ABSTRACT
The Sertoli cells of the testes secrete anti-Müllerian hormone (Müllerian inhibiting Substance, AMH) and inhibin B (InhB). AMH triggers the degeneration of the uterine precursor in male embryos, whereas InhB is part of the gonadal-pituitary axis for the regulation of sperm production in adults. However, both hormones are also putative regulators of homeostasis, and age-related changes in these hormones may therefore be important to the health status of elderly men. The levels of AMH in elderly men are unknown, with limited information being available about age-related changes in InhB. We have therefore used ELISAs to measure Sertoli cell hormone levels in 3 cohorts of community-dwelling men in New Zealand. In total, 615 men were examined, 493 of which were aged 65 or older. Serum AMH and InhB levels inversely correlated with age in men older than 50 years (p<0.001) but not in the younger men. A minority of elderly men had undetectable levels of AMH and InhB. The variation in hormone levels between similarly aged men increased with the age of men. AMH and InhB partially correlated with each other as expected (r = 0.48, p<0.001). However, the ratio of the two Sertoli hormones varied significantly between men, with this variation increasing with age. Elderly men selected for the absence of cardiovascular disease had AMH levels similar to those of young men whereas their InhB levels did not differ from aged-matched controls. These data suggests that Sertoli cell number and function changes with age, but with the extent and nature of the changes varying between men.
Subject(s)
Anti-Mullerian Hormone/blood , Inhibins/blood , Sertoli Cells/metabolism , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young AdultSubject(s)
Fetal Diseases/drug therapy , Fetal Therapies , Goiter/drug therapy , Hypothyroidism/drug therapy , Pregnancy Complications , Thyrotoxicosis , Triiodothyronine/therapeutic use , Antithyroid Agents/therapeutic use , Carbimazole/therapeutic use , Female , Fetal Diseases/diagnosis , Fetal Diseases/etiology , Goiter/diagnosis , Goiter/etiology , Graves Disease , Humans , Hypothyroidism/diagnosis , Hypothyroidism/etiology , Infant, Newborn , Male , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications/diagnosis , Pregnancy Complications/drug therapy , Thyrotoxicosis/diagnosis , Thyrotoxicosis/drug therapy , Thyrotoxicosis/etiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) production resumes during normal late menopausal aging. Anti-Müllerian hormone has been proposed as a specific serum marker for adult granulosa cell tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum AMH from 21 elderly postmenopausal women (mean age, 77 years) and 9 young women (mean age, 22 years) were measured by ultrasensitive immunoassay. RESULTS: Both median (0 pmol/L) and mean (0.48 pmol/L) serum AMH values for the elderly women were below the level of detection for the immunoassay kit. Three of the 21 participants had minimally detectable level of AMH (1.13-2.76 pmol/L). The cohort of young women had expected normal values of AMH as measurable by the same immunoassay kit. CONCLUSIONS: Serum AMH values were negligible for postmenopausal women older than 65 years. This extends the normative data for AMH to 108 years old, providing a reference range for the detection of granulosa cell tumors in postmenopausal women.
