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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Brian WalkerORCiD
This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by BioScientifica Ltd, 2019.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Glucocorticoid signaling is context-dependent, and in certain scenarios glucocorticoid receptors (GR) are able to engage with other members of the nuclear receptor subfamily. Glucocorticoid signaling can exert sexually dimorphic effects, suggesting a possible interaction with androgen sex hormones. We therefore set out to determine the crosstalk between glucocorticoids and androgens in metabolic tissues including white adipose tissue, liver and brown adipose tissue. Thereto we exposed male C57BL/6J mice to elevated levels of corticosterone in combination with an androgen receptor (AR) agonist or an AR antagonist. Systemic and local glucocorticoid levels were determined by mass spectrometry, tissue expression of glucocorticoid-responsive genes and protein was measured by RT-qPCR and Western blot, respectively. To evaluate crosstalk in vitro, cultured white and brown adipocytes were exposed to a combination of corticosterone and an androgen agonist. We found that AR agonism potentiated transcriptional response to GR in vitro in white and brown adipocytes and in vivo in white and brown adipose tissue. Conversely, AR antagonism substantially attenuated glucocorticoid signaling in white adipose tissue and liver. In white adipose tissue this effect could partially be attributed to decreased 11B-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1-mediated glucocorticoid regeneration upon AR antagonism. In liver, attenuated GR activity was independent of active glucocorticoid ligand levels. We conclude that androgen signaling modulates GR transcriptional output in a tissue-specific manner.
Author(s): Spaanderman DCE, Nixon M, Buurstede JC, Sips HHCM, Schilperoort M, Kuipers EN, Backer EA, Kooijman S, Rensen PCN, Homer NZM, Walker BR, Meijer OC, Kroon J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Endocrinology
Year: 2019
Volume: 240
Issue: 1
Pages: 51-63
Online publication date: 04/10/2018
Acceptance date: 04/10/2018
Date deposited: 04/10/2018
ISSN (print): 0022-0795
ISSN (electronic): 1479-6805
Publisher: BioScientifica Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1530/JOE-18-0503
DOI: 10.1530/JOE-18-0503
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