A limited number of animal studies have also investigated the effects
of testosterone on hepatic steatosis. Orchidectomised malemice receiving
4 weeks high-fat diet feeding had significantly elevated hepatic lipid
deposition and triglyceride content compared to sham operated controls
(Senmaru et al., 2013). This was accompanied by altered expression
of genes involved in hepatic lipid assembly and secretion.
Testosterone supplementation normalised hepatic steatosis and mitigated
the aberrant gene expression seen in orchidectomised littermates.
Hepatic androgen receptor knockout (hARKO) mice receiving high-fat
diet developed hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance in male but not
in female mice via increased de novo lipogenesis, although it was not
determined whether this was a result of AR dysfunction or an obesityrelated
testosterone decline (Lin et al., 2008). Therefore, the role of
testosterone in the molecular mechanisms of hepatic steatosis remains
relatively unexamined and the underlyingmechanisms of the beneficial
action of TRT are currently unclear.
The aimof the present studywas to determinewhether testosterone
deficiency is associated with increased hepatic steatosis in the Tfm
mouse following feeding on a high-cholesterol diet, to investigate the
effects of testosterone treatment on hepatic lipid homeostasis and
determine the role of the AR in this animal model of hepatic steatosis.