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 dihydrotestosterone (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 80mg/kg body weight DHT at 15 weeks postovariectomy. At 19 weeks postovariectomy, the rats were administered vehicle or 20mg/kg body weight estradiol for 1 week. The treatment groups were as follows: (1) vehicle + vehicle, (2) DHT + vehicle, (3) vehicle + estradiol, ..