The chemical classes of hormones include amines, polypeptides, glycoproteins and steroids.
[1] Cortisol is required for the response of vascular and bronchial smooth muscle to catecholamines.
[2] Cortisol is also required for the lipolytic effect of catecholamines, ACTH, and growth hormone on fat cells.
Permissive actions of glucocorticoids like cortisol generally occur at low concentrations.
Glucocorticoids function by attaching to cytoplasmic receptors to either enhance or suppress changes in the transcription of DNA and thus the synthesis of proteins.