PRESS RELEASE FROM ASIAN JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY
A PDF of the paper mentioned on this release can be found in the Academic journals section of http://press.nature.com. Press contacts for the journals are listed at the end of this release.
Warning: This document, and the Academic Journal paper to which it refers, may contain information that is price sensitive (as legally defined, for example, in the UK Criminal Justice Act 1993 Part V) with respect to publicly quoted companies. Anyone dealing in securities using information contained in this document or in advanced copies of Nature’s content may be guilty of insider trading under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
PICTURES: While we are happy for images from Asian Journal of Andrology to be reproduced for the purposes of contemporaneous news reporting, you must also seek permission from the copyright holder (if named) or author of the research paper in question (if not).
HYPE: We take great care not to hype the papers mentioned on our press releases, but are sometimes accused of doing so. If you ever consider that a story has been hyped, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected], citing the specific example.
PLEASE CITE ASIAN JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY AND THE /ASIAN JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY WEBSITE AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEM. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO www.nature.com/aja/
Soy isoflavones inhibit production of testosterone
A soy by-product linked to health benefits inhibits two enzymes involved in the production of testosterone in human cells. Previous work has demonstrated the hormone-disrupting effects in rat models, but research published this week in the Asian Journal of Andrology and describes the effects in human testis microsomes.
The ability of the testis to produce the male sex steroid is due to enzymes that convert steroid intermediates into testosterone. By studying human testis microsomes, Renshan Ge and colleagues found that the soy isoflavone genistin directly inhibits an enzyme called 3b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, which, along with three other enzymes, catalyses the reactions that convert steroid cholesterol into testosterone. This inhibitory action has the potential to affect androgen secretion by the testes. Population-based risk assessment will rely on better identification of the mechanisms of such action but the authors caution that additional studies to assess the testicular toxicity of dietary soy are warranted.
Author contacts:
Ren-Shan Ge (Rockefellar Population Council, New York, USA)
Tel: +1 212 327 8761
E-mail: [email protected]
Zhi-Qiang Zheng (Wenzhou Medical College, Zhejiang, China)
Tel: +86 1390 665 2992
E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial contact:
Yi-Fei Wang (Asian Journal of Andrology, Shanghai, China)
Tel: +86 21 5492 2824
E-mail: [email protected]
PRESS CONTACTS…
From North America and Canada
Neda Afsarmanesh, (Nature New York)
Tel: +1 212 726 9231
E-mail: [email protected]
From Japan, Korea, China, Singapore and Taiwan
Mika Nakano, (Nature Tokyo)
Tel: +81 3 3267 8751
E-mail: [email protected]
From the UK
Rebecca Walton, (Nature, London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502
E-mail: [email protected]
About Nature Publishing Group (NPG):
Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a publisher of high impact scientific and medical information in print and online. NPG publishes journals, online databases and services across the life, physical, chemical and applied sciences and clinical medicine.
Focusing on the needs of scientists, Nature (founded in 1869) is the leading weekly, international scientific journal. In addition, for this audience, NPG publishes a range of Nature research journals and Nature Reviews journals, plus a range of prestigious academic journals including society-owned publications. Online, nature.com provides over 5 million visitors per month with access to NPG publications and online databases and services, including Nature News and NatureJobs plus access to Nature Network and Nature Education’s Scitable.com.
Scientific American is at the heart of NPG’s newly-formed consumer media division, meeting the needs of the general public. Founded in 1845, Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the US and the leading authoritative publication for science in the general media. Together with scientificamerican.com and 15 local language editions around the world it reaches over 3 million consumers and scientists. Other titles include Scientific American Mind and Spektrum der Wissenschaft in Germany.
Throughout all its businesses NPG is dedicated to serving the scientific and medical communities and the wider scientifically interested general public. Part of Macmillan Publishers Limited, NPG is a global company with principal offices in London, New York and Tokyo, and offices in cities worldwide including Boston, Buenos Aires, Delhi, Hong Kong, Madrid, Barcelona, Munich, Heidelberg, Basingstoke, Melbourne, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul and Washington DC. For more information, please go to www.nature.com.
