Testosterone

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testosterone, hormone produced by the male testis that is responsible for development of the male sex organs and masculine characteristics, including facial hair and deepening of the voice. Testosterone was isolated from testicular extracts in 1935. Its discovery followed that of an androgen (male hormone) called androsterone, which was isolated from urine in 1931. However, testosterone proved to be more potent than androsterone, which was later shown to be a biochemical product (a metabolite) of testosterone.

A healthy man produces about 5 mg (1.8 × 10⁻⁴ ounces) of testosterone daily. Testosterone serves as a circulating prohormone for a more active androgen called dihydrotestosterone. Testosterone is converted to dihydrotestosterone in most tissues that are sensitive to androgens, including the testes, prostate gland, hair follicles, and muscles. Although testosterone itself has androgenic actions, its conversion to dihydrotestosterone is critical to the development of external genitalia in boys. Testosterone is also converted to estradiol in adipose tissue (and to a lesser extent in some other tissues), which is the most important source of estrogen in men. Furthermore, testosterone is interconvertible with androstenedione, which can be converted into estrogens. When androstenedione is formed in adipose tissue, it may be converted to a form of estrogen called estrone.

Similar to other steroid hormones, testosterone exists in serum in two forms. Most testosterone in the serum is bound to sex hormone-binding globulin and to albumin, while the remaining amount (about 1 percent) is free, or unbound. Free testosterone is in equilibrium with bound testosterone so that when free testosterone enters cells, some bound testosterone is immediately freed. In the cytoplasm of target cells, testosterone or dihydrotestosterone binds to specific androgen receptors, and the hormone-receptor complexes enter the cell nucleus, where they modulate protein synthesis by influencing the rate at which particular genes are transcribed (see transcription).

Testosterone has several major actions. It provides negative feedback inhibition on the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus and the secretion of luteinizing hormone from the pituitary gland. It also directs the development of the embryonic Wolffian ducts into the vas deferens (ductus deferens) and seminal vesicles and stimulates the formation of muscle and bone. Dihydrotestosterone is responsible for sperm maturation during spermatogenesis, for the formation of the prostate gland and external genitalia, and for sexual maturation at puberty.

Testosterone can be manufactured by chemical and microbiological modification of inexpensive steroids, such as diosgenin. It is used clinically to treat testicular insufficiency, to suppress lactation (milk production), and to treat certain types of breast cancer.