In their mechanism of action, a difference between lipid-soluble and water-soluble hormones is that in their mechanism of action, a difference between lipid-soluble and water-soluble hormones is that lipid-soluble hormones bind to an intracellular receptor and this hormone-receptor complex binds to dna water-soluble hormones cross the plasma membrane more readily than do lipid-soluble hormones water-soluble hormones bind reversibly to dna lipid-soluble hormones activate a "second messenger" pathway the water-soluble hormones travel only in the blood, and the lipid-soluble hormones travel only in the lymphatic fluid