Acute Testosterone Deficiency Alters Adipose Tissue Fatty Acid Storage
Abstract
CONTEXT: Although the long-term effects of testosterone on adipose tissue lipid metabolism in men have been defined, the short-term regulation of these effects is not well understood.
OBJECTIVE: We examined the effects of acute testosterone withdrawal on subcutaneous abdominal and femoral adipose tissue fatty acid (FA) storage and cellular mechanisms.
DESIGN: This was a prospective, randomized trial.
SETTING: Mayo Clinic Clinical Research Unit.
PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-two male volunteers ages 18 to 50 participated in these studies.
INTERVENTIONS: Volunteers were randomized to receive (1) no treatment (control), (2) injections (7.5 mg) of Lupron®, or (3) Lupron and testosterone (L+T) replacement for 49 days, resulting in 4 weeks of sex steroid suppression in the Lupron group.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured body composition, fat cell size, adipose tissue meal FA and direct free FA storage, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), acyl coenzyme A synthetase (ACS), diacylglycerol acyltransferase activities, and CD36 content.
RESULTS: Compared with control and L+T groups, acute testosterone deficiency resulted in greater femoral adipose tissue meal FA storage rates, fasting and fed LPL activity, and ACS activity.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that in men, testosterone plays a tonic role in restraining FA storage in femoral adipose tissue via suppression of LPL and ACS activities. FA storage mechanisms in men appear sensitive to short-term changes in testosterone concentrations.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
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