Hormones

Hormones are complex active substances that influence the . They are the body's own active substances that are produced by many types of tissue. If there is an imbalance in the hormone balance, this can lead to bleeding gums and swelling or inflammation in the mouth (oral mucositis) as well as oral mucosal growths.

Some hormones are such large molecules that they cannot pass through the cell membrane into the cell. Such hormones require receptor proteins on the cell surface to transmit the hormone signal into the cell nucleus. This is also known as signal transduction.

Other hormones, e.g. steroids, are very small and fat-soluble. They can therefore easily penetrate the cell and attach themselves to receptor proteins. The complex formed in this way acts as a transcription factor in the cell nucleus and switches on certain genes.