Age-dependent and gender-dependent regulation of hypothalamic-adrenocorticotropic-adrenal axis.

Tightly regulated output of glucocorticoids is critical to maintaining immune competence, the structure of neurons, muscle, and bone, blood pressure, glucose homeostasis, work capacity, and vitality in the human and experimental animal. Age, sex steroids, gender, stress, body composition, and disease govern glucocorticoid availability through incompletely understood mechanisms. According to an ensemble concept of neuroendocrine regulation, successful stress adaptations require repeated incremental signaling adjustments among hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone and arginine vasopressin, pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone, and adrenal corticosteroids. Signals are transduced via (positive) feedforward and (negative) feedback effects. Age and gonadal steroids strongly modulate stress-adaptive glucocorticoid secretion by such interlinked pathways.