Membrane steroid receptor

Membrane steroid receptors (mSRs), also called extranuclear steroid receptors, are a class of receptors that bind and are activated by endogenous steroids and mediate rapid, non-genomic signaling via modulation of intracellular signaling cascades.^[1][2][3][4] They are another means besides classical nuclear steroid hormone receptors by which steroids mediate their biological effects.^[1][2][3][4]

Known groups of mSRs include:

• Membrane sex steroid receptors
  • Membrane estrogen receptors (mERs) – e.g., GPER, ER-X, G_q-mER
  • Membrane progesterone receptors (mPRs) – mPRα, mPRβ, mPRγ
  • Membrane androgen receptors (mARs) – GPRC6A, ZIP9
• Membrane corticosteroid receptors
  • Membrane glucocorticoid receptors (mGRs)
  • Membrane mineralocorticoid receptors (mMRs)

Ligand-gated ion channels such as the GABA_A receptor and the NMDA receptor bind and are modulated by neurosteroids such as dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), allopregnanolone, and 3α-androstanediol. Vomeronasal receptors bind and are activated by pheromones such as androstenone and androstenol.

References

1. Levin ER (2014). "Translating extranuclear steroid receptor signaling to clinical medicine". Horm Cancer. 5 (3): 140–5. doi:10.1007/s12672-014-0179-9. PMC 4040225. PMID 24752388.
2. Hammes SR, Levin ER (2011). "Minireview: Recent advances in extranuclear steroid receptor actions". Endocrinology. 152 (12): 4489–95. doi:10.1210/en.2011-1470. PMC 3858720. PMID 22028449.
3. Sen A, Prizant H, Hammes SR (2011). "Understanding extranuclear (nongenomic) androgen signaling: what a frog oocyte can tell us about human biology". Steroids. 76 (9): 822–8. doi:10.1016/j.steroids.2011.02.016. PMID 21354434.
4. Watson, C. S. (1999). "Signaling Themes Shared Between Peptide and Steroid Hormones at the Plasma Membrane". Science Signaling. 1999 (12): pe1–pe1. doi:10.1126/stke.1999.12.pe1. ISSN 1945-0877.