molecular action

Last reviewed 01/2018

Steroids act on their target cells by traversing the cell membrane and binding reversibly with protein receptors. The receptors are present within the cytosol of the vast majority of body cells.

The steroid-protein complex binds reversibly to both DNA and chromatin. The interaction with chromatin facilitates the interaction with the DNA strand. The protein receptor determines which part of the DNA is unravelled and transcribes messenger RNA. The messenger RNA then determines which protein is produced.