The document discusses several key points about hormones:
1) Hormones act by binding to receptors which can be intracellular or membrane-bound and activate second messenger systems like cAMP, cGMP, calcium or kinase cascades.
2) cAMP is generated from ATP by adenylate cyclase which can be stimulated or inhibited by G proteins coupled to hormone receptors.
3) cGMP is generated by guanylate cyclase which exists in soluble and membrane-bound forms and can be activated directly by hormones like atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and nitric oxide.
4) Increased second messengers activate protein kinases which phosphorylate target proteins and mediate the hormone's effects in the cell