Endocrinology, Vol 137, 1752-1757, Copyright © 1996 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

Adrenal steroid precursors exert potent androgenic action in the hamster sebaceous glands of flank organs and ears

C Chen, A Belanger and F Labrie
Medical Research Council Group in Molecular Endocrinology, CHUL Research Center, Quebec, Canada.

To assess the effect of the androgen precursors dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione (4-ene-dione) on androgen-sensitive parameters in the skin of the hamster, these two steroids were released from SILASTIC implants inserted sc into castrated male hamsters. The pigmented area of the flank organs, the size of the underlying sebaceous glands, [3H]thymidine incorporation into these sebaceous glands, and the size of the ear sebaceous glands were measured. The decrease in flank organ size caused by orchidectomy was partially reversed by DHEA and completely reversed by 4-ene-dione, testosterone (T), or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) implants. Similarly, the size of the sebaceous glands of the flank organs was reduced 88.1% by castration, whereas DHEA, 4-ene-dione, T, and DHT implants reversed the effect of orchidectomy. Orchidectomy also decreased the sizes of the sebaceous glands of the ears; DHEA, 4-ene-dione, T, and DHT implants increased their sizes to 50.6%, 81.9%, 91.6%, and 105.8% of the values found in intact hamsters, respectively. Parallel results were observed on the labeling of flank organ sebaceous glands with [3H]thymidine as well as on prostate weight. Serum concentrations of T and DHT became undetectable in castrated hamsters and were increased to intact or slightly elevated values in animals receiving implants of DHEA, 4-ene- dione, or T. The present results show that DHEA and 4-ene-dione are potent stimulators of androgen-sensitive parameters in the sebaceous glands of both the flank organs and ears in the hamster and illustrate the importance of extragonadal or peripheral intracrine formation of active steroids. It is suggested that the castrated hamster supplemented with adrenal precursor steroids is a good model that can closely mimic the human situation, where adrenal steroids play an important role in androgen formation and action in peripheral tissues.

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