Human Endogenous Natural Products
319
HO
cholesterol
O
pregnenone
O
O
progesterone
O
O
OH
O
HO
aldosterone
O
O
HO
17-hydroxyprogesterone
HO
O
dehydroepiandrosterone
O
17-hydroxypregnenone
O
O
OH
HO
O
cortisone
O
O
OH
HO
HO
cortisol
O
OH
testosterone
O
O
androstenedione
HO
OH
androstenediol
HO
O
estrone
HO
OH
estradiol
O
OH
dihydrotestosterone
HO
O
androsterone
P450scc
3ß-HSD
P450c17
P450
5a-reductase 1 and 2
HO
aro
Fig. 4 Major metabolism pathways of human steroid hormones
Aldosterone is a mineralocorticoid that stimulates active reabsorption of sodium
and associated passive reabsorption of water in the kidney. Androstenedione, testosterone, estrone, estradiol, progesterone, and some other related compounds are sex
steroids that govern the development and maintenance of secondary sex characteristics such as the menstrual cycle. The steroid hormones usually function by
activating the corresponding nuclear receptor, and the genetic disorders related to
steroid hormones will be discussed in Sect. 4. It should be noted that some of the
non-hormone steroids play very important roles in life, for example, cholesterol modification is essential for Sonic hedgehog signaling, which, for example, is important
for the evolution of radio- and chemoresistance of several types of tumors [6].