The involvement of coactivators and corepressors, collectively termed as coregulators, increases the complexity of regulation of steroid hormone action. Following the interaction of the steroid hormone-receptor complex with the specific nucleotide sequences of target genes, the coregulators are recruited for activation or suppression of specific genes. The coregulators regulate a number of hormonal events during pregnancy, sex differentiation, development, reproduction and sexual behavior. They also exert equally important functions in non-reproductive tissues like heart, kidney, pancreas, bone and brain. The mutation and/or aberrant expression of these coregulators affect the normal function of steroid hormones and result in physiological abnormalities leading to the development of diseases. Therefore, understanding the role of coregulators in steroid hormone action is important and would help in developing the therapeutic strategy for the treatment of steroid-related diseases. In this review article, we describe the coregulators and their implication in health and pathogenesis of diseases. Furthermore, the possible therapeutic approach has been discussed for the treatment of steroid-related diseases, which will be of future interest in the field of medical sciences.

2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.