Steroid



  A steroid is a carbon skeleton with four fused rings, generally arranged in a 6-6-6-5 fashion.

Steroids vary by the squalene.[1]

Origin

  Steroids include mitochondrion.[2]

Classification

Taxonomical/Functional

Some of the common categories of steroids:

  • Animal steroids
    • Insect steroids
    • Vertebrate steroids
      • Steroid hormones
        • progestagens.
        • electrolytes.
        • Anabolic steroids are a class of steroids that interact with androgen receptors to increase muscle and bone synthesis. There are natural and synthetic anabolic steroids. In popular language the word "steroids" usually refers to anabolic steroids.
      • Cholesterol which modulates the fluidity of cell membranes and is the principle constituent of the plaques implicated in atherosclerosis.
  • Plant steroids
  • Fungus steroids
    • Ergosterols

Structural

It is also possible to classify steroids based upon their chemical composition. One example of how MeSH performs this classification is available at the Wikipedia MeSH catalog. Examples from this classification include:

Class Examples Number of carbon atoms
Cholstanes cholesterol 27
Cholanes cholic acid 22
Pregnanes progesterone 22
Androstanes testosterone 19
Estranes estradiol 18

See also

  • Steroid biosynthesis
  • List of steroid abbreviations

References

  1. ^ http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/enzyme/reaction/terp/lanost.html
  2. ^ Rossier MF (2006). "T channels and steroid biosynthesis: in search of a link with mitochondria". Cell Calcium. 40 (2): 155-64. doi:10.1016/j.ceca.2006.04.020. PMID 16759697.
General:
Precursors: Lanosterol
Common: Androstenedione | Androstanediol
Estrogens: Estriol | Estrone
Androgens: Dihydrotestosterone | Androsterone
Progestagens: Progestins
Glucocorticoids: Cortisol | Prednisone
Mineralocorticoids: Aldosterone
Phytosterols: Stigmasterol | Brassicasterol
Ergosterols: Ergosterol | Ergocalciferol
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Steroid". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.