Endocrinology

Research Areas | Products for Endocrinology Research | Background

Endocrinology is the study of hormones, their signaling pathways, and the diseases associated with them. The endocrine system is one of two mechanisms in the human body that is responsible for regulating and integrating the function of cells, the other being the nervous system.

R&D Systems offers many tools for endocrine research including assay kits, antibodies, and proteins to study peptide hormones, steroid hormones, their receptors, as well as reagents to study eicosanoids.

Endocrinology Research Areas

Browse endocrinology products associated with your area of interest:

Diabetes	Metabolism	Proteases	Reproduction	Skeletal System Development
Eicosanoids and Regulators	Obesity	Protein/Peptide Hormones and Regulators	Signal Transduction	Steroid Hormone Receptors and Regulators

Products for Endocrinology Research

Androgen Receptors Androgen Receptor Agonists Androgen Receptor Antagonists Androgen Receptor Modulators Androgen Receptor Inhibitors Androgen Receptor Degraders Additional Androgen Receptor Products	Estrogen and Related Receptors Estrogen and Related Receptor Agonists Estrogen and Related Receptor Inverse Agonists Estrogen and Related Receptor Antagonists Estrogen and Related Receptor Modulators Estrogen and Related Receptor Inhibitors Estrogen and Related Receptor Ligands Estrogen and Related Receptor Degraders Additional Estrogen and Related Receptor Compounds	Melanocortin (MC) Receptors MC1R MC2R MC3R MC4R MC5R Melanocortin (MC) Receptor Agonists Melanocortin (MC) Receptor Antagonists Additional Melanocortin Receptor Peptides	PACAP Receptors PAC1R PACAP Receptor Agonists PACAP Receptor Antagonists
Angiotensin Receptors Angiotensin Peptides and Receptors	Galanin Receptors GALR1 GALR2 GALR3 Galanin Receptor Agonists Galanin Receptor Antagonists	Melatonin Receptors MT1/MTNR1A MT2/MTNR1B Melatonin Receptor Agonists Melatonin Receptor Antagonists	Parathyroid Hormone Receptors PTH1R/PTHR1 PTH2R Parathyroid Hormone Receptor Agonists
Apelin Receptors Apelin Receptor Agonists Apelin Receptor Antagonists APJ	Ghrelin Receptors Ghrelin GHSR Ghrelin Receptor Agonists Ghrelin Receptor Inverse Agonists Ghrelin Receptor Antagonists Additional Ghrelin Receptor Peptides	Mineralocorticoid Receptors Mineralocorticoid R/NR3C2 Mineralocorticoid Receptor Agonists Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists	Progesterone Receptors Progesterone R/NR3C3 Progesterone Receptor Agonists Progesterone Receptor Antagonists Progesterone Receptor Compounds
Bombesin Receptors Bombesin Receptor Agonists Bombesin Receptor Antagonists	Glucagon and Related Receptors Glucagon and Related Receptor Products	Motilin Receptor Motilin R/GPR38	Somatostatin (sst) Receptors SSTR1 SSTR2 SSTR3 SSTR4 SSTR5 Somatostatin Receptor Agonists Somatostatin Receptor Antagonists Additional Somatostatin Receptor Peptides
Calcitonin and Related Receptors Calcitonin and Related Receptor Agonists Calcitonin and Related Receptor Antagonists	Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptors GnRH GnRH2 GnRH Antagonists	Natriuretic Peptide Receptors NPRA/NPR1 NPRB/NPR2 NPRC/NPR3 Natriuretic Peptide Receptor Agonists Natriuretic Peptide Receptor Antagonists	Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptors TRHR
Cholecystokinin Receptors Cholecystokinin Receptor Products	Insulin and Insulin-like Receptors IGF1R IGF2R Insulin and Insulin-like Receptor Inhibitors Insulin and Insulin-like Receptor Activators Insulin and Insulin-like Receptors Compounds	NPY Receptors NPY1R NPY2R NPY4R NPY5R NPY Receptor Agonists NPY Receptor Antagonists	VIP Receptors VIPR1/VPAC1 VIPR2/VPAC2 VIP Receptor Agonists VIP Receptor Antagonists
CRF Receptors CRF Receptor Products	Kisspeptin Receptor KiSS1R/GPR54 Kisspeptin Receptor Agonists Kisspeptin Receptor Antagonists	Orexin Receptors Orexin Receptor Products	Vitamin D Receptors VDR/NR1I1 Vitamin D Receptor Agonists Additional VDR-like Receptor Compounds
Endothelin Receptors Endothelin Receptor Products	Leptin Receptors Leptin R	Other Nuclear Receptors Other Nuclear Receptor Agonists Other Nuclear Receptor Inverse Agonists Other Nuclear Receptor Antagonists Other Nuclear Receptor Inhibitors Other Nuclear Receptor Compounds

Background

The endocrine system is made up of glands or cell types that secrete regulatory hormones into the bloodstream. Primary endocrine glands include the pituitary, hypothalamus, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, testes, ovaries, and adrenal glands. The hormones they release modulate an array of physiological functions including metabolism, blood pressure, appetite, development, and reproduction.

Hormone Classification

Hormones are classified into three types, according to their chemical composition:

Amines (such as dopamine, adrenalin and noradrenalin)
Steroids (such as estrogen, testosterone and glucocorticoids)
Peptides (such as the peptide hormones insulin, ghrelin and vasopressin).

Peptide hormones produced by secretory nervous tissue are known as neuropeptides. The peptide hormones generally bind cell surface receptors and initiate signal transduction cascades, while steroid hormones are membrane permeant and bind intracellular receptors that modulate transcription.

Endocrinological Dysregulation

A disease due to a disorder of the endocrine system is often called a "hormone imbalance" and is usually caused by hypo- or hyperfunction of an endocrine gland. Better known examples include Acromegaly, Addison’s disease (adrenal gland), Cushing Syndrome, diabetes (pancreas), dwarfism, Grave's Disease (thyroid), Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (thyroid), Hermaphroditism, Delayed and Precocious Puberty, and Thyroid Diseases.