Bone metabolism in androgen receptor-deficient mice

Although the physiological significance of estrogen receptor function on skeletal tissues has been established, that of androgen receptor (AR) function has remained unclear. We show here that inactivation of AR in mice using a Cre-loxP system-mediated gene targeting technique caused bone loss in males, but not in females, which indicated that AR function is indispensable for male-type bone formation and remodeling.