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An Introduction to Testosterone<\/h2>\n
Testosterone (T) is a sex hormone and natural anabolic steroid. It is plays a key role in making you a man.<\/p>\n
T is responsible for the regulation and maintenance of your reproductive system by controlling\u00a0spermatogenesis<\/em> – the creation of sperm. It also plays a primary role in ensuring reproductive tissues such as your testes and prostate develop effectively.<\/p>\n This natural steroid is also responsible for secondary sex characteristics such as the stimulation and maintenance of muscle and bone mass, maximal strength and athleticism too<\/p>\n And not only that but it regulates body hair, how deep your voice is and how masculine your personality and overall demeanour is as well.<\/p>\n The process behind how T is released in to the bloodstream is fairly complex and involves many different hormonal feedback loops, as\u00a0regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis.<\/strong><\/p>\n The journey from the hypothalamus to the testes is a bit like a relay race, with each individual athlete being responsible for a specific course (or in the case of T production, a part of the HPG axis). But without the baton being passed on from the previous athlete it can’t do its job.<\/p>\n It is a complex system but also really important.<\/p>\n All hormones can be classified by their chemical structure.<\/p>\n Peptide hormones for example such as insulin<\/strong> and growth hormone<\/strong> are made up of chains of amino acids.<\/p>\n Steroid hormones on the other hand are not made up from proteins but instead are derived from lipids –\u00a0cholesterol<\/strong>.<\/p>\n As an important precursor to T, cholesterol goes through a complex conversion inside your testes to get to T.<\/p>\n In order to convert into it, cholesterol is converted into\u00a0pregnenolone<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>by an enzyme called c<\/strong>ytochrome P450<\/strong><\/em>. From there it converts into other hormones such as\u00a0androstenedione<\/strong><\/em>, eventually ending up as T.<\/p>\n Other steroid hormones include estrogens, glucocorticoids and progestins as well as testosterone.<\/p>\n Testosterone is the primary male hormone. And as a hormone it has a direct influence over what happens on a cellular level, acting as a chemical messenger to your cells.<\/p>\n But whilst T can reach all of the cells in your body, it can only have an effect on those with\u00a0androgen receptors (AR).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n What are androgen receptors?<\/em><\/p>\n ARs are proteins that work a little bit like baseball mitts, safely catching testosterone and transporting it to the cell. The actual technical name for this process is a little more scientific though –\u00a0steroid-hormone activated transcription factor\u00a0<\/strong>[1].<\/p>\n Otherwise known as\u00a0NR3C4, <\/b>androgen receptors are a family of proteins that facilitate the effects of T on your cells.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Your androgen receptors are present throughout various tissues. These include your\u00a0prostate, skeletal muscle, liver, and central nervous system (CNS)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[2].<\/p>\n Once T has entered the bloodstream via the testes, it travels to whichever target tissue is its destination. It is then taken but by the corresponding AR.<\/p>\n Once inside the cell, testosterone functions by binding with the androgen receptor protein that enters the nucleus and activates specific genes.<\/strong><\/p>\n Once T binds to the androgen receptor it changes its own structure. That’s because until it does so it’s a square peg in a round hole – it just won’t fit.<\/p>\n But by changing its structure it is able to wriggle into the nucleus of the cell and then bind to a DNA sequence known as a hormone response element. <\/strong>This\u00a0essentially helps it regulate changes to your genes [3].<\/p>\n The result is that T can bring around specific changes to that cell and therefore play out its androgenic role – it can make your body hair grow, your muscles bigger and your voice deeper.<\/p>\n It’s worth noting as well that ARs have other roles aside from DNA transcription. They are also involve in development and maintenance of \u00a0sexual characteristics, traits and behaviour too for example.<\/p>\nThe hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nTestosterone Is a Steroid Hormone<\/h2>\n
\n![\"Diagram](\"https:\/\/www.testofuel.com\/tf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Steroid-hormones.jpg\")
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\nTestosterone and Androgen Receptor Cell Function<\/h2>\n
Androgen Receptors and Testosterone<\/h2>\n
T can’t work its magic unless it taps into your DNA<\/h3>\n
\n![\"Diagram](\"https:\/\/www.testofuel.com\/tf\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Testosterone-androgen-receptor.jpg\")
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