steroid
Sign in to savethumb|right|alt=Complex chemical diagram|class=skin-invert-image|Structure of 24-ethyl-lanostane, a prototypical steroid with 32 carbon atoms. Its core ring system (ABCD), composed of 17 carbon atoms, is shown with [[IUPAC-approved ring lettering and atom numbering.]]A steroid is an organic compound with four fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration.
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A steroid is an organic compound made up of four fused rings arranged in a specific molecular structure. Steroids matter because this particular ring arrangement is found in many biologically important molecules that affect how living organisms function.
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Article
30 sectionsContents
- Structure
- Nomenclature
- Rings and functional groups
- Naming convention
- Species distribution
- Eukaryotic
- Prokaryotic
- Fungal
- Plant
- Animal
- Types
- By function
- By structure
- Intact ring system
- Cleaved, contracted, and expanded rings
- Biological significance
- Biosynthesis and metabolism
- Mevalonate pathway
- <span class="anchor" id="Regulation">Steroidogenesis</span>
- Alternative pathways
- Catabolism and excretion
- Isolation, structure determination, and methods of analysis
- {{anchor|Chemical synthesis of steroids|Partial and total chemical synthesis|Microbial transformations}}Chemical synthesis
- Precursors
- Semisynthesis
- Total synthesis
- {{anchor|History}}Research awards
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
thumb|right|alt=Complex chemical diagram|class=skin-invert-image|Structure of 24-ethyl-lanostane, a prototypical steroid with 32 carbon atoms. Its core ring system (ABCD), composed of 17 carbon atoms, is shown with [[IUPAC-approved ring lettering and atom numbering.]]A steroid is an organic compound with four fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration.
Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and as signaling molecules. Examples include the lipid cholesterol, sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, anabolic steroids, and the anti-inflammatory corticosteroid drug dexamethasone. Hundreds of steroids are found in fungi, plants, and animals. All steroids are manufactured in cells from a sterol: cholesterol (animals), lanosterol (opisthokonts), or cycloartenol (plants). All three of these molecules are produced via cyclization of the triterpene squalene.