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Androgen Treatment (androgen + treatment)
Selected AbstractsSex differences in juvenile rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) agonistic screams: Life history differences and effects of prenatal androgensDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2005Michelle L. Tomaszycki Abstract This study investigated sex differences in juvenile rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) vocal behavior during agonistic contexts, and the effects of prenatal androgens on these differences. A total of 59 subjects (5,8 per treatment group) received exogenous androgen (testosterone enanthate), an anti-androgen (flutamide) or vehicle injections (DMSO) for 30 or 35 days during the second (early) or third (late) trimester of pregnancy. An additional 19 unmanipulated controls were included in the analysis. Screams by juvenile males and females between the ages of 1 and 3 years were compared to the screams of adult female exemplars using a discriminant function analysis. Juvenile females produced more adult-female like screams than did juvenile males. Females exposed to androgen treatment late in gestation produced a more masculine pattern of screams. Flutamide treatment in males either early or late in gestation did not significantly affect scream production. Flutamide treatments in females late in gestation, however, masculinized scream production. Androgen treatments administered late in gestation hyper-masculinized male scream production. No sex differences in the contextual usage of screams emerged. These findings suggest that both life history differences and the early hormone environment contribute to sex differences in juvenile rhesus macaque vocal production. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 47: 318,327, 2005. [source] Striatal susceptibility to a dopaminergic neurotoxin is independent of sex hormone effects on cell survival and DAT expression but is exacerbated by central aromatase inhibitionJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2007Simon McArthur Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate further the hormone-dependent processes underlying sex differences in neurotoxic responses within the rat nigrostriatal dopaminergic (NSDA) pathway after partial lesioning with 6-OHDA, a state thought to mimic the early stages of Parkinson's disease where, in humans and animal models alike, males appear to be more susceptible. Contrary to our hypotheses, hormone manipulations (gonadectomy ± oestrogen or androgen treatment) failed to alter survival of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) after lesioning; this indicates that, unlike inherent sex differences in toxin-induced striatal dopamine depletion, sex differences in cell loss were not hormonally generated, and that hormone-dependent changes in dopamine depletion can occur independently of cell survival. In addition, hormonally induced changes in striatal expression of the dopamine transporter (DAT), an important factor for 6-OHDA toxicity, did not correlate with hormonal influences on striatal dopamine loss and, in males, central inhibition of aromatase prior to 6-OHDA infusion exacerbated striatal dopamine loss with no effect on SNc tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive survival, suggesting locally generated oestrogen is neuroprotective. These results support the novel view that sex steroid hormones produced peripherally and centrally play a significant, sex-specific role within the sexually dimorphic NSDA pathway to modulate plastic, compensatory responses aimed at restoring striatal dopamine functionality, without affecting cell loss. [source] Androgenic Regulation of Steroid Hormone Receptor mRNAs in the Brain of Whiptail LizardsJOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 7 2000Godwin Sex and species differences in androgenic regulation of steroid hormone receptor mRNAs were examined in the diencephalon of two species of whiptail lizards: Cnemidophorus inornatus is a sexual species and the direct evolutionary ancestor to Cnemidophorus uniparens, an all-female parthenogenetic species. Lizards were gonadectomized and treated with different doses of either aromatizable testosterone or nonaromatizable dihydrotestosterone. The relative abundances of androgen-, oestrogen-, and progesterone-receptor mRNAs were compared in various nuclei following in situ hybridization with homologous riboprobes. A diversity of patterns in androgenic regulation was observed, with effects differing according to brain region, the steroid-receptor mRNA being considered and, in some cases, between androgens. In the ancestral sexual species, intact males had lower androgen-receptor mRNA abundances than castrated, blank-implanted males in the medial preoptic area. Testosterone significantly decreased androgen-receptor mRNA abundance in the medial preoptic area of castrated males. Males had higher androgen-receptor mRNA levels in the preoptic area than females generally and neither the sexual or parthenogenetic females showed a decrease in androgen-receptor mRNA with androgen treatment. Both testosterone and dihydrotestosterone increased oestrogen-receptor mRNA abundance in the ventromedial hypothalamus of C. inornatus, but no sex differences in this effect were observed. Gonadectomy decreased, whereas androgen treatment increased, progesterone-receptor mRNA abundance in the ventromedial hypothalamus. There was a sex difference in this response to androgen in the sexual species, with males having greater amounts than females in this brain area. The parthenogenetic species exhibited a similar pattern to females of the sexual species, but the levels were higher overall, possibly because Cnemidophorus uniparens is triploid. The periventricular preoptic area showed a different pattern, with testosterone treatment increasing progesterone-receptor mRNA abundance in both sexes of the sexual species and in the parthenogenetic species, while dihydrotestosterone did not. The diversity of patterns in androgen effects indicates that gonadal sex, aromatization of androgen, and perhaps gene dosage all influence the expression of steroid-receptor mRNAs in the lizard brain. [source] Bicalutamide inhibits androgen-mediated adhesion of prostate cancer cells exposed to ionizing radiationTHE PROSTATE, Issue 16 2008Tao Wang Abstract Background Cell adhesion plays an important role in proliferation, metastasis, and tumor growth and may represent a potential vulnerability in treatment of prostate cancer patients. Bicalutamide (Casodex) has been used as an anti-androgen agent for prostate cancer patients during hormone ablation therapy. This study focuses on the effect of Bicalutamide on cell adhesion to fibronectin (FN) in prostate cancer cells. Methods Androgen,dependent LNCaP prostate cancer cells were stimulated with androgen before being irradiated with doses of 0, 5, 10, or 15 Gy. Cell adhesion to fibronectin was then measured to ascertain androgen's role in integrin mediated prostate cancer cell adhesion. Flow cytometry was used to analyze surface expression of integrin subtypes in LNCaP cells. Results LNCaP cell adhesion to FN was significantly increased by stimulation with androgen when treated with 10 or 15 Gy ionizing radiations but not at 0 or 5 Gy. This increase was inhibited by treatment with Bicalutamide. LNCaP cells exposed to high dose radiation showed an increased expression of ,V and ,1 integrins in response to androgen treatment while Bicalutamide abolished this effect. Conclusions Our data show that Bicalutamide inhibits the effect of androgen on cell adhesion to FN through changes of integrin subtypes in cells given high dose radiation. This suggests new molecular targets and possible treatment strategies for prostate cancer patients to improve the outcome during hormone ablation therapy and radiation therapy. Prostate © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Androgen-mediated cholesterol metabolism in LNCaP and PC-3 cell lines is regulated through two different isoforms of acyl-coenzyme A: Cholesterol Acyltransferase (ACAT)THE PROSTATE, Issue 1 2008Jennifer A. Locke Abstract BACKGROUND The objective of this work was to determine the effect of an androgen agonist, R1881, on intracellular cholesterol synthesis and esterification in androgen-sensitive (AS) prostate cancer (LNCaP) cells. METHODS We investigated the activity and expression of cholesterol metabolism enzymes, HMG-CoA-reductase and ACAT in the LNCaP and PC-3 (androgen-independent control) models. RESULTS Microsomal PC-3 HMG-CoA-reductase activity was increased with R1881 despite having similar cholesterol levels while increased cholesterol levels in microsomes from LNCaPs treated with R1881 (L+) were associated with increased HMG-CoA reductase activity. Increased intracellular cholesteryl esters (CE) found in (L+) were not associated with an increased ACAT1 activity. There was no effect from androgen treatment on ACAT1 protein expression in theses cells; however, ACAT2 expression was induced upon R1881 treatment. In contrast, we found an increase in the in vitro ACAT1 activity in PC-3 cells treated with androgen (P+). Only ACAT1 expression was induced in P+. We further assessed the expression of STAT1,, a transcriptional activator that modulates ACAT1 expression. STAT1, expression and phosphorylation were induced in P+. To determine the role of the AR on ACAT1 expression and esterification, we treated PC-3 cells overexpressing the androgen receptor with R1881 (PAR+). AR expression was decreased in PAR+ cells; ACAT1 protein expression and cholesterol ester levels were also decreased, however, ACAT2 remained unchanged. STAT1, expression was decreased in PAR+. CONCLUSIONS Overall, these findings support the importance of cholesterol metabolism regulation within prostate cancer cells and unravel a novel role for STAT1, in prostate cancer metabolism. Prostate 68: 20,33, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Relaxin becomes upregulated during prostate cancer progression to androgen independence and is negatively regulated by androgensTHE PROSTATE, Issue 16 2006Vanessa C. Thompson Abstract BACKGROUND Relaxin is a potent peptide hormone normally secreted by the prostate. This study characterized relaxin expression during prostate cancer progression to androgen independence (AI), and in response to androgens. METHODS The prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP, was assayed by microarrays and confirmatory Northern analysis to assess changes in relaxin levels due to androgen treatment and in LNCaP xenografts following castration. Relaxin protein levels were examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in tissue microarrays of human prostate cancer samples following androgen ablation. RESULTS Relaxin levels decreased in a time and concentration-dependent manner due to androgens in vitro, and increased in xenografts post-castration. Relaxin increased in radical prostatectomy specimens after 6 months of androgen ablation and in AI tumors, was highest in bone metastases. CONCLUSIONS Relaxin is negatively regulated by androgens in vitro and in vivo, which correlates to clinical prostate cancer specimens following androgen ablation. The role of relaxin in angiogenesis and tissue remodeling suggests it may contribute to prostate cancer progression. Prostate © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Safety aspects of androgen treatment with 5,-dihydrotestosteroneANDROLOGIA, Issue 6 2007S. Sakhri Summary 5,-Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the most powerful naturally occurring androgen, is commercially available since 1982 as a gel. In view of its considerably higher biopotency (three to six times) than of testosterone, side effects, particularly on the main target organ of androgens, the prostate, are anticipated. In fact, DHT appears to be a prostate-sparing androgen for two reasons. Unlike testosterone, it does not undergo any further amplification in biopotency through 5, reduction in the prostate. Secondly, it is likely to lead to less aromatisation of testosterone to oestradiol in the prostate, thus reducing local oestradiol concentrations. Oestrogens have been implicated in the aetiology of benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer. However, aromatisation of testosterone has appeared to be essential for the maintenance of bone mineral density. Administration of DHT reduces circulating oestradiol levels, but the levels remain above the levels critical for the antiresorptive effect of oestrogens on bone. Effects of DHT on erythropoiesis and on lipids are very similar to those of testosterone. Safety concerns regarding androgen treatment with DHT are similar to those of treatment with testosterone, while the effects of DHT on the prostate are likely to be less biopotent. [source] Precocious sex change and spermatogenesis in the underyearling Malabar grouper Epinephelus malabaricus by androgen treatmentAQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010Ryosuke Murata Abstract The Malabar grouper Epinephelus malabaricus is an important candidate species for commercial aquaculture in tropical and subtropical areas. In nature, this species requires more than 10 years to change sex from female to male and have active spermatogenic tissues in the testis. Thus, it is essential to find a means of producing sperm for seed production. This is the first report of artificial sex change in underyearling E. malabaricus. Female E. malabaricus with immature ovaries at 144 days post-hatch (DPH) were fed a diet with 17,-methyltestosterone (MT) at 50 ,g g,1 diet for 6 months. Sex change occurred in most of the treated fish, which had testis with all stages of spermatogenic germ cells including spermatozoa. In contrast, most of the control fish had immature ovaries. These results, which reveal that germ cells in the underyearling grouper have the ability to produce spermatozoa in response to exogenous androgen, demonstrate that sex change can be artificially induced during ovarian development. [source] |