Abstract

Objectives Metabolite profiles of body fluids or tissue extracts can be regarded as important indicators of physiological or pathological states. Whether hormone-specific alterations of the serum metabolome can be identified using this technique has not been tested yet. The aim of this study was to investigate metabolic responses during hormone therapy in postmenopausal women by a nontargeted metabolomics approach. Methods Sixty naturally postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to treatment with testosterone undecanoate 40 similar to mg every second day; estradiol valerate 2 similar to mg daily; or the combination of both. Serum metabolites were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) before and after 3 similar to months of treatment. Metabolites affected by the treatment were identified and correlated with changes in insulin sensitivity and lipid profiles. Results Treatment-dependent and hormone-specific effects on serum metabolites were observed, ranging between 69% reduction and 184% increase, but the metabolites that best explained the differences could not be structurally identified. Effects on annotated metabolites were less associated with clinical parameters as compared to established serum markers for adverse lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, such as cholesterol and triglycerides. However, cystine, lysine and tyrosine were shown to change in correlation with insulin sensitivity and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in response to testosterone, indicating that those responses were somehow related to each other. Conclusions Oestrogen- and androgen-specific alterations in the serum metabolome could be identified using GC-MS, reflecting hormone-specific effects on whole body metabolism. New knowledge regarding steroid-mediated metabolic responses within different tissues might be obtained using a similar approach on tissue extracts.

Published in

Clinical Endocrinology
2012, Volume: 77, number: 2, pages: 288-295
Publisher: WILEY-BLACKWELL

SLU Authors

• Moritz, Thomas

  • Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages


UKÄ Subject classification

Endocrinology and Diabetes


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2265.2012.04374.x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/42602