Organizational role for pubertal androgens on adult hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal sensitivity to testosterone in the male rat
- PMID: 19403614
- PMCID: PMC2718255
- DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2008.168393
Organizational role for pubertal androgens on adult hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal sensitivity to testosterone in the male rat
Abstract
The inhibitory effect of androgens on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in basal and stress conditions in adult male rats is well documented. Major sex-related neuroendocrine changes take place during puberty. There is a robust rise in production and secretion of gonadal steroids, which is thought to underlie numerous neural and behavioural changes brought on after puberty. The present study investigated the effect of the pubertal rise in gonadal steroid levels on the subsequent adult corticosterone profile, particularly the sensitivity of the adult HPA axis to testosterone. Animals were castrated either prepubertally (28 days) or in adulthood (11 weeks) and adult animals were subsequently treated with subcutaneous implants containing either testosterone or cholesterol. Using an automated blood sampling system, blood was collected from each freely moving, conscious rat every 10 min (i) over a 24 h period; (ii) in response to 10 min of noise stress, and (iii) following an immunological challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Analysis revealed that testosterone treatment did not significantly affect overall corticosterone release over the 24 h period in adult animals castrated before puberty in contrast to animals castrated in adulthood in which testosterone significantly suppressed corticosterone secretion. Following either a noise stress or LPS injection, testosterone treatment did not affect the hypothalamic or adrenal stress response in animals castrated prepubertally. Testosterone significantly suppressed the corticotrophin-releasing hormone and arginine vasopressin mRNA as well as the corticosterone response to LPS in castrated animals that had had their testes intact over puberty. These data provide evidence that puberty is a critical organizational period during which rising levels of gonadal steroids programme the sensitivity of the adult HPA axis to gonadal steroids in adulthood.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Gonadal steroid replacement reverses gonadectomy-induced changes in the corticosterone pulse profile and stress-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity of male and female rats.J Neuroendocrinol. 2004 Dec;16(12):989-98. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2004.01258.x. J Neuroendocrinol. 2004. PMID: 15667454
-
Gender difference in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to alcohol in the rat: activational role of gonadal steroids.Brain Res. 1997 Aug 22;766(1-2):19-28. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(97)00525-8. Brain Res. 1997. PMID: 9359583
-
Organizational role for testosterone and estrogen on adult hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in the male rat.Endocrinology. 2005 Apr;146(4):1973-82. doi: 10.1210/en.2004-1201. Epub 2004 Dec 29. Endocrinology. 2005. PMID: 15625243
-
Gonadal steroid hormone receptors and sex differences in the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis.Horm Behav. 1994 Dec;28(4):464-76. doi: 10.1006/hbeh.1994.1044. Horm Behav. 1994. PMID: 7729815 Review.
-
Central organization of androgen-sensitive pathways to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: implications for individual differences in responses to homeostatic threat and predisposition to disease.Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2005 Dec;29(8):1239-48. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2005.08.009. Epub 2005 Oct 7. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2005. PMID: 16214282 Review.
Cited by
-
Androgen regulation of behavioral stress responses and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.Horm Behav. 2024 Jun;162:105528. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105528. Epub 2024 Mar 18. Horm Behav. 2024. PMID: 38503191 Review.
-
Sexual Dimorphism in Glucocorticoid Stress Response.Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Mar 19;22(6):3139. doi: 10.3390/ijms22063139. Int J Mol Sci. 2021. PMID: 33808655 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Roles for androgens in mediating the sex differences of neuroendocrine and behavioral stress responses.Biol Sex Differ. 2020 Jul 29;11(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s13293-020-00319-2. Biol Sex Differ. 2020. PMID: 32727567 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Adaptive reshaping of the hormonal phenotype after social niche transition in adulthood.Proc Biol Sci. 2020 Jun 10;287(1928):20200667. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0667. Epub 2020 Jun 10. Proc Biol Sci. 2020. PMID: 32517608 Free PMC article.
-
Resurrecting FUS: Adrenal Androgens as an Ultimate Cause of Hematuria, Periuria, Pollakuria, Stranguria, Urolithiasis and Obstruction in Neutered Cats.Front Vet Sci. 2018 Sep 11;5:207. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00207. eCollection 2018. Front Vet Sci. 2018. PMID: 30255027 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Conde GL, Renshaw D, Zubelewicz B, Lightman SL, Harbuz MS. Central LPS-induced c-fos expression in the PVN and the A1/A2 brainstem noradrenergic cell groups is altered by adrenalectomy. Neuroendocrinology. 1999;70:175–185. - PubMed
-
- Harbuz MS, Lightman SL. Responses of hypothalamic and pituitary mRNA to physical and psychological stress in the rat. J Endocrinol. 1989;122:705–711. - PubMed
-
- Harbuz MS, Windle RJ, Jessop DS, Renshaw D, Ingram CD, Lightman SL. Differential effects of psychological and immunological challenge on the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis function in adjuvant-induced arthritis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999;876:43–52. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources