Question

Part of cortisol’s role in the body involves passing through the plasma membrane to initiate signaling inside a cell. Describe how the structures of cortisol and the plasma membrane allow this to occur.

Answer 1

Small and lipid soluble cortisol can pass through nonpolar core of the plasma membrane.

Step-by-step explanation:

Cortisol is a lipid-soluble steroid hormone with a compact structure. The plasma membrane is a bilayer of phospholipids.

The phospholipids are amphipathic molecules with a polar head and nonpolar tails. The nonpolar tails of the two layers of phospholipids are packed away from the watery medium and make the core of the plasma membrane.

Being a lipid-soluble hormone with a small structure, cortisol can pass through the nonpolar core of the plasma membrane easily to activate its receptors and alter the gene expression.