Evidence mapPaperPMID 41880754Full record

ArticleEndocrine connections2026

Temporal organization of gonadal and adrenal steroid fluctuations in male mice.

M Chase Kettering, Marion C Hope, Christian A Unger, Cassidy E Socia, Zannatul Mauya, William E Cotham, Staci Downey, Louise Lantier, Reilly T Enos

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Article in Endocrine connections, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

M Chase KetteringDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina-School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Marion C HopeDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina-School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Christian A UngerDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina-School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Cassidy E SociaDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina-School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Zannatul MauyaDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina-School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
William E CothamDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts and Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.
Staci DowneyVanderbilt Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Louise LantierVanderbilt Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Reilly T EnosDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina-School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5571-4586

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Graphical Abstract: Longitudinal arterial sampling combined with LC-MS/MS profiling was used to define the temporal organization of circulating steroid hormones in adult male mice. Adrenal steroids (corticosterone and deoxycorticosterone) exhibited coordinated diurnal rhythmicity, whereas testosterone secretion was highly variable and episodic, showing no consistent diurnal pattern. In contrast, progesterone remained comparatively stable and was weakly coupled to both adrenal and gonadal steroid dynamics. Created with Biorender. Abstract: Steroid hormones exhibit temporal fluctuations that influence physiology, yet these dynamics remain incompletely characterized in male mice, a cornerstone model in endocrine research. Using serial arterial sampling and high-sensitivity liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we performed the first longitudinal, multi-analyte quantification of steroid hormones (testosterone, progesterone, corticosterone, and deoxycorticosterone (DOC)), within the same mice across consecutive days and diurnal periods. Adult male C57BL/6J mice (n = 13) were sampled daily for 5 days and again at 7 AM and 5:30 PM on non-consecutive days (days 1, 3, and 5). Corticosterone and its adrenal precursor - DOC - exhibited coordinated diurnal patterns, with corticosterone showing consistent AM-PM increases across all sampling days and DOC reaching significance only on day 5. These findings confirm a circadian pattern of adrenal steroidogenesis dominated by corticosterone, with its faster-turnover intermediate displaying less stable rhythmicity. In contrast, testosterone fluctuated irregularly and without a consistent AM-PM pattern, varying up to 100-fold within individual mice. Progesterone showed minimal day-to-day or diurnal variation. Correlation analyses revealed tight coupling among corticosterone and DOC (r = 0.99, P < 0.001), but no association between adrenal steroids and testosterone, indicating independent regulation of adrenal and gonadal axes. These results define the natural temporal organization of steroid hormones in male mice, distinguishing coordinated adrenal rhythmicity from pulsatile gonadal variability, and provide a physiologic framework for experimental design and data interpretation in murine endocrine research.

Indexed as

adrenal glandscorticosteronedeoxycorticosteroneprogesteronetestosterone variability

Identifiers

PMID41880754
PMCPMC13034558

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