Figure 3.

Summary of sex steroid effects on individual cell types of the lung. Many cell types are involved in the pathogenesis of lung disease. Therefore, individual effects of sex steroids must be integrated to achieve a better understanding of sex hormone effects in the manifestation, exacerbation, or alleviation of these diseases as a whole. Androgens, estrogen, and progesterone can have different effects at the cellular level that are concentration-, dose-, and time-dependent (which are described in the text). In general, progesterone and estrogen can either enhance or counterbalance their mutual effects in the female, whereas androgens generally have opposing effects, compared with estrogen, in the male.