title: Androgen therapy reverses injuries caused by ethanol consumption in the prostate: testosterone as a possible target to ethanol-related disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chronic ethanol consumption leads to reproductive damages, since it can act directly in the tissues or indirectly, causing a hormonal imbalance. Prostate is a hormone-dependent gland and, consequently, susceptible to ethanol. The potential of testosterone therapy in the ethanol-related disorders was investigated in the prostate microenvironment.
  
  
  METHODS
  UChB rats aged 90 days were divided into 2 experimental groups (n=20): C: drinking water only and EtOH: drinking 10% (v/v) ethanol at >2 g/kg body weight/day+water. At 150 days old, 10 rats from each group received subcutaneous injections of testosterone cypionate (5 mg/kg body weight) diluted in corn oil every other day for 4 weeks, constituting T and EtOH+T, while the remaining animals received corn oil as vehicle. Animals were euthanized at 180 days old, by decapitation. Blood was collected to obtain hormone concentrations and ventral prostate was dissected and processed for light microscope and molecular analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ventral prostate weight, plasma testosterone and DHT and intraprostatic testosterone concentrations were increased after testosterone treatment. Plasma estradiol level was reduced in the EtOH+T. Inflammatory foci, metaplasia and epithelial atrophy were constantly found in the prostate of EtOH and were not observed after hormonal therapy. No differences were found in the expression of AR, ERβ and DACH-1. Additionally, testosterone treatment down-regulated ERα and increased the e-cadherin and α-actinin immunoreactivities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Testosterone was able to reverse damages caused by ethanol consumption in the prostate microenvironment and becomes a possible target to be investigated to ethanol-related disorders.
authors.affiliation: Structural and Cell Biology Program, State University of Campinas - UNICAMP, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology, Institute of Biosciences, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Wellerson R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Scarano
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sabrina S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Rochel-Maia
authors.affiliation: Structural and Cell Biology Program, State University of Campinas - UNICAMP, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Fioruci-Fontaneli
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biosciences, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz G A
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Chuffa
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology, Stomatology and Physiology, USP - Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Janete A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Anselmo-Franci
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biosciences, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: martinez@ibb.unesp.br.
authors.forename: Francisco E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Martinez
mesh_terms: D000185:Actinin / Q000378:metabolism; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000628:therapy; D000728:Androgens / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy; D001835:Body Weight; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D000431:Ethanol; D007249:Inflammation; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D011467:Prostate / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D013739:Testosterone / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D015820:Cadherins; D000185:Actinin; D000431:Ethanol; D013739:Testosterone
keywords: Ethanol; Hormonal receptors; Prostate; Testosterone therapy