MICROANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -The steroid hormones pass through the plasma membrane of a target cell and adhere to intracellular receptors residing in the cytoplasm or in the nucleus. The cell signaling pathways induced by the steroid hormones regulate specific genes on the cell’s DNA.

Detailed explanation-2: -Hormones activate target cells by diffusing through the plasma membrane of the target cells (lipid-soluble hormones) to bind a receptor protein within the cytoplasm of the cell, or by binding a specific receptor protein in the cell membrane of the target cell (water-soluble proteins).

Detailed explanation-3: -Hormones travel throughout the body, either in the blood stream or in the fluid around cells, looking for target cells. Once hormones find a target cell, they bind with specific protein receptors inside or on the surface of the cell and specifically change the cell’s activities.

Detailed explanation-4: -Endocrine action: the hormone is distributed in blood and binds to distant target cells. Paracrine action: the hormone acts locally by diffusing from its source to target cells in the neighborhood. Autocrine action: the hormone acts on the same cell that produced it.