[Effects of 19-nortestosterone on sex accessory gland growth in hypogonadal mice].

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effects of 19-nortestosterone (NT) on the growth and development of the ventral prostate (VP), epididymis, and seminal vesicles (SV) in hypogonadal (hpg) mice.

METHODS

The silastic tube filled with NT was implanted subdermally into mature hpg mice (n = 7) for five weeks. Similar silastic tubes without NT were implanted into both of hpg mouse control group (n = 7) and normal mouse group (n = 10) instead. The weights of sex accessory glands and the branch tip number of VP from all mice were evaluated.

RESULTS

The weights of VP, SV, and epididymis in NT treated hpg group were significantly higher than those of hpg control group (P < 0.005); and the branching morphology of the VP showed a tendency to be normal and the development of prostate ductal tip was improved significantly. Especially, the weight of SV in NT treated hpg mice was equal to that of normal mice, while the weights of VP, epididymis and branching tip number in NT treated hpg group was still significantly lower than that of normal mice (P < 0.005).

CONCLUSIONS

The NT treatment significantly stimulates the growth and development of the sex accessory gland in mature hpg mouse.