The primary effector creates a signal that can diffuse within the cell. This signal is called the "secondary messenger." (The neurotransmitter is the first messenger.) The secondary messenger may then activate a "secondary effector" whose effects depend on the particular secondary messenger system.
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Hormones are signaling molecules secreted by glands into the bloodstream to target distant cells, while secondary messengers are molecules produced inside cells in response to hormone signaling, amplifying and transmitting the signal to the cell's interior. Hormones act at a distance, while secondary messengers act within the cell to relay and amplify signaling.
Primary endocrine pathology refers to dysfunction within an endocrine gland itself, causing abnormal hormone production. Secondary endocrine pathology results from dysfunction in the pituitary gland or hypothalamus, leading to inadequate stimulation or suppression of hormone production in the target endocrine gland.
The combination of an endocrine gland and a hormone is a working endocrine gland that has a chemical messenger called a hormone. The hormone can be either manufactured by that gland itself, a stored hormone that another gland made, or it can be a positive or negative feedback hormone as part of the hormonal control system.
Hormone.
Peptide hormones bind to cell surface receptors, activating signaling pathways that involve the generation of second messengers within the cell. The first messenger (peptide hormone) triggers the activation of specific proteins or enzymes that then generate the second messenger molecules, such as cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) or inositol trisphosphate (IP3), initiating a cascade of cellular responses.
The primary hormone produced by the testes is testosterone, which plays a crucial role in male reproductive tissues and secondary sexual characteristics.