Shift from androgen to estrogen action causes abdominal muscle fibrosis, atrophy, and inguinal hernia in a transgenic male mouse model.

ABSTRACT: Inguinal hernia develops primarily in elderly men, and more than one in four men will undergo inguinal hernia repair during their lifetime. However, the underlying mechanisms behind hernia formation remain unknown. It is known that testosterone and estradiol can regulate skeletal muscle mass. We herein demonstrate that the conversion of testosterone to estradiol by the aromatase enzyme in lower abdominal muscle (LAM) tissue causes intense fibrosis, leading to muscle atrophy and inguinal hernia; an aromatase inhibitor entirely prevents this phenotype. LAM tissue is uniquely sensitive to estradiol because it expresses very high levels of estrogen receptor-α. Estradiol acts via estrogen receptor-α in LAM fibroblasts to activate pathways for proliferation and fibrosis that replaces atrophied m

SUBMITTER: Zhao H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6217386 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature