SAT-013 Dihydrotestosterone Does Not Modulate Key Lipogenesis Regulator in Skeletal Muscle from Female Mice

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 10% of women and is hallmarked by hyperandrogenemia (HA), which is also a component of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this project, we aimed to investigate how androgen and androgen receptor (AR) impact a key player of lipogenesis, sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1). To this end, skeletal muscle from lean, female wild type mice and mice administered dihydrotestosterone (DHT) for one month were extracted and analyzed to determine the effect of low dose DHT on lipogenic cytosolic protein and gene expression. We performed Western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis of lipogenic intermediates in homogenates of an energy storage tissue. Skeletal muscle was used as a control. Low-dose DHT lowered the active form of cytosolic SREBP-2 in skeletal muscle. However, FAS and p-ACC protein and mRNA expression levels were unchanged in skeletal muscle. The results indicate that SREBP-2 is the primary SREBP isoform in skeletal muscle but that it is not playing a role in DHT-induced lipogenic gene expression or NAFLD. Thank you to HUCM, JHUSOM, and Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) for supporting this work.