 However, allopregnanolone can be intracellularly oxidized into 5α-dihydroprogesterone, which does act as an agonist of the PR, and for this reason, allopregnanolone can produce PR-mediated progestogenic effects.In addition, allopregnanolone has recently been found to be an agonist of the newly discovered membrane progesterone receptors (mPRs), including mPRδ, mPRα, and mPRβ, with its activity at these receptors about a magnitude more potent than at the GABAA receptor.The action of allopregnanolone at these receptors may be related, in part, to its neuroprotective and antigonadotropic properties.