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Genetic Determination of Androgen Responsiveness

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Gene Engineering in Endocrinology

Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE,volume 22))

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Abstract

In the human fetus, the testes begin to secrete testosterone between wk 6 and 8 of gestation. Androgens, testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), are required during the fetal period for growth and differentiation of the male reproductive tract, including the Wolffian ducts, urogenital sinus, and external genitalia primordia (1). This developmental phase is completed by 20 wks of gestation, when testosterone synthesis by Leydig cells in the fetal testes ceases. A second unique window of testicular testosterone secretion lasting approx 6 mo occurs during the immediate postnatal period in humans. Androgen actions during this period may imprint the central nervous system and determine the male pattern of gonadotropin secretion. The human testes then remain quiescent until testosterone synthesis and secretion is reinitiated for a third time at puberty. At this time, androgens promote the appearance of secondary male sex characteristics, including growth of the external genitalia, distribution of body hair, deepening of the voice, and increase in muscle mass. These steroid hormones initiate and maintain spermatogenesis and function of the epididymides, seminal vesicles, and prostate. They exert feedback control on the output of gonadotropins by the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Androgens also act on the liver, kidneys, muscles, bones, and nervous and cardiovascular systems, but it is within the male reproductive tract that the molecular mechanisms of androgen action are best understood.

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  1. Terry R. Brown PhD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Margaret A. Shupnik PhD

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Brown, T.R. (2000). Genetic Determination of Androgen Responsiveness. In: Shupnik, M.A. (eds) Gene Engineering in Endocrinology. Contemporary Endocrinology, vol 22. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-221-0_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-221-0_17

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-147-9

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