Endocrine Abstracts

Sex is an important parameter that influences biology and physiology of almost every organ. Sex bias is not restricted to homeostatic conditions, but is also evident in the predisposition and progression of diseases. The adrenal cortex, in particular, displays dramatic sex differences and the majority of adrenocortical diseases occur more frequently in women than in men. Understanding how sex hormones affect biology on the molecular level has therefore become an important focus, as it may help us to develop therapeutic approaches that take sex into account. In this presentation, I will provide an overview of the impact of sex on adrenal diseases. I will summarize experimental data from model systems that have revealed strikingly dimorphic expression profiles between the two sexes and demonstrated the important role of androgens in suppressing proliferation of steroidogenic cells and the recruitment of their precursors. Finally, I will highlight recent results in mouse models for adrenocortical tumors that explore the sex specific responses of the adrenal cortex to hyperactivation of the b-catenin pathway and further reveal the growth suppressing function of androgens in this disease context.