Sex differences in the effects of androgens acting in the central nervous system on metabolism.
One of the most sexually dimorphic aspects of metabolic regulation is the bidirectional modulation of glucose and energy homeostasis by testosterone in males and females. Testosterone deficiency predisposes men to metabolic dysfunction, with excess adiposity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes, whereas androgen excess predisposes women to insulin resistance, adiposity, and type 2 diabetes. This review discusses how testosterone acts in the central nervous system, and especially the hypothalamus, to promote metabolic homeostasis or dysfunction in a sexually dimorphic manner. We compare the organizational actions of testosterone, which program the hypothalamic control of metabolic homeostasis during development, and the activational actions of testosterone, which affect metabolic function after puberty. We also discuss how the metabolic effect of testosterone is centrally mediated via the androgen receptor.
Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Jamie
J
Morford
Department of Medicine, Section of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Franck
F
Mauvais-Jarvis
D000728:Androgens / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism*
D000728:Androgens; D013739:Testosterone; D005947:Glucose
androgen; androgen receptor; arcuate nucleus; central nervous system; dihydrotestosterone; hypothalamus; metabolism; obesity; polycystic ovarian syndrome; sex difference; type 2 diabetes