MRC Centre for Immune Regulation, Birmingham University Medical School, UK.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2010 May 31;120(2-3):127-36. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2009.12.016. Epub 2010 Jan 12.
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a C19 steroid of adrenal origin. Notably, its secretion declines with age, a phenomenon referred to as the "adrenopause". For many years, the physiological significance of DHEA remained elusive. However, many studies have now shown that DHEA has significant immune modulatory function, exhibiting both immune stimulatory and anti-glucocorticoid effects. Although several of these studies are limited by the fact that they were carried out in rodents, who are incapable of adrenal DHEA production, and therefore have very low circulating levels of this steroid, evidence from the study of immune cells is now accumulating to suggest a role for DHEA in regulating human immunity. This ability to regulate immune function has raised interest in the therapeutic potential of DHEA as a treatment for the immunological abnormalities that arise in subjects with low circulating levels of this hormone. This has included attempts at reversing the impaired immune response of older individuals to vaccination and restoring immune regulation in patients with chronic autoimmune disease. This review summarises the reported effects of DHEA on immune function and discusses the therapeutic potential of this steroid in geriatric medicine and particularly in age-related disease with an immune component.
脱氢表雄酮（DHEA）是一种源自肾上腺的 C19 甾体。值得注意的是，其分泌随年龄的增长而下降，这一现象被称为“肾上腺功能减退症”。多年来，DHEA 的生理意义一直难以捉摸。然而，许多研究现在表明 DHEA 具有显著的免疫调节功能，表现出免疫刺激和抗糖皮质激素作用。尽管其中一些研究受到限制，因为它们是在无法产生肾上腺 DHEA 的啮齿动物中进行的，因此这些动物的这种类固醇循环水平非常低，但来自免疫细胞研究的证据现在正在积累，表明 DHEA 在调节人类免疫中发挥作用。这种调节免疫功能的能力引起了人们对 DHEA 治疗作用的兴趣，因为这种激素循环水平低的患者会出现免疫异常。这包括试图逆转老年人对疫苗接种的免疫反应受损，并恢复慢性自身免疫性疾病患者的免疫调节。本文总结了 DHEA 对免疫功能的报道影响，并讨论了这种类固醇在老年医学中的治疗潜力，特别是在具有免疫成分的与年龄相关的疾病中。
