A classification of genes involved in normal and delayed male puberty / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Puberty is a pivotal biological process that completes sexual maturation to achieve full reproductive capability. It is a major transformational period of life, whose timing is strongly affected by genetic makeup of the individual, along with various internal and external factors. Although the exact mechanism for initiation of the cascade of molecular events that culminate in puberty is not yet known, the process of pubertal onset involves interaction of numerous complex signaling pathways of hypothalamo-pituitary-testicular (HPT) axis. We developed a classification of the mechanisms involved in male puberty that allowed placing many genes into physiological context. These include (i) hypothalamic development during embryogenesis, (ii) synaptogenesis where gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons form neuronal connections with suprahypothalamic neurons, (iii) maintenance of neuron homeostasis, (iv) regulation of synthesis and secretion of GnRH, (v) appropriate receptors/proteins on neurons governing GnRH production and release, (vi) signaling molecules activated by the receptors, (vii) the synthesis and release of GnRH, (viii) the production and release of gonadotropins, (ix) testicular development, (x) synthesis and release of steroid hormones from testes, and (xi)the action of steroid hormones in downstream effector tissues. Defects in components of this system during embryonic development, childhood/adolescence, or adulthood may disrupt/nullify puberty, leading to long-term male infertility and/or hypogonadism. This review provides a list of 598 genes involved in the development of HPT axis and classified according to this schema. Furthermore, this review identifies a subset of 75 genes for which genetic mutations are reported to delay or disrupt male puberty.

Androgen abuse in sports / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

Androgens remain the most effective and widely abused ergogenic drugs in sport. Although androgen doping has been prohibited for over 3 decades with a ban enforced by mass spectrometric (MS)-based urine testing for synthetic and exogenous natural androgens, attempts continue to develop increasingly complex schemes to circumvent the ban. A prominent recent approach has been the development of designer androgens. Such never-marketed androgens evade detection because mass spectrometry relies on identifying characteristic chemical signatures requiring prior knowledge of chemical structure. Although once known, designer androgens are readily detected and added to the Prohibited List. However, until their structures are elucidated, designer androgens can circumvent the ban on androgen doping. To combat this, in vitro androgen bioassays offer powerful new possibilities for the generic detection of unidentified bioactive androgens, regardless of their chemical structure. Another approach to circumvent the ban on androgen doping has been the development of indirect androgen doping, the use of exogenous drugs to produce a sustained increase in endogenous testosterone (T) production. Apart from estrogen blockers, however, such neuroendocrine active drugs mostly provide only transient increases in blood T. Finally the ban on androgen doping must allow provision for rare athletes with incidental, proven androgen deficiency who require T replacement therapy. The Therapeutic Use Exemption mechanism makes provision for such necessary medical treatment, subject to rigorous criteria for demonstrating a genuine ongoing need for T and monitoring of T dosage. Effective deterrence of sports doping requires novel, increasingly sophisticated detection options calibrated to defeat these challenges, without which fairness in sport is tarnished and the social and health idealization of sporting champions devalued.

Effects of 19-nortestosterone on sex accessory gland growth in hypogonadal mice / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>To evaluate the effects of 19-nortestosterone (NT) on the growth and development of the ventral prostate (VP), epididymis, and seminal vesicles (SV) in hypogonadal (hpg) mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The silastic tube filled with NT was implanted subdermally into mature hpg mice (n = 7) for five weeks. Similar silastic tubes without NT were implanted into both of hpg mouse control group (n = 7) and normal mouse group (n = 10) instead. The weights of sex accessory glands and the branch tip number of VP from all mice were evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The weights of VP, SV, and epididymis in NT treated hpg group were significantly higher than those of hpg control group (P < 0.005); and the branching morphology of the VP showed a tendency to be normal and the development of prostate ductal tip was improved significantly. Especially, the weight of SV in NT treated hpg mice was equal to that of normal mice, while the weights of VP, epididymis and branching tip number in NT treated hpg group was still significantly lower than that of normal mice (P < 0.005).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The NT treatment significantly stimulates the growth and development of the sex accessory gland in mature hpg mouse.</p>