Effects of estradiol and dihydrotestosterone on osteoblast gene expression in osteopenic ovariectomized rats

Abstract

Because androgens increase bone formation and estrogens inhibit bone resorption, there is a potential therapeutic use for a combined treatment of these hormones to preserve bone. We investigated the effect of dihy-drotestosterone (DHT) and estradiol, alone and in combination, on the mRNA levels of genes expressed during osteoblast development in osteopenic ovariectomized (ovx) rats: 40 animals were ovx and administered vehicle or 80 mg/kg body weight DHT at 15 weeks postovariectomy. At 19 weeks postovariectomy, the rats were administered vehicle or 20 mg/kg body weight estradiol for 1 week. The treatment groups were as follows: (1) vehicle + vehicle, (2) DHT + vehicle, (3) vehicle + estradio..