Steroid 5[alpha]-Reductase in Adult Rat Brain After Neonatal Dihydrotestosterone Administration

• Published in: Neurochemical research Vol. 38; no. 3; p. 557
• Main Authors: Sánchez, P, Torres, J M, Castro, B, Del Moral, R G, de Dios Luna, J, Ortega, E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Nature B.V 01-03-2013
• ISSN: 0364-3190; 1573-6903
• DOI: 10.1007/s11064-012-0948-1

Testosterone (T) is known to play an important masculinizing role in the developing brain of rat, including the regulation of 5[alpha]-reductase (5[alpha]-R) isozymes. However, the effects of dihydrotesterone (DHT), a more potent androgen than T, have not been elucidated. In this study, DHT was administered from day 5 through day 20 of postnatal life (period of postnatal sexual differentiation of the central nervous system) at doses of: 12 mg/kg/d on days 5, 6, 7, 8, 19, and 20; 15 mg/kg/d on days 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, and 18; and 18 mg/kg/d on days 13, 14, and 15. In adulthood, quantitative RT-PCR was used to measure mRNA levels of 5[alpha]-R1 and 5[alpha]-R2 isozymes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of male and female rats with varied androgenic status. Under our study conditions, neonatal DHT administration influenced on adult PFC 5[alpha]-R isozymes levels and their regulation pattern by androgens, and this pattern was the inverse of that reported in adult neonatally T-treated rats.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]