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Effects of oestradiol benzoate (E2B), tamoxifen (tamox.) and 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD) on rat testicular function.

The effects of 2 anti-oestrogens - ATD, an aromatase inhibitor, and tamoxifen - as well as E2B itself were studied in adult male rats. E2B and tamox were both given in a single I.M. dose of 100 μg either 12, 24 or 36 hrs before sacrifice while ATD 10 mg was given I.M. 12 hrly for 12, 24 or 36 hrs. Half the animals in each group received 500 IU hCG I.M. 2 hrs before sacrifice while half received none. Plasma levels and testicular content of testosterone (T), 17OH-progesterone (OHP) and progesterone (Pro), as well as plasma LH and FSH were measured by specific RIAs. E2B treated rats showed a significant decrease in plasma T, OHP, LH and FSH, but not Pro, under basal conditions. T and OHP responses to hCG were significantly lower than in controls, while plasma Pro increased but not significantly. The effect of E2B on testicular steroidogenesis under basal conditions could thus be linked with an inhibition in LH secretion, but the impaired testicular response to hCG demonstrated a direct effect on testicular steroidogenesis. Animals treated with ATD and tamox under basal conditions showed a significant rise in plasma T and LH levels, maximal at 24 hours for ATD and at 36 hours for tamox. Thus in the doses given, both drugs appeared to have an anti-oestrogen effect, associated with enhanced LH secretion. However, the T responses to hCG were significantly diminished in both ATD and tamox-treated rats. This paradoxical response might reflect a degree of steroidogenic refractoriness of the testis to hCG, caused by the drug-induced increases in endogenous LH.