Group items tagged

NO also is co linked to VEGF which in turn increases the antiapoptotic gene bcl-2

The other important influence of NO is in its inhibition of the proapoptoic caspases cascade. This in turn protects the cells from intracellular preprogrammed death.

nitric oxide in immune suppression in relation to oxygen radicals is its inhibitory effect on the binding of leukocytes (PMN) at the endothelial surface

Inhibition of inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS)

NO from the tumor cells actually suppresses the iNOS, and in addition it reduces oxygen radicals to stop the formation of peroxynitrite in these cells. But NO is not the only inhibitor of iNOS in cancer.

Spermine and spermidine, from the rate limiting enzyme for DNA synthases, ODC, also inhibit iNOS

tolerance in the immune system that decreases the immune response to antigens on the tumors

Freund’s adjuvant

increase in kinases in these cells which phosphorylate serine, and tyrosine

responsible for activation of many growth factors and enzymes

phosphorylated amino acids suppress iNOS activity

Hexokinase II

Prostaglandin E2, released from tumor cells is also an inhibitor of iNOS, as well as suppressing the immune system

Th-1 subset of T-cells. These cells are responsible for anti-viral and anti-cancer activities, via their cytokine production including Interleukin-2, (IL-2), and Interleukin-12 which stimulates T-killer cell replication and further activation and release of tumor fighting cytokines.

Th-2 subset of lymphocytes, on the other hand are activated in allergies and parasitic infections to release Interleukin-4 and Interleukin-10

These have respectively inhibitory effects on iNOS and lymphocyte Th-1 activation

Mast cells contain histamine which when released increases the T suppressor cells, to lower the immune system and also acts directly on many tumor Histamine receptors to stimulate tumor growth

Tumor cells release IL-10, and this is thought to be one of the important areas of Th-1 suppression in cancer patients

IL-10 is also increased in cancer causing viral diseases such as HIV, HBV, HCV, and EBV

IL-10 is also a central regulator of cyclooxygenase-2 expression and prostaglandin production in tumor cells stimulating their angiogenesis and NO production

nitric oxide in tumor cells even prevents the activation of caspases responsible for apoptosis

early stages of carcinogenesis, which we call tumor promotion, one needs a strong immune system, and fewer oxygen radicals to prevent mutations but still enough to destroy the tumor cells should they develop

later stages of cancer development, the oxygen radicals are decreased around the tumors and in the tumor cells themselves, and the entire cancer fighting Th-1 cell replication and movement are suppressed. The results are a decrease in direct toxicity and apoptosis, which is prevented by NO, a suppression of the macrophage and leukocyte toxicity and finally, a suppression of the T-cell induced tumor toxicity

cGMP is increased by NO

NO in cancer is its ability to increase platelet-tumor cell aggregates, which enhances metastases

the greater the malignancies and the greater the metastatic potential of these tumors

The greater the NO production in many types of tumors,

gynecological

elevated lactic acid which neutralizes the toxicity and activity of Lymphocyte immune response and mobility

The lactic acid is also feeding fungi around tumors and that leads to elevated histamine which increases T-suppressor cells.  Histamine alone stimulates many tumor cells.

T-regulatory cells (formerly,T suppressor cells) down regulate the activity of Natural killer cells

last but not least, the Lactic acid from tumor cells and acidic diets shifts the lymphocyte activity to reduce its efficacy against cancer cells and pathogens in addition to altering the bacteria of the intestinal tract.

intestinal tract bacteria in cancer cells release sterols that suppress the immune system and down regulate anticancer activity from lymphocytes.

In addition to the lactic acid, adenosine is also released from tumors. Through IL-10, adenosine and other molecules secreted by regulatory T cells, the CD8+ cells can be inactivated to an anergic state

Adenosine up regulates the PD1 receptor in T-1 Lymphocytes and inhibits their activity

Adenosine is a purine nucleoside found within the interstitial fluid of solid tumors at concentrations that are able to inhibit cell-mediated immune responses to tumor cells

Adenosine appears to up-regulate the PD1 receptor in T-1 Lymphocytes and inhibits the immune system further

Mast cells with their release of histamine lower the immune system and also stimulate tumor growth and activate the metalloproteinases involved in angiogenesis and metastases

COX 2 inhibitors or all trans-retinoic acid

Cimetidine, an antihistamine has been actually shown to increase in apoptosis in MDSC via a separate mechanism than the antihistamine effect

interleukin-8 (IL-8), a chemokine related to invasion and angiogenesis

In vitro analyses revealed a striking induction of IL-8 expression in CAFs and LFs by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)

these data raise the possibility that the majority of CAFs in CLM originate from resident LFs. TNF-alpha-induced up-regulation of IL-8 via nuclear factor-kappaB in CAFs is an inflammatory pathway, potentially permissive for cancer invasion that may represent a novel therapeutic target

related to intracellular hydrogen peroxide generation

only be obtained by intravenous administration of AA

Preferentially kills neoplastic cells

Is virtually non-toxic at any dosage

Does not suppress the immune system, unlike most chemotherapy agents

Increases animal and human resistance to infectious agents by enhancing lymphocyte blastogenesis, enhancing cellular immunity, strengthening the extracellular matrix, and enhancing bactericidal activity of neutrophils and modulation of complement protein

Strengthens the structural integrity of the extracellular matrix which is responsible for stromal resistance to malignant invasiveness

1969, researchers at the NCI reported AA was highly toxic to Ehrlich ascites cells in vitro

In 1977, Bram et al reported preferential AA toxicity for several malignant melanoma cell lines, including four human-derived lines

Noto et al reported that AA plus vitamin K3 had growth inhibiting action against three human tumor cell lines at non-toxic levels

Metabolites of AA have also shown antitumor activity in vitro

The AA begins to reduce cell proliferation in the tumor cell line at the lowest concentration, 1.76 mg/dl, and is completely cytotoxic to the cells at 7.04 mg/dl

the normal cells grew at an enhanced rate at the low dosages (1.76 and 3.52 mg/dl)

preferential toxicity of AA for tumor cells. >95% toxicity to human endometrial adenocarcinoma and pancreatic tumor cells (ATCC AN3-CA and MIA PaCa-2) occurred at 20 and 30 mg/dl, respectively.

No toxicity or inhibition was demonstrated in the normal, human skin fibroblasts (ATCC CCD 25SK) even at the highest concentration of 50 mg/dl.

the use of very high-dose intravenous AA for the treatment of cancer was proposed as early as 1971

Cameron and Pauling have published extensive suggestive evidence for prolonged life in terminal cancer patients orally supplemented (with and without initial intravenous AA therapy) with 10 g/day of AA

AA, plasma levels during infusion were not monitored,

the long-term, oral dosage used in those experiments (10 g/day), while substantial and capable of producing immunostimulatory and extracellular matrix modulation effects, was not high enough to achieve plasma concentrations that are generally cytotoxic to tumor cells in culture

This low cytotoxic level of AA is exceedingly rare

5 — 40 mg/dl of AA is required in vitro to kill 100% of tumor cells within 3 days. The 100% kill levels of 30 mg/dl for the endometrial carcinoma cells and 40 mg/dl for the pancreatic carcinoma cells in Figure 2 are typical

normal range (95% range) of 0.39-1.13 mg/dl

1 h after beginning his first 8-h infusion of 115 g AA (Merit Pharmaceuticals, Los Angeles, CA), the plasma AA was 3.7 mg/dl and at 5 h was 19 mg/dl. During his fourth 8-h infusion, 8 days later, the 1 h plasma level was 158 mg/dl and 5 h was 185 mg/dl

plasma levels of over 100 mg/dl have been maintained in 3 patients for more than 5 h using continuous intravenous infusion

In rare instances of patients with widely disseminated and rapidly proliferating tumors, intravenous AA administration (10 — 45 g/day) precipitated widespread tumor hemorrhage and necrosis, resulting in death

Although the outcomes were disastrous in these cases, they are similar to the description of tumor-necrosis-factor-induced hemorrhage and necrosis in mice (52) and seem to demonstrate the ability of AA to kill tumor cells in vivo.

toxic effects of AA on one normal cell line were observed at 58.36 mg/dl and the lack of side effects in patients maintaining >100 mg/dl plasma levels

Although it is very rare, tumor necrosis, hemorrhage, and subsequent death should be the highest priority concern for the safety of intravenous AA for cancer patients.

Klenner, who reported no ill effects of dosages as high as 150 g intravenously over a 24-h period

Cathcart (55) who describes no ill effects with doses of up to 200 g/d in patients with various pathological conditions

following circumstances: renal insufficiency, chronic hemodialysis patients, unusual forms of iron overload, and oxalate stone formers

Screening for red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, which can give rise to hemolysis of red blood cells under oxidative stress (57), should also be performed

any cancer therapy should be started at a low dosage to ensure that tumor hemorrhage does not occur.

patient is orally supplementing between infusions

a scorbutic rebound effect can be avoided with oral supplementation. Because of the possibility of a rebound effect, measurement of plasma levels during the periods between infusions should be performed to ensure that no such effect takes place

Every effort should be made to monitor plasma AA levels when a patient discontinues intravenous AA therapy.

These data suggest that PAA may show a therapeutic advantage to blood cancers vs solid tumors because of the communication between tumor cells and blood plasma

These results strongly suggest that the mechanism of PAA killing of MM cells is indeed iron-dependent

These results suggest that PAA administration in SMM may be able to prevent progression to symtomatic MM

A recent study by Yun and colleagues demonstrated that vitamin C selectively kills KRAS and BRAF mutant colorectal cancer cells by targeting GAPDH, but spares normal cells

RAS family genes show the most frequent mutations in MM. KRAS, NRAS and BRAF are mutated in 22%, 20% and 7% of MM samples

the disease stage rather than the mutation of RAS and/or BRAF is the major predictive factor for PAA sensitivity in MM treatment

Other molecular mechanisms including ATP depletion and ATM-AMPK signaling have been reported to explain PAA-induced cell death

our pilot study also suggested that PAA could overcome drug resistance to bortezomib in MM cells

Our findings complement reported studies and further address the mechanism of action using clinical samples in which we observed that PAA killed tumor cells with high iron content, suggesting that iron might be the initiator of PAA cytotoxicity

combination of PAA with standard therapeutic drugs, such as melphalan, may significantly reduce the dose of melphalan needed

Combined treatment of reduced dose melphalan with PAA achieved a significantly longer progression-free survival than the same dose of melphalan alone.

These data also suggest that the bone marrow suppression induced by high-dose melphalan can be ameliorated by the combination of PAA with lower dose of melphalan because of the lack of toxicity of PAA on normal cells with low iron content.

if creatinine clearance is <30 mL/min, high dose ascorbic acid should be not administrated.

In MM preclinical and clinical studies, ascorbate was used as an adjunct drug and showed controversial results (Harvey et al., 2009, Perrone et al., 2009, Held et al., 2013, Sharma et al., 2012, Nakano et al., 2011, Takahashi, 2010, Sharma et al., 2009, Qazilbash et al., 2008). However, none of these tests used pharmacological doses of ascorbate and intravenous administration

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell neoplasm.

Cameron and Pauling reported that high doses of vitamin C increased survival of patients with cancer

pharmacologically dosed ascorbic acid (PAA) 50–100 g (Chen et al., 2008, Padayatty et al., 2004, Hoffer et al., 2008, Padayatty et al., 2006, Welsh et al., 2013), administered intravenously, has potent anti-cancer activity and its role as anti-cancer therapy is being studied at the University of Iowa and in other centers

In the presence of catalytic metal ions like iron, PAA administered intravenously exerts pro-oxidant effects leading to the formation of highly reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in cell death

the labile iron pool (LIP) is significantly elevated in MM cells

The survival of CD138+ cells in vitro was significantly decreased following PAA treatment in all 9 MM

In contrast, no significant change of cell viability was observed in CD138− BM cells from the same patients

The same effect of PAA was also observed in the SMM patients

no response to PAA was detected in CD138+ cells from the 2 MGUS patients

the combination of melphalan plus PAA showed greater tumor burden reduction than each drug alone, suggesting a synergistic activity between these two drugs

Both catalase and NAC protect cells from oxidative damage

cells pretreated with NAC and catalase became resistant to PAA even at high doses

adding deferoxamine (DFO), an iron chelator, to OCI-MY5 cells before PAA treatment was also sufficient to prevent PAA-induced cellular death

iron is essential for PAA to achieve its anti-cancer activity

PAA induced early necrosis (Fig. 3Fig. 3A, 60 min) followed by late apoptosis

results further indicated that PAA induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis

PAA by reacting with LIP and generating ROS induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in which AIF1 cleavage is important for cell death.

ROS and H2O2 are well known factors mediating PAA-induced cancer cell death

PAA was sensitive to all 9 MMs and 2 SMMs

Researchers tried to examine whether serum total or free testosterone would be a better/more reliable choice when studying the effect of testosterone. The results were mixed. Some reported significant associations of both serum total and free testosterone level with clinical parameters25, whereas others reported that only serum free testosterone26 or only serum total testosterone6 showed significant associations.

−0.124 nmol/L/year in serum total testosterone

In experimental studies, androgen receptor knockout mice developed significant insulin resistance rapidly

In mouse models, testosterone promoted differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to the myogenic lineage

testosterone decreased insulin resistance by enhancing catecholamine induced lipolysis in vitro, and reducing lipoprotein lipase activity and triglyceride uptake in human abdominal tissue in vivo

by promoting lipolysis and myogenesis, testosterone might lead to improved insulin resistance

testosterone regulated skeletal muscle genes involved in glucose metabolism that led to decreased systemic insulin resistance

In the liver, hepatic androgen receptor signaling inhibited development of insulin resistance in mice

independent and inverse association of testosterone with hepatic steatosis shown in a cross-sectional study carried out in humans

In short, androgen improves insulin resistance by changing body composition and reducing body fat.

Although a low serum testosterone level could contribute to the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes through changes in body composition, obesity might also alter the metabolism of testosterone

In obese men, the peripheral conversion from testosterone to estrogen could attenuate the amplitude of luteinizing hormone pulses and centrally inhibit testosterone production

leptin, an adipokine, has been shown to be inversely correlated with serum testosterone level in men

Leydig cells expressed leptin receptors and leptin has been shown to inhibit testosterone secretion, suggesting a role of obesity and leptin in the pathogenesis of low testosterone

Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) cohort made up of 3,565 middle-class, mostly Caucasian men from the USA, the incidence of low serum total testosterone increased from approximately 20% of men aged over 60 years, 30% over 70 years, to 50% over 80 years-of-age

30–44% sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)-bound testosterone and 54–68% albumin-bound testosterone

As the binding of testosterone to albumin is non-specific and therefore not tight, the sum of free and albumin-bound testosterone is named bioavailable testosterone, which reflects the hormone available at the cellular level

Serum total testosterone is composed of 0.5–3.0% of free testosterone unbound to plasma proteins

alterations in SHBG concentration might affect total serum testosterone level without altering free or bioavailable testosterone

listed in Table​T

A significant, independent and longitudinal effect of age on testosterone has been observed with an average change of −0.124 nmol/L/year in serum total testosterone28. The same trend has been shown in Europe and Australia

Asian men residing in HK and Japan, but not those living in the USA, had 20% higher serum total testosterone than in Caucasians living in the USA, as shown in a large multinational observational prospective cohort of the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study

subjects with chronic diseases consistently had a 10–15% lower level compared with age-matched healthy subjects

In Caucasians, the mean serum total testosterone level for men in large epidemiological studies has been reported to range from 15.1 to 16.6 nmol/L

Asians, higher values, ranging from 18.1 to 19.1 nmol/L, were seen in Korea and Japan

Chinese middle-aged men reported a similar mean serum testosterone level of 17.1 nmol/L in 179 men who had a family history of type 2 diabetes and 17.8 nmol/L in 128 men who had no family history of type 2 diabetes

The reduction of total testosterone was 0.4% per year in both groups

HK involving a cohort of 1,489 community-dwelling men with a mean age of 72 years, a mean serum total testosterone of 19.0 nmol/L was reported

pro-inflammatory factors, such as tumor necrosis factor-α in the testes, could locally inhibit testosterone biosynthesis in Leydig cells47, and testosterone treatment in men was shown to reduce the level of tumor necrosis factor-α

In Asians, a genetic deletion polymorphism of uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase UGT2B17 was associated with reduced androgen glucuronidation. This resulted in higher level of active androgen in Asians as compared to Caucasians, as Caucasians' androgen would be glucuronidated into inactive forms faster.

Compared with Caucasians, the frequency of this deletion polymorphism of UGT2B17 was 22-fold higher in Asian subjects

Other researchers have suggested that environmental, but not genetic, factors influenced serum total testosterone

The basal and ligand-induced activity of the AR is inversely associated with the length of the CAG repeat chain

In the European Male Aging Study, increased estrogen/androgen ratio in association with longer AR CAG repeat was observed

a smaller number of AR CAG repeat had been shown to be associated with benign prostate hypertrophy and faster prostate growth during testosterone treatment

In India, men with CAG ≤19 had increased risk of prostate cancer

the odds of having a short CAG repeat (≤17) were substantially higher in patients with lymph node-positive prostate cancer than in those with lymph node-negative disease or in the general population

assessing the polymorphism at the AR level could be a potential tool towards individualized assessment and treatment of hypogonadism.

In elderly men, there was reduced testicular response to gonadotropins with suppressed and altered pulsatility of the hypothalamic pulse generator

a significant, independent and longitudinal effect of age on serum total testosterone level had been observed

A significant graded inverse association between serum testosterone level and insulin levels independent of age has also been reported in Caucasian men

Low testosterone is commonly associated with a high prevalence of MES

most studies showed that changes in serum testosterone level led to changes in body composition, insulin resistance and the presence of MES, the reverse might also be possible

MES predicted a 2.6-fold increased risk of development of low serum testosterone level independent of age, smoking and other potential confounders

Other prospective studies have shown that development of MES accelerated the age-related decline in serum testosterone level

In men with type 2 diabetes, changes in serum testosterone level over time correlated inversely with changes in insulin resistance

weight loss by either diet control or bariatric surgery led to a substantial increase in total testosterone, especially in morbidly obese men, and the rise in serum testosterone level was proportional to the amount of weight lost

To date, published clinical trials are small, of short duration and often used pharmacological, not physiological, doses of testosterone

In the population-based Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study cohort from Sweden, men in the highest quartile of serum testosterone level had the lowest risk of cardiovascular events compared with men in the other three quartiles (hazard ratio [HR] 0.70

low serum total testosterone was associated with a significant fourfold higher risk of cardiovascular events when comparing men from the lowest testosterone tertile with those in the highest tertile

Shores et al. were the first to report that low serum testosterone level, including both serum total and free testosterone, was associated with increased mortality

low serum total testosterone predicted increased risk of cardiovascular mortality with a HR of 1.38

low serum total testosterone increased all-cause (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.13–1.62, P < 0.001) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.25

European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2013 suggested there was an inverse relationship between serum testosterone level and acute myocardial infarction

Diabetic men in the highest quartile of serum total testosterone had a significantly reduced risk of acute MI when compared with those in the lower quartiles

serum total testosterone level in the middle two quartiles at baseline predicted reduced incidence of death compared with having the highest and lowest levels

pharmacologic inhibition of NF-κB was effective in killing AML cells

High NF-κB expression is found in primitive human AML blast cells

niclosamide inhibited the TNF-induced NF-κB reporter activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner

niclosamide inhibiting TNF-induced IKK phosphorylation (Fig. 2A), niclosamide may exert its inhibitory effect at the TAK1 step

Pretreatment with niclosamide completely blocked the time- and dose-dependent TNFα-induced alteration of the NF-κB–DNA complex

niclosamide inhibited constitutively active NF-κB binding to DNA in U266 cells

niclosamide completely abolished the TNFα-induced phosphorylation of IKKα/β and IκBα

Accordingly, the TNFα-induced degradation of IκBα was abrogated by niclosamide

testosterone therapy causes a shift in the skeletal muscle of CHF patients toward a higher concentration of type I muscle fibers

Testosterone replacement therapy has also been shown to improve the homeostatic model of insulin resistance and hemoglobin A1c in diabetics26,68–69 and to lower the BMI in obese patients.

Lower levels of endogenous testosterone have been associated with longer duration of the QTc interval

testosterone replacement has been shown to shorten the QTc interval

negative correlation has been demonstrated between endogenous testosterone levels and IMT of the carotid arteries, abdominal aorta, and thoracic aorta

These findings suggest that men with lower levels of endogenous testosterone may be at a higher risk of developing atherosclerosis.

Current guidelines from the Endocrine Society make no recommendations on whether patients with heart disease should be screened for hypogonadism and do not recommend supplementing patients with heart disease to improve survival.

The Massachusetts Male Aging Study also projects ≈481 000 new cases of hypogonadism annually in US men within the same age group

since 1993 prescriptions for testosterone, regardless of the formulation, have increased nearly 500%

Testosterone levels are lower in patients with chronic illnesses such as end‐stage renal disease, human immunodeficiency virus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity, and several genetic conditions such as Klinefelter syndrome

A growing body of evidence suggests that men with lower levels of endogenous testosterone are more prone to develop CAD during their lifetimes

There are 2 major potential confounding factors that the older studies generally failed to account for. These factors are the subfraction of testosterone used to perform the analysis and the method used to account for subclinical CAD.

The biologically inactive form of testosterone is tightly bound to SHBG and is therefore unable to bind to androgen receptors

The biologically inactive fraction of testosterone comprises nearly 68% of the total testosterone in human serum

The biologically active subfraction of testosterone, also referred to as bioavailable testosterone, is either loosely bound to albumin or circulates freely in the blood, the latter referred to as free testosterone

It is estimated that ≈30% of total serum testosterone is bound to albumin, whereas the remaining 1% to 3% circulates as free testosterone

it can be argued that using the biologically active form of testosterone to evaluate the association with CAD will produce the most reliable results

English et al14 found statistically significant lower levels of bioavailable testosterone, free testosterone, and free androgen index in patients with catheterization‐proven CAD compared with controls with normal coronary arteries

patients with catheterization‐proven CAD had statistically significant lower levels of bioavailable testosterone

In conclusion, existing evidence suggests that men with CAD have lower levels of endogenous testosterone,13–18 and more specifically lower levels of bioavailable testosterone

low testosterone levels are associated with risk factors for CAD such as T2DM25–26 and obesity

In a meta‐analysis of these 7 population‐based studies, Araujo et al41 showed a trend toward increased cardiovascular mortality associated with lower levels of total testosterone, but statistical significance was not achieved (RR, 1.25

the authors showed that a decrease of 2.1 standard deviations in levels of total testosterone was associated with a 25% increase in the risk of cardiovascular mortality

the relative risk of all‐cause mortality in men with lower levels of total testosterone was calculated to be 1.35

higher risk of cardiovascular mortality is associated with lower levels of bioavailable testosterone

Existing evidence seems to suggest that lower levels of endogenous testosterone are associated with higher rates of all‐cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality

studies have shown that lower levels of endogenous bioavailable testosterone are associated with higher rates of all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality

It may be possible that using bioavailable testosterone to perform mortality analysis will yield more accurate results because it prevents the biologically inactive subfraction of testosterone from playing a potential confounding role in the analysis

The earliest published material on this matter dates to the late 1930s

the concept that testosterone replacement therapy improves angina has yet to be proven wrong

In more recent studies, 3 randomized, placebo‐controlled trials demonstrated that administration of testosterone improves myocardial ischemia in men with CAD

The improvement in myocardial ischemia was shown to occur in response to both acute and chronic testosterone therapy and seemed to be independent of whether an intravenous or transdermal formulation of testosterone was used.

testosterone had no effect on endothelial nitric oxide activity

There is growing evidence from in vivo animal models and in vitro models that testosterone induces coronary vasodilation by modulating the activity of ion channels, such as potassium and calcium channels, on the surface of vascular smooth muscle cells

Experimental studies suggest that the most likely mechanism of action for testosterone on vascular smooth muscle cells is via modulation of action of non‐ATP‐sensitive potassium ion channels, calcium‐activated potassium ion channels, voltage‐sensitive potassium ion channels, and finally L‐type calcium ion channels

Corona et al confirmed those results by demonstrating that not only total testosterone levels are lower among diabetics, but also the levels of free testosterone and SHBG are lower in diabetic patients

Laaksonen et al65 followed 702 Finnish men for 11 years and demonstrated that men in the lowest quartile of total testosterone, free testosterone, and SHBG were more likely to develop T2DM and metabolic syndrome.

Vikan et al followed 1454 Swedish men for 11 years and discovered that men in the highest quartile of total testosterone were significantly less likely to develop T2DM

authors demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the incidence of T2DM in subjects receiving gonadotropin‐releasing hormone antagonist therapy. In addition, a significant increase in the rate of myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden cardiac death, and development of cardiovascular disease was noted in patients receiving antiandrogen therapy.67

Several authors have demonstrated that the administration of testosterone in diabetic men improves the homeostatic model of insulin resistance, hemoglobin A1c, and fasting plasma glucose

Existing evidence strongly suggests that the levels of total and free testosterone are lower among diabetic patients compared with those in nondiabetics

insulin seems to be acting as a stimulant for the hypothalamus to secret gonadotropin‐releasing hormone, which consequently results in increased testosterone production. It can be argued that decreased stimulation of the hypothalamus in diabetics secondary to insulin deficiency could result in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism

BMI has been shown to be inversely associated with testosterone levels

This interaction may be a result of the promotion of lipolysis in abdominal adipose tissue by testosterone, which may in turn cause reduced abdominal adiposity. On the other hand, given that adipose tissue has a higher concentration of the enzyme aromatase, it could be that increased adipose tissue results in more testosterone being converted to estrogen, thereby causing hypogonadism. Third, increased abdominal obesity may cause reduced testosterone secretion by negatively affecting the hypothalamus‐pituitary‐testicular axis. Finally, testosterone may be the key factor in activating the enzyme 11‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in adipose tissue, which transforms glucocorticoids into their inactive form.

increasing age may alter the association between testosterone and CRP. Another possible explanation for the association between testosterone level and CRP is central obesity and waist circumference

Bai et al have provided convincing evidence that testosterone might be able to shorten the QTc interval by augmenting the activity of slowly activating delayed rectifier potassium channels while simultaneously slowing the activity of L‐type calcium channels

consistent evidence that supplemental testosterone shortens the QTc interval.

Intima‐media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery is considered a marker for preclinical atherosclerosis

Studies have shown that levels of endogenous testosterone are inversely associated with IMT of the carotid artery,126–128,32,129–130 as well as both the thoracic134 and the abdominal aorta

1 study has demonstrated that lower levels of free testosterone are associated with accelerated progression of carotid artery IMT

another study has reported that decreased levels of total and bioavailable testosterone are associated with progression of atherosclerosis in the abdominal aorta

These findings suggest that normal physiologic testosterone levels may help to protect men from the development of atherosclerosis

Czesla et al successfully demonstrated that the muscle specimens that were exposed to metenolone had a significant shift in their composition toward type I muscle fibers

Type I muscle fibers, also known as slow‐twitch or oxidative fibers, are associated with enhanced strength and physical capability

It has been shown that those with advanced CHF have a higher percentage of type II muscle fibers, based on muscle biopsy

Studies have shown that men with CHF suffer from reduced levels of total and free testosterone.137 It has also been shown that reduced testosterone levels in men with CHF portends a poor prognosis and is associated with increased CHF mortality.138 Reduced testosterone has also been shown to correlate negatively with exercise capacity in CHF patients.

Testosterone replacement therapy has been shown to significantly improve exercise capacity, without affecting LVEF

the results of the 3 meta‐analyses seem to indicate that testosterone replacement therapy does not cause an increase in the rate of adverse cardiovascular events

Data from 3 meta‐analyses seem to contradict the commonly held belief that testosterone administration may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer

One meta‐analysis reported an increase in all prostate‐related adverse events with testosterone administration.146 However, when each prostate‐related event, including prostate cancer and a rise in PSA, was analyzed separately, no differences were observed between the testosterone group and the placebo group

the existing data from the 3 meta‐analyses seem to indicate that testosterone replacement therapy does not increase the risk of adverse cardiovascular events

the authors correctly point out the weaknesses of their study which include retrospective study design and lack of randomization, small sample size at extremes of follow‐up, lack of outcome validation by chart review and poor generalizability of the results given that only male veterans with CAD were included in this study

the studies that failed to find an association between testosterone and CRP used an older population group

low testosterone may influence the severity of CAD by adversely affecting the mediators of the inflammatory response such as high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, interleukin‐6, and tumor necrosis factor–α

An association between testosterone and WBC count was not observed

These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that in men higher androgen concentration is anti-inflammatory, and higher estrogen concentration is pro-inflammatory.

the probability of elevated CRP concentrations (≥ 3 mg/L) decreased with higher total and calculated free testosterone concentrations, while the probability increased with higher total and calculated free estradiol concentrations

there is ample evidence supporting the immunosuppressive effect of androgens

The incidence of autoimmune diseases is higher in androgen-deficient men

Studies have shown that the induction of hypogonadism in older men is followed by a significant increase in IL-6 concentrations (Khosla et al. 2002), a potent stimulator of inflammation, and that activation of the androgen receptor exerts a direct anti-inflammatory effect

It has been suggested that the mechanisms for the immunosuppressive effect of androgens could be either a direct effect on the expression of inflammatory genes (Bellido et al. 1995; Asirvatham et al. 2006), or an indirect effect through inhibition of nuclear factor-kB activation

Estradiol is the major biologically active estrogen, and about 80% is formed in adult men from the aromatization of testosterone primarily in the adipose tissue

estrogen can stimulate the transcription factor C/EBP-β, which is involved in CRP transcription

Most prior cross-sectional studies have observed inverse associations between androgen concentrations and inflammatory biomarkers

A recent study in Chinese men showed that lower concentrations of total and calculated free testosterone were associated with higher CRP concentration

Data from the Boston Area Community Health Survey also reported inverse associations between testosterone and CRP concentrations

Total testosterone was inversely associated with WBC count (Tang et al. 2007; Schneider et al. 2009; Brand et al. 2012), but calculated free testosterone was not associated with WBC

The first trial found a decrease in CRP, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) but no changes in IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations between the active treatment and placebo arms

the majority of studies in the literature have not observed statistically significant associations between estradiol and inflammatory biomarkers in men, although several of them observed point estimates in the positive direction

total testosterone and estradiol compete for binding to SHBG, and seem to have opposite effects on the concentration of inflammatory biomarkers

A small randomized controlled trial of estrogen replacement therapy in prostate cancer patients showed an increase in CRP in the active treatment group versus the comparator group

Obese men are known to have lower androgen concentrations compared to their normal-weight counterparts

The strongest suggestion of an interaction was the inverse association between androstanediol glucuronide and CRP concentrations in obese participants, while the association was positive in the non-obese

A recent Chinese cross-sectional study observed stronger inverse associations between total testosterone and CRP concentrations in individuals with a BMI of 27.5 kg/m2 or greater

our results suggest that total and calculated free testosterone are modestly inversely associated with CRP concentrations, and that total and calculated free estradiol are modestly positively associated with CRP and WBC

In obese middle-aged men, testosterone treatment reduced visceral adipocity, insulin resistance, serum cholesterol and glucose levels

testosterone replacement has a favorable impact on body mass, insulin secretion and sensitivity, lipid profile and blood pressure in hypogonadal men with the metabolic syndrome as well as type 2 diabetes mellitus

Testosterone significantly inhibits lipoprotein lipase activity, which reduces triglycerides uptake into adipocytes in the abdominal adipose tissue

testosterone treatment decreased endogenous inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-1β) and lipids (total cholesterol) and increased IL-10 in hypogonadal men

Testosterone treatment reduced leptin and adiponectin levels in hypogonadal type 2 diabetic men after 3 months of testosterone replacement

available data clearly show a relationship between obesity, low testosterone levels and ED

Obesity adversely affects endothelial function and lowers serum testosterone levels through the development of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome

Metabolic disturbances as well as production of cytokines and adipokines by inflamed fat cells may be causal factors in the development of ED

The onset of ED and the associated risk of CVD may be delayed through lifestyle modifications that affect obesity, such as diet and exercise

Very low testosterone levels contribute to the development of ED in obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Obesity is associated with low total testosterone levels that can be explained at least partially by lower sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in obese men

epidemiological studies have shown a negative correlation between BMI and total testosterone and to a lesser extent with free and bioavailable (biologically active) testosterone levels

Testosterone has a known age-related decline, and total levels typically drop by approximately 1.6% per year beginning for most men in their 30s

As estrogen levels rise, they prompt the body to produce more SHBG, which in turn has a higher binding affinity for testosterone, and drives the unbound fraction of the testosterone pool down even further

When the increase in SHBG is taken into account, the age-related decline in the level of hormone that can be used by the body is closer to 2% to 3% per year.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), an herb commonly used for allergies, can also be employed to bind to SHBG, which leaves more testosterone available to tissues

Leptin, an adipose-derived peptide hormone that regulates appetite and metabolism, has been shown to directly inhibit testosterone production in animal models

tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) further inhibit Leydig cell testosterone production

Natural aromatase inhibitors include the bioflavonoids chrysin and luteolin

Zinc deficiency causes an upregulation of the aromatase enzyme

Testosterone reduces lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity

there are several herbs that can work to boost testosterone levels, including longjack (Eurycoma longifolia), horny goat weed (Epimedium grandiflorum), and tribulus (Tribulus terrestris).

the majority of the hormone is bound to carrier proteins including sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and albumin

the percentage of macrophages in a given adipose tissue depot is positively correlated with adiposity and adipocyte size

Il-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine produced by macrophages and lymphocytes

Il-10 exerts its anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting Tnf-induced NFκB activation by reducing IKK activity [38]

adipose tissue macrophages are responsible for nearly all adipose tissue Tnf expression and a significant portion of Nos2 and Il6 expression

One theory holds that the expansion of adipose tissue leads to adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia and that large adipocytes outstrip the local oxygen supply leading to cell autonomous hypoxia with activation of cellular stress pathways

The use of the anti-inflammatory compounds, salicylate and its derivative aspirin, for treating symptoms of T2DM dates back over 100 years

elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin (IL-8) have all been reported in various diabetic and insulin resistant states

overnutrition and obesity are often accompanied by elevations in tissue and circulating FFA concentrations, and saturated FFAs can directly activate pro-inflammatory responses

Adipokines such as resistin, leptin and adiponectin, which are secreted by adipocytes, can also affect inflammation and insulin sensitivity

In skeletal muscle insulin promotes glucose uptake by stimulating translocation of the GLUT4 glucose transporter

macrophages are also capable of undergoing a phenotypic switch from an M1 state, which was defined as the “classically activated” pro-inflammatory macrophage, to the M2 state or the “alternatively activated” non-inflammatory cell

saturated fatty acids are the most potent inducers of this inflammatory response

Several inducers of insulin resistance, including FFAs, pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress, activate the expression of Nos2, the gene that encodes iNOS (reviewed in [33]

Adipose tissue insulin signaling results in decreased hormone sensitive lipase activity and this anti-lipolytic effect inhibits free fatty acid (FFA) efflux out of adipocytes.

In the liver, insulin inhibits the expression of key gluconeogenic enzymes and, therefore, insulin resistance in liver leads to elevated hepatic glucose production

elevated JNK activity in liver, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of obese insulin resistant mice, and knockout of Jnk1 (Jnk1−/−) leads to amelioration of insulin resistance in high fat diet

Adipose tissue from obese mice contains proportionately more M1 macrophages, whereas, lean adipose tissue contains more M2 macrophages, and increased M1 content positively correlates with inflammation, macrophage infiltration and insulin resistance

C-reactive protein (CRP)

these studies highlight the possibility that increased iNOS activity plays a direct role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance

the important role of Ikkb in the development of obesity and inflammation-induced insulin resistance.

It is probable that local concentrations of inflammatory mediators, such as FFAs, Tnf or other cytokines/adipokines contribute to this polarity switch

Tnf and other cytokines/chemokines are symptomatic of inflammation, and while they propagate and/or maintain the inflammatory state, they are not the initial cause(s) of inflammation

Tlr4, in particular, is stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an endotoxin released by gram-negative bacteria

Tlr4 belongs to the family of Toll-like receptors that function as pattern recognition receptors that guard against microorganismal infections as part of the innate immune system.

Tlr4 stimulation results in the activation of both Ikkb/NFκB and JNK/AP-1 signaling, culminating in the expression and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, including, Il1b, IL-6, Tnf, Mcp1, etc. (reviewed in [57