Impact of poly chlorinated biphenyl (Aroclor 1254) and vitamin C on antioxidant system of rat ventral prostate

Aim: To evaluate the effect of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and vitamin C on ventral prostatic antioxidant system in adult male rats. Methods: A group of 20 adult male rats were administered ip Aroclor 1254 in corn oil at a dose of 2 mg·kg-1·day-1 for 30 days. Ten control rats were administered only the vehicle. After 30 days the treated rats were divided at random into 2 sub-groups of 10 animals each. One sub-group received vitamin C at a dose of 500 mg·kg-1·day-1 for 10 days. The other group was maintained as Aroclor 1254 control. Twenty-four hours after the last treatment the rats were killed by decapitation. Ventral prostatic homogenate was prepared and used for the estimation of enzymatic antioxidants, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), lipid peroxidation (LPO) and prostatic acid phosphatase. The serum levels of total T3, total T4, TSH, testosterone and estradiol were also assayed. Results: The body weight and ventral prostatic weight were reduced in PCB treated rats. The activities of SOD, CAT, GST and acid phosphatase were decreased while the levels of H2O2 and lipid peroxidation were increased in the ventral prostate of PCB treated rats. Administration of vitamin C restored these parameters. Serum levels of thyroid hormones, estradiol and testosterone were decreased in PCB treated animals. Administration of vitamin C restored the thyroid hormone levels. Conclusion: PCB induces oxidative stress and decreases the antioxidant enzymes in the ventral prostate of adult male rats; the effects could be reversed by the administration of vitamin C.

Effect of adrenalectomy and hydrocortisone on ventral prostate of rats

Aim: To study the effects of adrenalectomy and hydrocortisone on the ventral prostate of SD rats. Methods: Inadrenalectomised (ADX) and ADX + hydrocortisone (1, 2, or 4 mg) treated rats, the prostatic histology and thecholesterol, protein, zinc, and copper levels and the enzymic profile (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, aryl sul-phatase, lactic dehydrogenase, and leucine aminopeptidase) in the prostatic tissue were determined; the serum hormon-al profile (testosterone, FSH and LH) was also assayed. Results; Adrenalectomy caused a progressive degenerationin prostatic structure that was not reversed by hydrocortisone treatment. The serum testosterone were significantly lowerin ADX than in sham operated rats and lower in ADX + hydrocortisone than in ADX-C rats (P < 0.01). The serumFSH and LH were below the detection limit of 1 mIU/mL. The enzymatic activity was higher in ADX than in sham op-erated rats and higher in ADX + hydrocortisone than in ADX-C rats (P<0.05-0.01). The prostatic zinc levels weresignificantly higher in sham operated than in ADX, and higher in ADX-C than in ADX + hydrocortisone rats (P < 0.05-0.01). The prostatic copper level was significantly lower in sham operated than in ADX, and lower in ADX-C thanin the ADX + hydrocortisone rats (P <0.01). Conclusion; In rats, adrenalectomy leads to pathological and func-tional changes of the prostate. Hydrocortisone treatment at the doses employed did not reverse these changes. (Asian JAndrol 2001 Dec; 3: 289 - 300)