | 150 μg/day | 110 μg/day | 2050 L/day | 37–250 pmol/L | 10–70 pg/mL | |
| Estradiol | – | 60 μg/day | 50 μg/day | 1600 L/day | <37–210 pmol/L | 10–57 pg/mL | |
| Estrone sulfate | – | 80 μg/day | Insignificant | 167 L/day | 600–2500 pmol/L | 200–900 pg/mL | |
| Women | Androstenedione | – | 3.2 mg/day | 2.8 mg/day | 2000 L/day | 3.1–12.2 nmol/L | 89–350 ng/dL |
| Testosterone | – | 190 μg/day | 60 μg/day | 500 L/day | 0.7–2.8 nmol/L | 20–81 ng/dL | |
| Estrone | Follicular phase | 110 μg/day | 80 μg/day | 2200 L/day | 110–400 pmol/L | 30–110 pg/mL | |
| Luteal phase | 260 μg/day | 150 μg/day | 2200 L/day | 310–660 pmol/L | 80–180 pg/mL | ||
| Postmenopause | 40 μg/day | Insignificant | 1610 L/day | 22–230 pmol/L | 6–60 pg/mL | ||
| Estradiol | Follicular phase | 90 μg/day | 80 μg/day | 1200 L/day | <37–360 pmol/L | 10–98 pg/mL | |
| Luteal phase | 250 μg/day | 240 μg/day | 1200 L/day | 699–1250 pmol/L | 190–341 pg/mL | ||
| Postmenopause | 6 μg/day | Insignificant | 910 L/day | <37–140 pmol/L | 10–38 pg/mL | ||
| Estrone sulfate | Follicular phase | 100 μg/day | Insignificant | 146 L/day | 700–3600 pmol/L | 250–1300 pg/mL | |
| Luteal phase | 180 μg/day | Insignificant | 146 L/day | 1100–7300 pmol/L | 400–2600 pg/mL | ||
| Progesterone | Follicular phase | 2 mg/day | 1.7 mg/day | 2100 L/day | 0.3–3 nmol/L | 0.1–0.9 ng/mL | |
| Luteal phase | 25 mg/day | 24 mg/day | 2100 L/day | 19–45 nmol/L | 6–14 ng/mL | ||
Notes and sources Notes: "Theconcentration of a steroid in the circulation is determined by the rate at which it is secreted from glands, the rate of metabolism of precursor or prehormones into the steroid, and the rate at which it is extracted by tissues and metabolized. Thesecretion rate of a steroid refers to the total secretion of the compound from a gland per unit time. Secretion rates have been assessed by sampling the venous effluent from a gland over time and subtracting out the arterial and peripheral venous hormone concentration. Themetabolic clearance rate of a steroid is defined as the volume of blood that has been completely cleared of the hormone per unit time. Theproduction rate of a steroid hormone refers to entry into the blood of the compound from all possible sources, including secretion from glands and conversion of prohormones into the steroid of interest. At steady state, the amount of hormone entering the blood from all sources will be equal to the rate at which it is being cleared (metabolic clearance rate) multiplied by blood concentration (production rate = metabolic clearance rate × concentration). If there is little contribution of prohormone metabolism to the circulating pool of steroid, then the production rate will approximate the secretion rate."Sources: See template. | |||||||
In many contexts, the two main classes of sex hormones are androgens and estrogens, of which the most important human derivatives aretestosterone andestradiol, respectively. Other contexts will includeprogestogens as a third class of sex steroids, distinct from androgens and estrogens.[5]Progesterone is the most important and only naturally occurring human progestogen. In general, androgens are considered "male sex hormones", since they have masculinizing effects, while estrogens and progestogens are considered "female sex hormones" although all types are present in each sex at different levels.[6]
Sex hormones include:
There are also many synthetic sex steroids.[7] Synthetic androgens are often referred to asanabolic steroids. Synthetic estrogens and progestins are used in methods ofhormonal contraception.Ethinylestradiol is an example of a semi-synthetic estrogen. Specific compounds that have partial agonist activity forsteroid receptors may require treatment by a steroid in one cell type, and, therefore, act like natural steroid hormones. These compounds are used in certain medical conditions. Some systemic effects of a particular steroid in the entire organism are only desirable within certain limits.[8]
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