Role of Androgens in the Neuroendocrine Stress Response

IBN-9408890罗伯特·汉达动物对环境中应激的基本反应是应激反应神经内分泌系统的快速激活。其中一种反应是激活下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺(HPA)轴。HPA轴对压力的反应存在性别差异，男性的反应不如女性强烈。在两性中，HPA激活的一个后果是生殖功能的抑制。这些研究人员假设，在男性中，生殖激素睾丸素会抑制HPA轴，从而抑制HPA轴的分泌产物对生殖的有害影响。睾丸激素抑制HPA活性的一个机制是与大脑中的雄激素受体结合。这项由该奖项支持的研究将表征雄激素对大脑中压力诱导的细胞活动指标的影响，确定雄激素作用于大脑中影响HPA活性的位置，并确定雄激素是否可以通过调节糖皮质激素受体功能来发挥作用。这些研究的结果将确定雄激素抑制应激神经内分泌反应的机制，并帮助我们了解应激对男性和女性生殖功能的影响。

IBN-9408890 Robert Handa A basic response of animals to stress in their environment is the rapid activation of the stress-responsive neuroendocrine systems. One such response is the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Sex differences exist in the response of the HPA axis to stress with males responding less robustly than females. In both sexes, one consequence of HPA activation is an inhibition of reproductive function. These investigators have hypothesized that in males the reproductive hormone, testosterone, inhibits the HPA axis to suppress the deleterious effects that secretory products of the HPA axis have on reproduction. One mechanism by which testosterone inhibits HPA activity is by binding to androgen receptors in the brain. This research supported by this award will characterize the effects of androgen on stress-inducible indicators of cell activity in the brain, determine the sites within the brain where androgen acts to influence HPA activity, and to determine if androgen can act by modulating glucocorticoid receptor function. The results of these studies will define the mechanisms whereby androgen can act to inhibit neuroendocrine responses to stress and help us understand the effects of stress on reproductive function in both males and females.