Steroid Hormone Receptor (SHR)

Steroid hormone receptors are intracellular proteins that specifically bind to steroid hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and aldosterone. These receptors are primarily located in the cytoplasm or nucleus of target cells and function as ligand-activated transcription factors. Upon binding their respective ligands (steroid hormones), they regulate gene expression by interacting with specific DNA sequences known as hormone response elements (HREs), leading to activation or repression of target genes. The main classes of steroid hormone receptors include Estrogen Receptors (ER), Progesterone Receptors (PR), Androgen Receptors (AR), Glucocorticoid Receptors (GR), and Mineralocorticoid Receptors (MR). Dysfunction or abnormal expression/mutation in these receptors is implicated in various diseases such as cancers (e.g., breast/prostate cancer), metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, infertility, osteoporosis, Cushing’s syndrome/Addison’s disease.

Other names

Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 3Steroid Receptor

Ligand-induced activation → nuclear translocation → DNA binding (HRE) → gene regulation (transcriptional activation/repression)