At puberty, an adolescent female body changes in both structure and function of several organ systems, primarily under the influence of changing concentrations of estrogens and other steroid hormones. How can one hormone, such as estrogen, mediate so many effects?
A) Estrogen is produced in very large concentration and therefore diffuses widely.
B) Estrogen has specific receptors inside several cell types, but each cell responds in the same way to its binding.
C) Estrogen is kept away from the surface of any cells not able to bind it at the surface.
D) Estrogen binds to specific receptors inside many kinds of cells, each of which have different responses to its binding.
E) The subcomponents of estrogen, when metabolized, can influence cell response.
Answer: D