MOde of entry of steroid and thyroid hormones into cells

Characteristics of the processes by which steroid and thyroid hormones enter tissues, cells and membrane vesicles are reviewed. Several authors suggest that entry is by passive diffusion: the accumulation within cells is attributed to cytoplasmic binding proteins. Other authors, however, propose a membrane-mediated process of entry. The involvement of saturability, high specificity, sensitivity to temperature, sulfhydryl and cell-surface-perturbing reagents and hydrolytic enzymes support the latter view. Purified plasma-membrane vesicle preparations retain several characteristics of entry shown by intact cells. Intracellular hormone-binding protein would not contribute to processes observed with these preparations.