Table 1.
Reproductive and metabolic disease traits in prenatal testosterone- and dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-treated sheep (2 to 3 years of age—early adulthood) and the effectiveness of prenatal or postnatal interventions with either an androgen antagonist or an insulin sensitizer.
| Traits | Prenatal Testosterone | Prenatal DHT | Interventions—Pathology Manifestations | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prenatal Testosterone + Prenatal Androgen Antagonist | Prenatal Testosterone + Prenatal Insulin Sensitizer | Prenatal Testosterone + Postnatal Androgen Antagonist | Prenatal Testosterone + Postnatal Insulin Sensitizer | |||
| Reproductive Traits | ||||||
| Advanced puberty | Yes [57] | Yes Ψ [58] | No [57] | No [57] | No [57] | No [57] |
| Functional Hyperandrogenism | Yes [23] | Yes [23] | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| PCO morphology | Yes [31] | No [31] | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Disrupted preovulatory LH surge | Yes [57] | No [59] | Partially [57] | Yes [57] | Yes [57] | Yes [57] |
| Disrupted estradiol positive feedback | Yes [60] | No [58,59] | Yes [60] | Yes [60] | Partially [60] | Partially [60] |
| Disrupted estradiol negative feedback | Yes [26] | Yes [59] | No Σ [61] | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| GnRH-stimulated LH hypersecretion | Yes [30] | Yes [30] | Yes [30] | Partially [30] | Yes [30] | No [30] |
| Increased follicular recruitment | Yes [33] | Yes [33] | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Follicular persistence | Yes [35] | No [36] | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Metabolic Traits | ||||||
| Insulin resistance | Yes [38,41] | Yes [41] | Yes [41] | No [41] | Yes # | No # |
| Altered visceral adiposity | Yes [38] | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Altered adipocyte size | Yes [38,41] | Not tested | Partially [41] | Partially [41] | Not tested | Not tested |
| Adipocyte differentiation | Reduced [39] | Not tested | Partially [39] | Partially [39] | Not tested | Not tested |
| Hypertension | Yes [40] | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
Ψ Neuroendocrine puberty; # Unpublished observations: Σ Based on escape from estradiol negative feedback. PCO: polycystic ovary; LH: luteinizing hormone; GnRH: gonadotropin-releasing hormone.