Aghazadeh Yasaman, Zirkin Barry R, Papadopoulos Vassilios
The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Vitam Horm. 2015;98:189-227. doi: 10.1016/bs.vh.2014.12.006. Epub 2015 Feb 14.
Reduced serum testosterone (T), or hypogonadism, is estimated to affect about 5 million American men, including both aging and young men. Low serum T has been linked to mood changes, worsening cognition, fatigue, depression, decreased lean body mass and bone mineral density, increased visceral fat, metabolic syndrome, decreased libido, and sexual dysfunction. Administering exogenous T, known as T-replacement therapy (TRT), reverses many of the symptoms of low T levels. However, this treatment can result in luteinizing hormone suppression which, in turn, can lead to reduced sperm numbers and infertility, making TRT inappropriate for men who wish to father children. Additionally, TRT may result in supraphysiologic T levels, skin irritation, and T transfer to others upon contact; and there may be increased risk of prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease, particularly in aging men. Therefore, the development of alternate therapies for treating hypogonadism would be highly desirable. To do so requires greater understanding of the series of steps leading to T formation and how they are regulated, and the identification of key steps that are amenable to pharmacological modulation so as to induce T production. We review herein our current understanding of mechanisms underlying the pharmacological induction of T formation in hypogonadal testis.
据估计,血清睾酮(T)水平降低或性腺功能减退影响着约500万美国男性,包括老年男性和年轻男性。血清T水平低与情绪变化、认知能力恶化、疲劳、抑郁、瘦体重和骨矿物质密度降低、内脏脂肪增加、代谢综合征、性欲减退和性功能障碍有关。给予外源性T,即睾酮替代疗法(TRT),可逆转许多低T水平的症状。然而,这种治疗会导致促黄体生成素抑制,进而导致精子数量减少和不育,使得TRT不适用于希望生育子女的男性。此外,TRT可能导致T水平超过生理范围、皮肤刺激以及接触时T转移给他人;并且可能增加前列腺癌和心血管疾病的风险,尤其是在老年男性中。因此,非常需要开发治疗性腺功能减退的替代疗法。要做到这一点,需要更深入地了解导致T形成的一系列步骤及其调控方式,以及确定适合进行药物调节以诱导T产生的关键步骤。我们在此综述目前对性腺功能减退睾丸中T形成的药理学诱导机制的理解。