Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Establishment of Rat Models Mimicking Gender-affirming Hormone Therapies
Published on: January 10, 2025
Prohormones: their clinical relevance
1Endocrine Sciences Research Group, and Departments of Medicine and Child Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Abstract:
The majority of peptide hormones and neuropeptides are synthesized as precursors, which are cleaved in a sequence-specific and tissue-specific manner to yield the biologically active peptides. There has been considerable progress in the past ten years in understanding the nature and mechanism of action of the prohormone convertases that cleave these prohormones. Evidence from knockout technology and clinical examples of gene mutations has provided functional information on disruption of prohormone cleavage and the bioactivity of prohormones. There are specific examples of the clinical relevance of circulating prohormones, such as adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) precursors and proinsulin. The central issues that still remain are: (1) What is the relative importance of each of the different processing pathways and processing enzymes in regulating hormone action? (2) How do the serum concentrations of prohormones compare with the mature hormone levels? (3) What are the biological consequences of prohormones in the circulation?
Related Concept Videos
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and lactation.
Types of Hormones
Steroids and eicosanoids fall under the category of lipid-soluble hormones. Steroids are derived from cholesterol and feature four interconnected carbon rings with variable side chains. Notable examples include estradiol from ovaries and testosterone from testes, exemplifying the critical roles of these lipid-soluble hormones in reproductive physiology. Eicosanoids, derived...
Types of Hormones
Target Cell Response to Hormones
Notably, the cellular response can be regulated by altering the number of receptors expressed in the cell. For example, prolonged exposure to elevated hormone levels results in a gradual decline or down-regulation in the number of receptors for that specific hormone on the cell surface. Conversely, in response to low hormone levels, cells may use up-regulation, producing an...
Prodrugs
Prodrugs help overcome...
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:
