European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

DETERMINATION OF EXOGENOUS TESTOSTERONE PROPIONATE DOSE FOR INDUCTION OF BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA IN RAT MODEL

Obisike U. A.*, Nwachuku E. O., Boisa N. and Nduka N.

ABSTRACT

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the major public health concerns, which has a high prevalence rate and causes significant decline in men’s quality of life. There are currently no drug that can completely cure BPH without causing adverse side effects in which sexual dysfunction is chief. As a result, there is great interest in research using animal models. BPH can basically be induced in rats by subcutaneous injection of testosterone propionate. However, there is controversy in the specific concentration of TP that can comfortably induce BPH and for how long the biochemical, clinical and histological manifestations last. The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of TP that could induce BPH in albino wistar rats and to determine how long TP induced changes could last. A total of 24 adult wistar albino rats were used for the study. They were housed in standard cages under 12 hours light and dark cycle and allowed access to feed and water ad libitum. The rats were allowed to acclimatize for fourteen (14) days. Castration of rats were done to avoid interference from endogenous testosterone. The rats were divided into four groups of 6 rats each: Orch only: rats received only olive oil as vehicle for TP; Orch + 2 received 2mg/kg b.wt. sc. TP/day; Orch + 4 received 4mg/kg b.wt. sc. TP/day and Orch + 6 received 6mg/kg b.wt. sc. TP/day. All rats were castrated before treatment of TP, though the Orch only group received sham castration where the testes were not excised during the process. The first three sets of rats were sacrificed after 15 days of treatment, while the remaining 3 rats in each cage were sacrificed 30 days after. The rats were euthanized after 15/30 days, blood for the determination of PSA (by ELISA) was collected through cardiac puncture and prostate glands were harvested, rinsed, measured (length, height and breadth) with a ruler calibrated in centimeter, weighed and fixed in 10% formol saline for histological examination which was done and slides stained with H & E staining method. The prostatic indices - prostate weight to body weight (PW/BW) ratio were calculated. SPSS version 22.0 was used to statistically analyse data and p values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results showed that there were no significant difference in body weights of rats for both 15 and 45-day studies. Benign prostatic hyperplasia was confirmed in the group of rats injected with 4mg/kg testosterone for 15 days. Histological changes in the group of rats treated with 4mg/kg b.wt.sc. corroborated with the biochemical findings. Both biochemical and histological changes that occurred after BPH was established were sustained for 30 days. Though the rat prostate does not surround the urethra, it is believed that rats are unlikely to develop the LUTS seen in humans. However, there is evidence that the overgrowth of the prostate located at the anterior urethra can affect the free passage of urine during micturition.

Keywords: Testosterone propionate, benign prostatic hyperplasia, induction, albino wistar rats.