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Oestradiol, Aging Theory, Women/LGBT Difficulties and Motivation
Published in Debarshi Kar Mahapatra, Cristóbal Noé Aguilar, A. K. Haghi, Natural Products Pharmacology and Phytochemicals for Health Care, 2021
Francisco Torrens, Gloria Castellano
The female sex hormone estradiol is the most important one, along with estrone and estriol, which are less potent (cf. Figure 12.3) [11]. They are all based on the standard four-ring steroid structure (four rooms and a bathroom), with just minor differences inside groups, which includes testosterone. It is quite amazing that all the differences between males and females come down to something as trivial as the side group of a molecule! Although it can be produced by many cells in the body [e.g., fat cells, in the brain, artery walls (in males and females)], most estradiol is synthesized in the ovaries from compounds derived from cholesterol (CHOL). Estradiol helps a woman prepare for pregnancy, supporting the reproductive organs, keeping the eggs healthy in the ovaries, and instigating the monthly ovulation and menstrual cycle. It is responsible for the development of the female secondary sex characteristics, which begin at puberty and decline after the menopause; for example, estradiol initiates the development of breasts and alters the fat distribution in a woman’s body to make her curvier. It helps strengthen bones and joints.
Biological Responses in Context
Published in Arthur T. Johnson, Biology for Engineers, 2019
Sexual activity is regulated by hormones, chemicals produced in very small quantities that elicit particular responses in other parts of the body. Androgens are the principal male sex hormones, of which testosterone is the most important. These hormones regulate primary sex characteristics such as the development of sperm and sperm delivery systems. They also are responsible for secondary sex characteristics that are characteristic of male animals, including the sex drive, lower voices in mammals, singing of birds, and croaking by frogs.
The effect of sex hormones on skeletal muscle adaptation in females
Published in European Journal of Sport Science, 2022
Sarah E. Alexander, Alexander C. Pollock, Séverine Lamon
Sex steroids (also known as gonadocorticoids, and commonly referred to as sex hormones) are steroid hormones produced by the gonads, adrenal glands and a number of peripheral tissues. These hormones play an integral role in the development of primary and secondary sex characteristics and the maintenance of the reproductive system (Widmaier, Raff, & Strang, 2014). All sex steroids share the same chemical backbone, which is the product of a common biosynthesis pathway stemming from cholesterol. According to their number of carbon atoms, they can be classified into androgens (19C), estrogens (18C) and progestogens (21C). Sex hormones bind to their specific receptors located at the surface of the cell membrane and/or in the nucleus. Upon ligand binding, these receptors trigger a multitude of molecular signalling cascades, allowing sex steroids to exert their effects on their target tissues, including skeletal muscle (Ekenros, Papoutsi, Friden, Dahlman Wright, & Linden Hirschberg, 2017). Skeletal muscle is one of the main tissues that underpin sex-based differences in humans. Skeletal muscle has the second highest number of genes (up to 3000) that are differentially expressed between males and females (Oliva et al., 2020), leading to sex-specific structural and functional differences. These differences are driven, in part, by varying concentrations of sex hormones.