ArticleExperimental animals2026
Topical administration of testosterone ameliorates atopic dermatitis of KFRS4 rats.
Article in Experimental animals, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder influenced by genetic, environmental, and immunological factors, and its prevalence shows notable sex-associated differences. KFRS4 rats spontaneously develop AD-like dermatitis with higher severity in females, suggesting a role for sex hormones in disease modulation. This study investigated the contribution of gonadal hormones to dermatitis development in KFRS4 rats by examining the effects of gonadectomy and topical testosterone treatment. Ovariectomy did not alter dermatitis onset or severity in female rats, whereas orchiectomy markedly exacerbated dermatitis in males. Orchiectomized males developed severe lesions characterized by crusting and erosion, and exhibited significantly higher total skin lesion severity scores (TSLSS) compared with sham controls, indicating a protective role of testicular factors. To further evaluate testosterone's contribution, we applied testosterone ointment to ovariectomized females and orchiectomized males. Testosterone treatment significantly reduced TSLSS in both sexes and prevented lesion formation in the treated dorsal neck region. Histological analysis revealed increased sebaceous gland number and epidermal thickening in testosterone-treated skin, accompanied by robust induction of androgen receptor (AR)-positive cells within sebaceous glands and across epidermal layers. In contrast, dermatitis-affected skin lacked AR-positive cells, likely due to architectural disruption. In addition, testosterone treatment significantly increased the expression of filaggrin and decreased the expression of Th2 (Il4 and Il5) and Th17 (Il17a) cytokine genes. Together, these findings suggest that testosterone ameliorates dermatitis by enhancing skin barrier function and modulating type 2 and Th17 immune responses. These findings identify testosterone as a key regulator of dermatitis in KFRS4 rats and highlight androgen-mediated barrier enhancement as a potential therapeutic strategy for AD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.