Possible Interaction: Androstenedione and Insulin

“Studies suggest that insulin treatment increases progesterone and androstenedione secretion in PCOS theca cells when compared to insulin treated normal theca cells.”

“Androstenedione AD ) decreased by 14.5% (p = 0.024), and insulin decreased by 26% (p = 0.039), over the course of deployment.”

“ Androstenedione (10(-5) mol/l) stimulated basal oestrogen production, but significantly reduced (32-58%) insulin + LH-stimulated oestrogen and progesterone secretion (P < 0.05).”

“CONCLUSION These results suggest that high an rostenedione co ncentrations may act directly to impair ins ulin au gmentation of LH-stimulated oestradiol and progesterone production in cultured human granulosa luteal cells.”

“Treatment for 3 days with IGF-I or -II at nanomolar concentrations or with insulin at micromolar concentrations slightly increased the production of androstenedione , cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone about 1.5-fold over that by control cells.”

“Many hormones are known to effect insulin resistance and others have reported a correlation between insulin levels and androstenedione.”

“Insulin stimulates androgen production by ovarian tissue in vitro and previous studies have identified a positive correlation of Insulin with androstenedione.”

“This association of hyperinsulinemia with a reduction of circulating levels of DHEAS, but not other C-19 steroids (e.g. testosterone and androstenedione ) may reflect differential mechanisms by which DHEAS levels are regulated and suggests that insulin either inhibits its biosynthesis and/or secretion, or enhances its MCR.”

“Both serum testosterone and androstenedione levels correlated with the insulin areas (r = 0.82; P less than 0.001 and r = 0.86; P less than 0.001, respectively). [”

“Incubation of cytotrophoblasts with insulin or IGF-I for 24 h significantly inhibited the conversion of androstenedione to estrogens by approximately 20-40%.”

“ Insulin (500 ng/ml) plus LH (25 ng/ml) significantly stimulated androstenedione accumulation in stroma obtained from two of the nonhyperandrogenic women.”