The Curious Relations Between Androgens and Estrogens in
Women
Dr. Nelson Soucasaux , Brazilian gynecologist
The purpose of this article is to introduce and comment on some aspects
of the very curious relations existing between male and female hormones
in the female sex. As I have observed in my article "The
Ovaries: Some Functional and Archetypal Considerations" (published
here at the MUM), in women, due to an intriguing biochemical peculiarity,
the female hormones (estrogens) are produced having male hormones (androgens)
as precursors [the ones that come before]. In a way, we can regard this
physiological event as being somewhat "problematic" for women,
since it is one of the factors responsible for the phenomenon of follicular
atresia, or death. From early childhood up to the age of 50, follicular
atresia is the main cause for the depletion of the ovarian follicular population
that finally culminates with menopause.
The fact that the estrogens are produced by the ovaries having androgens
as precursors obliges women to first produce male hormones in order to subsequently
transform them into female ones. As I have already said, this biochemical
peculiarity seems to be an important cause for the atresia (death) of the
great majority of the ovarian follicles that begin their growth, leading,
over the years, to the complete ovarian depletion about the age of 50. In
the ovarian follicles, the accumulation of androgens produced by the theca
cells when they are not adequately turned into estrogens by the granulosa
cells seems to exert an inhibiting effect upon the follicular structures,
causing the follicles to become atretic and die (Note 1). Now, let us see
the main stages of the sexual hormones synthesis in the ovaries:
As we can verify, the first important sexual steroid that is formed
is progesterone. The androgens (dehydroepiandrosterone, androstenedione
and testosterone) arise in an intermediate stage, while the estrogens (estrone
and estradiol) only make their appearance at the final one. The estrogens
are formed directly from the androgens, that is, the androgens androstenedione
and testosterone are directly turned into the estrogens estrone and estradiol.
The relations between the respective biological potency of the androgens
and estrogens involved in this complex biosynthetic chain and the positions
they occupy in it are also very important here. Dehydroepiandrosterone is
an androgen that possesses a very low biological potency. Androstenedione,
which is the immediate precursor of testosterone, has 20 percent of testosterone's
potency. Testosterone is the most important androgen produced by the ovaries
(Note 2). Thus, we can verify that the biosynthesis of the male hormones
follows an increasing order of biological potency and activity. Nevertheless,
the estrogens that arise immediately afterwards (estrone and estradiol)
are already endowed with an enormous biological potency. Comparing their
respective biological activity, we will see that estrone and estradiol are
much more potent than their precursors androstenedione and testosterone
(Note 3).
It is easy to understand why estrogens are so potent. Since the ovaries
do not suceed in transforming a considerable part of the androstenedione
and testosterone into estrone and estradiol, this very high biological potency
of the estrogens becomes a biological need of women. We can say so because
the female nature has to defend herself against the risk of an insufficient
transformation of androgens into estrogens. Regarding this, another women's
"defense mechanism" lies in the capability their fat tissue has
of performing the peripheral transformation of the androgen androstenedione
into the estrogen estrone. Because of this, a variable part of the estrone
produced in women's bodies does not come from the ovaries but from their
fat tissue. Therefore, the fat tissue contained in the female body plays
an important role in women's endocrine physiology, and this is one more
reason for advising them to keep their weight within the normal (Note 4).
As to our main subject, philosophically we can say that, at the
exclusivly hormonal level, the estrogens are the main endocrine manifestation
of the female principle, and the androgens the main endocrine manifestation
of the male one. In this way, there are indications that, in women, the
complete endocrine manifestation of the female principle that characterizes
them as women depends, paradoxically, on a subtle endocrine manifestation
of the male principle.
From the standpoint of archetypal psychology, perhaps the fact that
the estrogens are produced having androgens as precursors may also be one
of the explanations for the old mythological idea according to which women
would have been created from men.
Note 1: In the growing ovarian follicles the estrogen synthesis occurs
in two basic stages, the first one taking place in the theca cells and the
second in the granulosa cells. The androgens are produced by the theca cells
under the LH (luteinizing hormone) stimulation. The granulosa cells, under
the FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) stimulation, turn the androgens produced
by the theca cells into estrogens. (Each growing ovarian follicle consists
of an oocyte surrounded by several layers of granulosa and theca cells that
proliferate around it and produce the sexual hormones.)
Note 2: There is a peripheral transformation of androstenedione and
testosterone into another androgen, which is dihydrotestosterone. This transformation
takes place in the tissues sensitive to the male hormones. Dihydrotestosterone
is the most potent of all androgens and the one that really stimulates the
majority of the androgen-receptors in women's and men's bodies. As both
in women and men dihydrotestosterone is an exclusive result of peripheral
transformation, there is no gonadic and adrenal secretion of this androgen.
Note 3: We must remember that there is a weak estrogen circulating in
the female organism, estriol. Nevertheless, estriol already is a final product
of the estrogen metabolism.
Note 4: On the other hand, the typical distribution of the subcutaneous
fat tissue along the woman's body is due to the estrogens, and is a very
important female sexual feature. As to women's fat tissue, there are also
some recent studies trying to establish a correlation between the age of
menarche and the percentage of this tissue in the adolescent's body.
The text above is an adapted excerpt from my book "Os Órgãos
Sexuais Femininos: Forma, Função, Símbolo e Arquétipo"
("The Female Sexual Organs: Shape, Function, Symbol and Archetype"),
published by Imago Editora, Rio de Janeiro, 1993. For information on the
book, see page http://www.nelsonginecologia.med.br/orgaos.htm , from
my website www.nelsonginecologia.med.br .
Copyright Nelson Soucasaux 1993, 2002
_____________________________
Nelson Soucasaux is a gynecologist dedicated to clinical, preventive
and psychosomatic gynecology. Graduated in 1974 by Faculdade de Medicina
da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he is the author of several
articles published in medical journals, and of the books "Novas Perspectivas
em Ginecologia" ("New Perspectives in Gynecology") and "Os
Órgãos Sexuais Femininos: Forma, Função, Símbolo
e Arquétipo" ("The Female Sexual Organs: Shape, Function,
Symbol and Archetype"), published by Imago Editora, Rio de Janeiro,
1990, 1993.
Website ( Portuguese-English ): www.nelsonginecologia.med.br
Email: [email protected]