Effects of Testosterone and Estradiol on Ratios of Adult to Fetal Hemoglobin in Cell Cultures of Human Fetal Liver

Abstract

The effects of testosterone and 17β-estradiol on the synthesis of fetal and adult hemoglobins have been studied using a short-term primary cell culture system of human fetal liver at midgestation. There was a significant 23% increase in incorporation of ⁵⁹Fe into adult hemoglobin relative to the total after the addition of 5 × 10^––⁸M testosterone. 17β-Estradiol (10^––6M) lowered the incorporation of ⁵⁹Fe by 21%. β-Globin chain synthesis, measured as ³H- or ¹⁴C-leucine incorporation into globin chains, was identical in control and testosterone-treated cells and only slightly lower when 17β-estradiol was added. For this reason the observed changes in adult hemoglobin resulting from the action of testosterone and 17β-estradiol are caused by an indirect effect either in the final hemoglobin assembly or by small changes in the γ/α-chain ratio which may be undetected by the methodology used.

Acute Mountain Sickness Is Associated With a High Ratio of Endogenous Testosterone to Estradiol After High-Altitude Exposure at 3,700 m in Young Chinese Men

“…However, EPO does not increase proportionally with exposure time, and it even shows a tendency to decrease after reaching a peak (Koury, 2005; Gunga et al, 2007). Testosterone also enhances hemopoiesis and participates in many physiological functions, including erythropoiesis (Congote et al, 1977; Coviello et al, 2008; Rochira et al, 2009; Gonzales et al, 2011; Oskui et al, 2013; Shin et al, 2016). Though it has been suggested that high T concentrations, could compromise adaptation to high altitude, an association between T and EE in CMS has also been demonstrated (Gonzales et al, 2009, 2011), which indicates that T may participate in mountain sickness through its effects on erythropoiesis.…”