Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Androgens are known to play an important role in renal tubular epithelial cell growth, hypertrophy and erythropoetin production, however the exact mechanisms are not clear yet. 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone is synthesized primarily in gonads and skin, and is the most used androgen in studies. However, little is known about testosterone effects in non-gonadal tissues.Methods: Male Wistar rats aged 8–10 weeks were orchiectomized and put on ...

Introduction: Androgens are known to play an important role in renal tubular epithelial cell growth, hypertrophy and erythropoetin production, however the exact mechanisms are not clear yet. 5α-dihydrotestosterone is synthesized primarily in gonads and skin, and is the most used androgen in studies. However, little is known about testosterone effects in non-gonadal tissues.Methods: Male Wistar rats aged 8–10 weeks were orchiectomized and put on...

Identification of pure neural androgenic effects is difficult due to 1) regional distribution of androgen receptors (AR) in the CNS; 2) cross-talk between molecular pathways of steroid hormone signalling, and 3) chemical nature and biotransformation of androgens in the CNS. Testosterone is transformed in the CNS by 5α-reductase and aromatase to the pure AR-agonist dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and the estrogen receptor-agonist estradiol, respectively. Decreased sexual activit...