Developmental programming: prenatal and postnatal contribution of androgens and insulin in the reprogramming of estradiol positive feedback disruptions in prenatal testosterone-treated sheep.

Prenatal testosterone (T) excess compromises the estradiol (E(2)) positive feedback. This study tested the hypothesis that antagonizing androgen action or improving insulin sensitivity prenatally would prevent positive feedback disruptions from developing, whereas postnatal intervention with androgen antagonist or insulin sensitizer would ameliorate the severity of disruptions in prenatal T-treated females. The E(2) positive feedback response was tested at 16 wk of age in the following groups of animals: 1) control, 2) prenatal T, 3) prenatal T plus the androgen antagonist, flutamide, 4) prenatal T plus insulin sensitizer, rosiglitazone, 5) prenatal T and postnatal androgen antagonist, and 6) prenatal T and postnatal insulin sensitizer (n = 7-21 animals/group). Prenatal T treatment involved the administration of T propionate (100 mg, im) twice weekly from d 30 to 90 of gestation. Prenatal interventions involved daily sc administration of androgen antagonist (15 mg/kg) or oral administration of insulin sensitizer (8 mg) for the same duration. Postnatal treatments began at 8 wk of age and involved daily oral administration of androgen antagonist (15 mg/kg) or insulin sensitizer (0.11 mg/kg). None of the prenatal/postnatal interventions increased number of animals responding or prevented the time delay in LH surge response to the E(2) positive feedback challenge. In contrast, the postnatal treatment with androgen antagonist or insulin sensitizer increased total LH released in response to E(2) positive feedback challenge, compared with the T animals. Overall, these interventional studies indicate that timing and magnitude of the LH surge are programmed by different neuroendocrine mechanisms with postnatal androgens and insulin determining the size and prenatal estrogen likely the timing of the LH surge.