News tagged with estrogen

Estrogens (U.S., otherwise oestrogens or œstrogens) are a group of steroid compounds, named for their importance in the estrous cycle, and functioning as the primary female sex hormone, their name comes from estrus (period of fertility for female mammals) + gen = to generate.

Estrogens are used as part of some oral contraceptives, in estrogen replacement therapy for postmenopausal women, and in hormone replacement therapy for transwomen.

Like all steroid hormones, estrogens readily diffuse across the cell membrane. Once inside the cell, they bind to and activate estrogen receptors which in turn up-regulate the expression of many genes. Additionally, estrogens have been shown to activate a G protein-coupled receptor, GPR30.

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