Endocrine Abstracts

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In males androgens are primarily made by testicular Leydig cells and act as essential regulators of both fetal masculinization and adult reproductive function. The impact of androgens on gene transcription is largely mediated by the androgen receptor (AR), a member of the steroid hormone super-family of ligand activated transcription factors. AR is expressed widely throughout the body, including several key somatic cell-types in the testis. Although we have known for many year...

In males androgens are primarily made by testicular Leydig cells and act as essential regulators of both fetal masculinization and adult reproductive function. The impact of androgens on gene transcription is largely mediated by the androgen receptor (AR), a member of the steroid hormone super-family of ligand activated transcription factors. AR is expressed widely throughout the body, including several key somatic cell-types in the testis. Although we have known for many year...

The classical paradigm of lactotroph prolactin production and release is based around tonic inhibition by hypothalamic dopamine and stimulation by factors such as estrogen. We have recently shown that conditional ablation of pituitary androgen receptor (Foxg1-Cre ARKO) surprisingly does not change the concentration of circulating gonadotrophins but increases circulating prolactin in male mice; highlighting androgen signalling as a novel negative regulator of prolactin producti...

Background: Visceral fat is a key factor underlying type 2 diabetes. The amount and distribution of body fat is strongly influenced by sex steroids. Androgen receptors (ARs) are present in adipose tissue and are abundant in the detrimental visceral bed. Here, we sought to determine the contribution of the AR in adipose tissue to the pathophysiology of visceral obesity and type 2 diabetes.Methods: Male fat-specific AR-knockout (fARKO) mice (12 weeks; n...

Introduction: Androgens have long been known to play an important role in health and wellbeing. A range of clinical disorders in males and females can arise due to disruption to production and action of androgens. Androgen receptor (AR) is widely expressed throughout the adrenal cortex, yet the wider role for androgen signalling in the adrenal remains underexplored due to the lack of suitable animal models.Methods: An adrenal-specific androgen receptor k...

Feral cat numbers in the UK are thought to number around one million and the Dogs Trust estimates it dealt with just over 110 000 stray and abandoned dogs in 2013. This scenario is common across the world and in the developing world in particular the control of feral populations is an ongoing challenge as well as a huge welfare issue. The only options currently available are expensive surgical neutering, or euthanasia of otherwise healthy animals. There is an urgent need to de...

The uterus is an androgen-responsive organ; androgen receptors (AR) are expressed in human endometrial stromal fibroblasts and can regulate proliferation and survival of this cell type. Although chronic androgen exposure results in atrophy of human endometrium, previous studies have suggested that it may have trophic effects in the rodent uterus. We hypothesised that androgens may have different impacts on endometrial function in the presence or absence of oestrogens. In the c...

Aims: Low circulating testosterone levels are associated with increased cardiovascular risk and there is evidence that androgens inhibit arterial lesion formation. This investigation addressed the hypothesis that androgens directly inhibit neointimal lesion formation by stimulation of vascular androgen receptor.Methods and results: Mice were generated with selective deletion of androgen receptor from vascular (endothelial or smooth muscle) cells. Castrat...

Fetal events can affect adult testosterone levels but how this occurs is unknown, as adult Leydig cells (ALC) do not differentiate until puberty. Qin et al. 2008 (PLos ONE) identified that chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factor II (COUP-TFII) is essential postnatally for ALC development. We hypothesized that: i) COUP-TFII+ non-Leydig interstitial cells are progenitors for ALC and are present in the fetal testis, ii) these ‘pr...