Effects of Nandrolone Stimulation on Testosterone Biosynthesis in Leydig Cells |
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| Authors: | Cristoforo Pomara Rosario Barone Antonella Marino Gammazza Claudia Sangiorgi Fulvio Barone Alessandro Pitruzzella Nicola Locorotondo Francesca Di Gaudio Monica Salerno Francesca Maglietta Antonio Luciano Sarni Valentina Di Felice Francesco Cappello Emanuela Turillazzi |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Forensic Pathology, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy;2. Department of Anatomy, University of Malta, Msida, Malta;3. Euro‐Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology (IEMEST), Palermo, Italy;4. Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences (BioNeC), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy;5. Department of Radiology, Scientific Institute Hospital “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza”, San Giovanni Rotondo (FG), Italy;6. Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sense Organs (Nesmos), Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy;7. Locorotondo Labs srl, Palermo, Italy;8. Department of Pathobiology and Medical Biotechnology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy;9. Department of Forensic Pathology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are among the drugs most used by athletes for improving physical performance, as well as for aesthetic purposes. A number of papers have showed the side effects of AAS in different organs and tissues. For example, AAS are known to suppress gonadotropin‐releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle‐stimulating hormone. This study investigates the effects of nandrolone on testosterone biosynthesis in Leydig cells using various methods, including mass spectrometry, western blotting, confocal microscopy and quantitative real‐time PCR. The results obtained show that testosterone levels increase at a 3.9 μM concentration of nandrolone and return to the basal level a 15.6 μM dose of nandrolone. Nandrolone‐induced testosterone increment was associated with upregulation of the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and downregulation of 17a‐hydroxylase/17, 20 lyase (CYP17A1). Instead, a 15.6 µM dose of nandrolone induced a down‐regulation of CYP17A1. Further in vivo studies based on these data are needed to better understand the relationship between disturbed testosterone homeostasis and reproductive system impairment in male subjects. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 1385–1391, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Cellular Physiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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