Steroid Hormones and Diabetes Mellitus : The Effect of Testosterone and β-Androstanolone on Gluconeogenesis in Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

The influence of testosterone and β-androstanolone on gluconeogenesis from alanine in liver slices, and on the activities of hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase was studied in rats with experimental diabetes. Amino acid tolerance test was performed in normal adults and in patients with diabetes mellitus or those treated with glucocorticoid. The following results were obtained
1) The gluconeogenesis from alanine in liver slices, the activities of glucose-6-phosphatase and transaminase were found to be increased in steroid diabetic rats compared with in alloxan diabetic rats.
2) The formation of citrate in liver slices was depressed by previous treatments using cortisone, testosterone or β-androstanolone.
3) The increase in gluconeogenesis and activities of glucose-6-phosphatase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase reduced by the simultaneous administration of testosterone or β-androstanolone in steroid diabetic rats, although in normal rats and in rats with alloxan diabetes, such treatment showed no significant influence on these factors.
4) Following the intravenous injection of amino acids, increasing rate of blood amino nitrogen and that of the excretion of amino nitrogen and pyruvate were greater in patients with diabetes mellitus and in those treated with glucocorticoids compared with normal adults. This data may suggest that the disturbance in the utilization of amino acids existed in diabetes mellitus. In patients with diabetes mellitus, daily administration of β-androslanolone caused a decrease in the rise of blood sugar, blood amino nitrogen and urinary amino nitrogen following amino acid loading.
The clinical application of these findings was also discussed.