The brain is an important target organ for circulating steroid hormones secreted from peripheral organs such as the adrenal cortex, testis and/or ovary. In other words, these peripheral organs control the central nervous system. Steroid hormones substantially influence brain development, reproduction, sexual differentiation, cognition, memory, behavior, and so on. These effects are mediated by ...

BACKGROUND Glycoprotein hormones influence the development and function of the ovary, testis and thyroid by binding to specific high-affinity receptors. The extracellular domains of these receptors are members of the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) protein superfamily and are responsible for the high-affinity binding. The crystal structure of a glycoprotein hormone, namely human choriogonadotropin (h...

Glycoprotein hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) are heterodimeric proteins with a common α-subunit and hormone-specific β-subunit. These hormones are dominant regulators of reproduction and metabolic processes. Receptors for the glycoprotein hormones belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors. FSH receptor (FSHR...

In recent years a large amount of data has been gathered on the biology of thyroid hormone receptors. The receptor proteins have been analyzed from the physiological and structural points of view. Most of the information has been summarized in several recent excellent reviews (1–6). The thyroid hormone receptors (TR) are ligand-modulated transcription factors which are members of a large superf...