Association between two polymorphisms in the SRD5A2 gene and serum androgen concentrations in British men

Androgens are essential for the growth of the prostate gland and have been implicated in the development of prostate cancer. Little is known about the determinants of androgen levels in men, although observed ethnic differences suggest they may have a genetic basis. Several polymorphisms have been identified in the steroid 5 alpha-reductase type II gene (SRD5A2), which encodes an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of testosterone to its more potent metabolite, dihydrotestosterone. Although some of these polymorphisms have been associated with increased prostate cancer risk, the association with circulating androgen levels remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between the (TA)(n) dinucleotide repeat polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region and the A49T polymorphism (which replaces the normal alanine with threonine at codon 49) in the SRD5A2 gene and serum androgen concentrations in 604 British men. In particular, we wanted to test the hypotheses that the variant alleles are associated with an increased serum concentration of androstanediol glucuronide, a direct metabolite of dihydrotestosterone and a serum marker of 5 alpha-reductase activity. Mean hormone concentrations were evaluated in each genotype, and adjusted for age and other relevant factors. We found no evidence that the SRD5A2 (TA)(n) repeat polymorphism was associated with androgen levels. Men who possessed one or two copies of the variant T allele in the A49T polymorphism had a significantly 24% lower androstanediol glucuronide concentration than men who were homozygous for the wild-type allele (P = 0.0003). Because of the rarity of this variant allele, larger studies are needed to additionally clarify the role of the A49T polymorphism in androgen metabolism.