Androgen biosynthesis is the enzymatic formation of androgenic steroids from cholesterol-derived precursors. Steroidogenic pathways use cytochrome P450 enzymes and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases to modify the carbon skeleton and oxygen-containing functional groups of steroid intermediates [1]. Cholesterol delivery to the mitochondrial steroidogenic machinery initiates precursor formation, with steroidogenic acute regulatory protein participating in the transfer process [2]. The activity of this protein at the outer mitochondrial membrane links the supply of substrate with acute regulation of steroid production [3]. Subsequent reactions in steroidogenic tissues generate androgen precursors and active androgens through tissue-specific combinations of enzymes [4]. The biosynthetic sequence integrates precursor availability, intracellular transport, enzyme expression, and catalytic conversion, establishing the identities and relative amounts of androgenic products formed by a cell [5].
- androgens
- steroidogenesis
- hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases
- intracrine metabolism
Steroid Chemistry and Biochemistry·Molecular Biology·Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology·Life Sciences
References
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- Lina Schiffer; Wiebke Arlt; Karl-Heinz Storbeck; Intracrine androgen biosynthesis, metabolism and action revisited. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 2018, 465, 4-26. [CrossRef]