ACTIVITY 16

BIOCHEMISTRY OF HORMONES
INTRODUCTION:
• Cells and tissues communicate with each other by releasing or
responding to secreted substances that aim in altering the specific
function of a cell or tissue.
• These messengers are termed hormones. This communication is
required for the development and organization of tissues, the control
of growth, division and death and coordinating the diverse cellular
activities.
• This message system is termed the endocrine system.
• The term hormone (hormacin/hormao-to excite) was first used by
William M. Bayliss and his brother-in law Ernest H. Starlng. In 1904,
they showed that a chemical substances (secretin) from the intestine
could stimulate the action f pancreatic secretion. These substances
were then called as “chemical messengers”.
• Wenrt and Thimann (1937) defines a hormone “as a substance which
produced in any part of an organism, is transferred to another part
and there influence a specific physiological process.
• The tissue or organs where they are produces are called effectors and
those where they exert their influence as targets.
• 2 types of hormones based on their site of action
1. Local hormones
> have specific local effects, whence their nomenclature.
> These may be exemplifies by acetylcholine, secretin, cholecystokinin, etc.
2. General hormones
> are secreted by specific endocrine glands and are transported in the blood that
cause physiology actions at points remote their place of origin.
> A few of the general hormones affects almost all cells pf the body, e.g., growth
hormones (GH) and thyroid hormones; whereas other general hormones
however, affect specific tissues far more than other tissues. e.g., adrencorticotropin
( a hormone secreted from adenohypophysis and stimulating the adrenal cortex) and
ovarian hormones (affecting the uterine endometrium
Classification of Hormones according to
structures:
1. Peptide/Protein hormones:
> The structure of peptide hormones is that of a polypeptide
chain (chain of amino acids).
> The peptide hormones include molecules that are short
polypeptide chains, such as antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin
produced in the brain and released into the blood in the
posterior pituitary gland. This class also includes small proteins
like growth hormones produced by the pituitary, and large
glycoproteins such as follicle-stimulating hormone produced by the
pituitary. 
> Secreted peptides like insulin are stored within vesicles in the
cells that synthesize them. They are then released in response
to stimuli such as high blood glucose levels in the case of
insulin.
> These hormones cannot pass through plasma membranes of
cells; therefore, their receptors are found on the surface of the
target cells.
2. Steroid hormones or Lipid Hormone
> Most lipid hormones are derived from cholesterol and thus are
structurally similar to it.
> The primary class of lipid hormones in humans is the steroid
hormones. Chemically, these hormones are usually ketones or
alcohols; their chemical names will end in “-ol” for alcohols or
“-one” for ketones.
> Examples of steroid hormones include estradiol, which is an
estrogen, or female sex hormone, and testosterone, which is an
androgen, or male sex hormone. 
> These two hormones are released by the female and male
reproductive organs, respectively.
> Other steroid hormones include aldosterone and cortisol,
which are released by the adrenal glands along with some
other types of androgens.
> Steroid hormones are insoluble in water, and they are
transported by transport proteins in blood.
3. Amino acid hormones
> The amino acid-derived hormones are relatively small
molecules that are derived from the amino acids tyrosine and
tryptophan.
> If a hormone is amino acid-derived, its chemical name will end
in “-ine”. Examples of amino acid-derived hormones include
epinephrine and norepinephrine, which are synthesized in the
medulla of the adrenal glands, and thyroxine, which is produced by
the thyroid gland.
> The pineal gland in the brain makes and secretes melatonin which
regulates sleep cycles.
Negative and Positive Feedbacks:
• The hormone levels in the blood are regulated by a highly specialized
homeostatic mechanism called feedback.  
• Information regarding the hormone level or its effect is fed back to
the gland that the hormone secreted from.  
• These terms positive and negative are not meant to denote a good or
bad response, but rather the type of response the system has to the
presence of the effector.
• Due to positive and negative feedback, our body will be in
homeostasis
• Positive feedback mechanisms:
> It amplifies changes rather than reversing them.  
> The release of oxytocin from the posterior pituitary gland
during labor is an example of positive feedback mechanism.
Oxytocin stimulates the muscle contractions that push the baby
through the birth canal.  The release of oxytocin result in
stronger or augmented contractions during labor. The
contractions intensify and increase until the baby is outside the birth
canal. When the stimulus to the pressure receptors ends, oxytocin
production stops and labor contractions cease.
> Positive feedback mechanisms control self-perpetuating events
that can be out of control and do not require continuous
adjustment. In positive feedback mechanisms, the original
stimulus is promoted rather than negated.
> Positive feedback increases the deviation from an ideal normal
value.
• Negative Feedback
> the response will reverse or cause the opposite effect of the
original stimulus.  
> Negative feedback can be explained with the process of insulin
production and release.  After a meal the blood sugar level will be
elevated due to the absorption of sugars from the digestive tract.
This triggers the release of insulin from pancreas.  Insulin converts
sugar into cells and hence the blood sugar level drops.  This low
blood sugar level will result in the cessation of insulin release. 
THANK YOU!