Why are the peptide and amine (water-soluble) hormones faster acting than steroid and thyroid (water-insoluble) hormones?
A.
Hormones that act through plasma membrane receptors generally trigger very rapid physiological or biochemical responses. Just seconds after the adrenal medulla secretes epinephrine into the bloodstream, skeletal muscle responds by accelerating the breakdown of glycogen.
B.
By contrast, the thyroid hormones and the sex (steroid) hormones promote maximal responses in their target tissues only after hours or even days.
C.
These differences in response time correspond to different modes of action. In general, the fast-acting hormones lead to a change in the activity of one or more preexisting enzymes in the cell, by allosteric mechanisms or covalent modification.
D.
The slower-acting hormones generally alter gene expression, resulting in the synthesis of more (upregulation) or less (downregulation) of the regulated protein(s).