Characterization of serum dehydroepiandrosterone secretion in golden hamsters

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an adrenal androgen whose function is poor ly understood. Although DHEA and DHEA sulfate (DHEAS) are secreted in relat ively high quantities by the human adrenal, the laboratory rat secretes ver y little, thus hindering experimental studies of the hormone. In this paper , we measured the changes in serum DHEA and DHEAS under various physiologic al conditions in golden hamsters, Evening serum DHEAS fell from 6.30 +/- 0. 78 mu g/dl (mean +/- SE) before surgery to 3.03 +/- 0.23 mu g/dl 12 days af ter bilateral adrenalectomy, Hamsters had higher levels of DHEA and DHEAS i n the evening than in the morning, but removal of the gonads did not consis tently decrease serum DHEA or DHEAS in males or females, Evening levels of DHEA and DHEAS reached a peak around 7 weeks of age and then gradually decr eased to about one-third of these levels by one year of age. These results suggest that DHEA and DHEAS are secreted at least in part from the hamster adrenal, that they do not originate from the gonads, and that there is a da ily rhythm with peak levels at a time of day just preceding the active phas e, In addition, the levels of these hormones decrease with aging.