Progress in the Effects of Androgen and Androgen Receptor on Bone Metabolism and Its Mechanisms

Abstract: Bone metabolism comprises bone formation mediated by osteoblasts and bone resorption by osteoclasts. Androgen plays a vital role in regulating bone metabolism by increasing bone formation and decreasing bone resorption， and this effect is mainly mediated by androgen receptor (AR)， thus achieving the role of androgen in bone growth， peak bone mass gain， and bone mass maintenance; AR exerts its effects via several pathways， on one hand， AR directly mediates the expression of bone metabolism-related AR target genes (such as osteogenic -associated type 1 a1 collagen， osteocalcin， tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase， small integrin-binding ligand， N-linked glycoprotein and osteoclastic-associated receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand and cathepsin K). On the other hand， AR’s role in bone metabolism is achieved by indirectly modulating several signal pathways involved in bone metabolism， including Wnt/β-catenin， BMP/Smads-Runx2， RANKL/OPG， PI3K/Akt and MAPKs pathways. This work reviewed the role of androgen/AR in regulating bone metabolism and its underlying mechanisms， which is of great significance for enriching the theoretical knowledge about the regulation of bone metabolism mediated by androgen/AR and for developing potential drugs for curing bone metabolic diseases. Keywords

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2018.06.0025