Dehydroepiandrosterone reduces preadipocyte proliferation via androgen receptor.

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Several studies have suggested that both testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) have weight-reducing and antidiabetic effects, especially in rodent studies; however, the precise mechanism of their action remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of DHEA on cell growth in adipose tissue. The appearance of senescence-associated β-galactosidase in stromal vascular fraction (SVF) isolated from Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rats, an animal model of inherent obese type 2 diabetes, was prevented by DHEA administration. Next, the effects of DHEA and testosterone were compared in vivo and in vitro to evaluate whether these hormones influence cell growth in adipose tissue. Both DHEA and testosterone reduced body weight and epididymal fat weight equivalently when administered for 4 wk. To assess the effect of DHEA and testosterone on cell growth in adipose tissue, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) uptake by SVF was measured. Quantification analysis of BrdU uptake by examining DNA isolated from each SVF revealed that treatment with DHEA and testosterone reduced cell replication. These results indicated that DHEA- and testosterone-induced decreased adiposity was associated with reduced SVF growth. Incubation with DHEA and testosterone equally decreased BrdU uptake by 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Pretreatment with the androgen receptor (AR) inhibitor flutamide, but not the estrogen

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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