Differential effects of adrenalectomy and starvation-refeeding on hepatic lipogenic responses to dehydroepiandrosterone and glucocorticoid in BHE and Sprague-Dawley rats.

The interaction of rat strain and glucocorticoid status on the dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)-mediated decrease in response to starvation-refeeding was studied. DHEA treatment of intact starved-refed Sprague-Dawley rats resulted in significantly lower hepatic lipid and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity than observed in non-DHEA-treated rats. When Sprague-Dawley rats were adrenalectomized (ADX), the response to DHEA treatment was potentiated. If glucocorticoid was replaced, there was some amelioration of the DHEA effect in the ADX rats. Responses to DHEA in BHE rats subjected to the above paradigms were different. The responses of starved-refed BHE rats to DHEA were more pronounced and it appeared that glucocorticoid replacement was not as effective in overcoming DHEA in these rats. Thus, it appears that the comparative inhibition of the glucocorticoid-mediated response to starvation-refeeding by DHEA is strain dependent.