Do Androgens Modulate the Pathophysiological Pathways of Inflammation? Appraising the Contemporary Evidence

Journal of Clinical Medicine

Abdulmaged Traish¹  Sunil Nair²  Farid Saad³  Abraham Morgentaler⁴  Jose Bolanos⁵ 

[1] Department of Urology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA;Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA;Medical Affairs Andrology, Bayer AG, 13353 Berlin, Germany;Men’s Health Boston, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA;Men’s Health Boston, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA;

关键词: testosterone;    C-reactive protein;    tumor necrosis factor-alpha;    interleukin-6;    interleukin-1 beta;    chronic inflammatory diseases;   

DOI  :  10.3390/jcm7120549

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The role of testosterone in the pathophysiology of inflammation is of critical clinical importance; however, no universal mechanism(s) has been advanced to explain the complex and interwoven pathways of androgens in the attenuation of the inflammatory processes. PubMed and EMBASE searches were performed, including the following key words: “testosterone„, “androgens„, “inflammatory cytokines„, “inflammatory biomarkers„ with focus on clinical studies as well as basic scientific studies in human and animal models. Significant benefits of testosterone therapy in ameliorating or attenuating the symptoms of several chronic inflammatory diseases were reported. Because anti⁻tumor necrosis factor therapy is the mainstay for the treatment of moderate-to-severe inflammatory bowel disease; including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and because testosterone therapy in hypogonadal men with chronic inflammatory conditions reduce tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), IL-1β, and IL-6, we suggest that testosterone therapy attenuates the inflammatory process and reduces the burden of disease by mechanisms inhibiting inflammatory cytokine expression and function. Mechanistically, androgens regulate the expression and function of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and CRP (C-reactive protein). Here, we suggest that testosterone regulates multiple and overlapping cellular and molecular pathways involving a host of immune cells and biochemical factors that converge to contribute to attenuation of the inflammatory process.

【 授权许可】

Unknown