Formula: C19H26O2
CAS NO.:63-05-8
Other names: 4-Androstene-3,17-dione; 4-androstenedione; Androst-4-ene-3,17-dione; ; androst-4-ene-3,17-dione
CAS NO.:63-05-8
Other names: 4-Androstene-3,17-dione; 4-androstenedione; Androst-4-ene-3,17-dione; ; androst-4-ene-3,17-dione
Androstenedione (chemically known as 4- or 5-androstene-3beta,17beta-dione ) is a steroid hormone that is the precursor to testosterone, the steroid hormone associated with masculinity (1,2). Androstenedione has a very short half-life in the blood and is produced by the adrenal glands and the gonads from either 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone or dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA is also sold as a dietary supplement. Androstenedione may be converted into either testosterone or an estrogen (estrone) within the blood (4,5).
The conversion of androstenedione to testosterone is catalyzed by 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, a process activated by luteinizing hormone and thus controlled by the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland (1,2).
However, androstenedione may also be converted to the estrogen, estrone, by aromatase (estrogen synthase). Furthermore, testosterone itself may be converted to the estrogen, estradiol, by aromatase or dihydrotestosterone by 5alpha -reductase (6,7).