Difference Between Steroid and Corticosteroid

The key difference between steroid and corticosteroid is that steroids are components in biological systems and can alter the membrane fluidity in cell membranes and act as a signalling molecule, whereas corticosteroids are a type of steroid hormones.

Steroids are biological components that are important in cell regulation processes. Corticosteroids are a type of steroids; they are steroid hormones.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Steroid 
3. What is a Corticosteroid
4. Side by Side Comparison – Steroid vs Corticosteroid in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is a Steroid?

A steroid is an organic compound we can find in biological systems. It acts as a component in altering the membrane fluidity of cell membrane and as a signalling molecule in cells. It is, therefore, a biologically active organic compound. The steroid molecule has a specific molecular configuration; there are four ring structures arranged in a specific way as given in the following image.

Figure 01: Configuration of a Typical Steroid Molecule

There are many different steroid compounds in plants, animals and fungi. These steroids are produced in the cells. The source of the steroid production is either sterols lanosterol or cycloartenol. These compounds are derived from the cyclization of the triterpene squalene.

The core structure of a steroid compound typically has 17 carbon atoms that are bonded to each other in the four fused ring structures. There are three 6-membered cyclohexane rings and a 5-membered cyclopentane ring.

A steroid differs from another steroid according to the functional groups that are attached to this four-ring core structure. Moreover, the oxidation state of the ring structures can cause the difference between the two steroid compounds. Examples for most common steroid compounds include lipid cholesterol, estradiol hormone, testosterone, etc.

What is Corticosteroid?

Corticosteroids are organic compounds that can be introduced as steroid hormones. These compounds are produced mainly in the adrenal cortex of vertebrates. There are two major classes of corticosteroids: glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids.

Figure 02: Structure of Cortisol: a Common Corticosteroid Compound

There are many roles of these steroid compounds such as stress response, immune response, regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism, protein catabolism, blood electrolyte level regulation, effects on behaviour, etc. Some common corticosteroids include cortisol, corticosterone, cortisone, aldosterone, etc.

What is the Difference Between Steroid and Corticosteroid?

Steroids are biological components that are important in cell regulation processes. Corticosteroids are a type of steroids; corticosteroids are steroid hormones. The key difference between steroid and corticosteroid is that steroids are components can alter the membrane fluidity in cell membranes of biological systems and act as a signalling molecule, whereas corticosteroids are a type of steroid hormones. Corticosteroids have two classes as glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids while steroids can be divided into different classes by function and by structure. Lipid cholesterol, estradiol hormone, testosterone, etc. are some examples of steroids while cortisol, corticosterone, cortisone, aldosterone, etc. are some examples of corticosteroids.

The following table summarizes the difference between steroid and corticosteroid.

Summary – Steroid vs Corticosteroid

Corticosteroids are a type of steroids; corticosteroids are steroid hormones. The key difference between steroid and corticosteroid is that steroids are components in biological systems and can alter the membrane fluidity in cell membranes and act as a signalling molecule whereas corticosteroids are a type of steroid hormones. Moreover, some examples of steroids include lipid cholesterol, estradiol hormone, testosterone, etc. while some examples of corticosteroids include cortisol, corticosterone, cortisone, aldosterone, etc.

Reference:

1. Omudhome Ogbru, “Corticosteroids: Drug List, Side Effects & Dosage”. Medicinenet, Available here.
2. “Corticosteroid.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2020, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Trimethyl steroid-nomenclature” By NEUROtiker (talk) – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Cortisol3” By NEUROtiker – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia

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