Cholesterol Is the Precursor to All Steroid Hormones

September 2, 2005

Synthesis of Steroid Hormones From Cholesterol

Cholesterol is the precursor to all steroid hormones, including:

• Glucocorticoids (blood sugar regulation)

• Mineralcorticoids (mineral balance and blood pressure regulation)

• Sex Hormones (many functions)

Cholesterol is the precursor to a hormone called pregnenolone, which has important functions itself, but is also the precursor to all other steroid hormones.

Pregnenolone is converted to progesterone, a sex hormone, which in turn is converted into cortisol, which regulates inflammation and blood sugar, aldosterone, which regulates mineral balance and blood pressure, or testosterone, a type of sex hormone referred to as an androgen, which regulates libido, muscle mass, and plays other roles.

In females, and to a lesser degree in males, testosterone is further modified, undergoing conversion to estradiol, a different type of sex hormone called an estrogen.

References

Harvey et al.,Biochemistry: 3rd Edition, Baltimore: Lippincott, 2005, pp. 235-238.