5-alpha Reductase - Function

Function

5α-reductases convert testosterone, the male sex hormone, into the more potent dihydrotestosterone:

  • Testosterone.

  • Dihydrotestosterone

Note the major difference — the Δ4,5 double-bond on the A (leftmost) ring. (The other differences between the diagrams are unrelated to chemical structure.)

These enzymes also participate in the creation of such neurosteroids as allopregnanolone and THDOC.

Read more about this topic:  5-alpha Reductase

Famous quotes containing the word function:

    “Advocating the mere tolerance of difference between women is the grossest reformism. It is a total denial of the creative function of difference in our lives. Difference must be not merely tolerated, but seen as a fund of necessary polarities between which our creativity can spark like a dialectic.”
    —Audre Lorde (1934–1992)

    “The function of the actor is to make the audience imagine for the moment that real things are happening to real people.”
    —George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)

    “For me being a poet is a job rather than an activity. I feel I have a function in society, neither more nor less meaningful than any other simple job. I feel it is part of my work to make poetry more accessible to people who have had their rights withdrawn from them.”
    —Jeni Couzyn (b. 1942)