Effects of Androgen Treatment of the Neonate on Rat Testis and Sex Accessory Organs

Abstract

Testosterone metabolism, androgen receptors, and the androgen binding protein (ABP) were studied in male albino rats injected with 1 mg of testosterone propionate (TP) on Day 2 of life. The epididymal content of ABP was diminished in immature but not in adult animals treated neonatally with androgen. No changes were detected in the testicular levels of this protein in 27-day-old rats. In adult animals atrophic lesions were seen in 3% of the seminiferous tubules. Androgen treatment of neonates led to a substantial decrease in the 5α-reductase activity in homogenates of prostate gland and epididymis from adult rats with a concomitant decline in the 3α-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities in both tissues. These animals did not show any change in the number of available or total androgen receptor sites as measured by incubating prostatic cytosol with [³H]R1881. The present findings suggest that the impaired development of the male genital tract could be partially due to a diminished peripheral conversion of testosterone to its active, 5α-reduced metabolites.