Endocrine Abstracts

The relation between testosterone (T) production and action is complex, involving protein binding in the circulation affecting clearance and tissue availability, T production from precursors in peripheral tissues, deactivating and activating (to dihydrotestosterone and estradiol) metabolism within target tissues, besides factors affecting androgen responsiveness (receptor concentrations, cofactors, genetics,…). Yet, in absence of a useful independent marker of androgen a...

During development, surges in testosterone (T) organize the bipotential anlage of the periphery into the male phenotype. The same T surges also act on the preoptic area (POA) and hypothalamus of the brain to prevent the expression of female sex behavior and promote male behavior in adulthood so that the behavioral and anatomical phenotypes match. In the rodent, T actually serves as a prohormone. Once in the brain, T is aromatized to the quintessential female hormone estradiol ...