endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...

, permissiveness is a

biochemical Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, ...

phenomenon in which the presence of one

hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of cell signaling, signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physio ...

is required in order for another hormone to exert its full effects on a target cell. Hormones can interact in permissive, synergistic, or antagonistic ways. The chemical classes of hormones include

amines In chemistry, amines (, ) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds. Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups. The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of elec ...

polypeptides Peptides are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. A polypeptide is a longer, continuous, unbranched peptide chain. Polypeptides that have a molecular mass of 10,000 Da or more are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty ami ...

glycoproteins Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide (sugar) chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known a ...

and

steroids 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 mem ...

. Permissive hormones act as precursors to active hormones and may be classified as either prohormones or prehormones. It stimulate the formation of receptors of that hormone.

Examples

Thyroid hormone File:Thyroid_system.svg, upright=1.5, The thyroid system of the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine, T3 and T4 rect 376 268 820 433 Thyroid-stimulating hormone rect 411 200 849 266 Thyrotropin-releasing hormone rect 297 168 502 200 Hypothalamus r ...

increases the number of beta-adrenergic receptors available for

epinephrine Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands a ...

at the latter's target cell, thereby increasing epinephrine's effect on that cell. Specially in cardiac cell. Without the thyroid hormone, epinephrine would have only a weak effect. Cortisol is required for the response of vascular and bronchial smooth muscle to catecholamines. Cortisol is also required for the lipolytic effect of catecholamines, ACTH, and growth hormone on fat cells. Cortisol is also required for the calorigenic effects of glucagon and catecholamines. The effects of a hormone in the body depend on its concentration. Permissive actions of

glucocorticoid Glucocorticoids (or, less commonly, glucocorticosteroids) are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class of steroid hormones. Glucocorticoids are corticosteroids that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor that is present in almost every vertebra ...

s like cortisol generally occur at low concentrations. Abnormally high amounts of a hormone can result in atypical effects. Glucocorticoids function by attaching to cytoplasmic receptors to either enhance or suppress changes in the transcription of

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

and thus the synthesis of proteins. Glucocorticoids also inhibit the secretion of

cytokines Cytokines () are a broad and loose category of small proteins (~5–25 kDa) important in cell signaling. Cytokines are produced by a broad range of cells, including immune cells like macrophages, B cell, B lymphocytes, T cell, T lymphocytes ...

via

post-translational modification In molecular biology, post-translational modification (PTM) is the covalent process of changing proteins following protein biosynthesis. PTMs may involve enzymes or occur spontaneously. Proteins are created by ribosomes, which translation (biolog ...

effects.Stoelting, R., & Shafer, S. (2015). Stoelting's handbook of pharmacology and physiology in anesthetic practice. (3rd ed.).

References

Biology terminology {{biochemistry-stub