BACKGROUND: Testosterone treatment increases erythrocytes in men, but its effects on leukocyte and platelet counts are unknown and could affect its safety. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether testosterone affects circulating leukocytes and platelets in men. METHODS: Secondary analyses of two randomized testosterone trials were performed: the 5α-reductase (5aR) and OPTIMEN trials. In 5aR trial, 102 healthy men, 21-50 years (mean age 38), received a long-acting GnRH agonist, and 50, 125, 300, or 600 mg/week testosterone enanthate (TE) plus placebo or 2.5 mg/ day dutasteride for 20 weeks. In OPTIMEN, 78 functionally limited men, ≥65 years (mean age 72) with protein intake ≤ 0.83 g kg-1 day-1 , were randomized to controlled diets with 0.8 g kg-1 day-1 protein or 1.3 g kg-1 day-1 protein plus placebo or TE (100 mg/week) for 6 months. Changes from baseline in total and differential leukocyte count, and platelet count were evaluated. RESULTS: In 5aR, testosterone administration was associated with increases in total leukocyte (estimated change from baseline 40, 490, 1230, and 1280 cells/µL, P < .001), neutrophil (65.1, 436.1, 1177.2, and 1192.2 cells/µL, P < .001), monocyte (-20.2, 24.5, 90.6, and 143.9 cells/µL, P < .001), platelet (-7.3, 8.4, 8.7, and 8.9 × 103 cells/µL, P = .033), and erythrocyte counts. Testosterone did not affect absolute lymphocyte count. Similar increase in total leukocyte count was observed with testosterone treatment in OPTIMEN (change 0.77 × 103 cells/µL, P vs placebo = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Testosterone administration in men differentially increases neutrophil and monocyte counts. These findings, together with its erythropoietic effects, suggest that testosterone promotes the differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors into the myeloid lineage. These findings have potential mechanistic, therapeutic, and safety implications.
BACKGROUND: Testosterone treatment increases erythrocytes in men, but its effects on leukocyte and platelet counts are unknown and could affect its safety. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether testosterone affects circulating leukocytes and platelets in men. METHODS: Secondary analyses of two randomized testosterone trials were performed: the 5α-reductase (5aR) and OPTIMEN trials. In 5aR trial, 102 healthy men, 21-50 years (mean age 38), received a long-acting GnRH agonist, and 50, 125, 300, or 600 mg/week testosterone enanthate (TE) plus placebo or 2.5 mg/ day dutasteride for 20 weeks. In OPTIMEN, 78 functionally limited men, ≥65 years (mean age 72) with protein intake ≤ 0.83 g kg-1 day-1 , were randomized to controlled diets with 0.8 g kg-1 day-1 protein or 1.3 g kg-1 day-1 protein plus placebo or TE (100 mg/week) for 6 months. Changes from baseline in total and differential leukocyte count, and platelet count were evaluated. RESULTS: In 5aR, testosterone administration was associated with increases in total leukocyte (estimated change from baseline 40, 490, 1230, and 1280 cells/µL, P < .001), neutrophil (65.1, 436.1, 1177.2, and 1192.2 cells/µL, P < .001), monocyte (-20.2, 24.5, 90.6, and 143.9 cells/µL, P < .001), platelet (-7.3, 8.4, 8.7, and 8.9 × 103 cells/µL, P = .033), and erythrocyte counts. Testosterone did not affect absolute lymphocyte count. Similar increase in total leukocyte count was observed with testosterone treatment in OPTIMEN (change 0.77 × 103 cells/µL, P vs placebo = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Testosterone administration in men differentially increases neutrophil and monocyte counts. These findings, together with its erythropoietic effects, suggest that testosterone promotes the differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors into the myeloid lineage. These findings have potential mechanistic, therapeutic, and safety implications.
Authors: Thiago Gagliano-Jucá; Karol M Pencina; Tomas Ganz; Thomas G Travison; Philip W Kantoff; Paul L Nguyen; Mary-Ellen Taplin; Adam S Kibel; Zhuoying Li; Grace Huang; Robert R Edwards; Elizabeta Nemeth; Shehzad Basaria Journal: Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab Date: 2018-10-16 Impact factor: 4.310
Authors: Sung Hee Choi; Jung Hee Kim; Soo Lim; Jae Young Lim; Ki Woong Kim; Kyong Soo Park; Hak Chul Jang Journal: Age Ageing Date: 2017-05-01 Impact factor: 10.668
Authors: Claire Welsh; Paul Welsh; Patrick B Mark; Carlos A Celis-Morales; James Lewsey; Stuart R Gray; Donald M Lyall; Stamatina Iliodromiti; Jason M R Gill; Jill Pell; Pardeep S Jhund; Naveed Sattar Journal: Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol Date: 2018-04-26 Impact factor: 8.311