| pubmed-article:10834259 | pubmed:abstractText | The response of the kidney tissues to steroids, mainly dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) has been used extensively to investigate the mechanisms of steroid action on hypertension. The specific objective of this study was to investigate anatomical characteristics of kidney tissue after sustained delivery of DHEA, DHT or T at physiological or supraphysiological doses using adult male rats as a model. A total of eighteen adult male Sprague Dawley rats were divided randomly into six equal groups. Animals in groups I-V were implanted intraperitoneally with a single tricalcium phosphate lysine delivery system (TCPL) loaded with T (physiological dose), T (supraphysiological dose), DHT (physiological dose), DHT (supraphysiological dose), and DHEA (physiological dose), respectively. Animals in Group VI were implanted with empty TCPL capsules and served as sham controls. At the end of 21 days post implantation, the animals in each group were sacrificed and the kidneys were harvested, processed, embedded, sectioned and screened for cellular alterations. Data obtained from this study have shown physiological doses DHEA or supraphysiological doses of DHT and T had a significant effect on the areas of the glomeruli, without disruption or changes in area of proximal tubules. Histological evaluation of the organs (5 microns, H&E) revealed nephrotic hypotrophy in all kidneys obtained from animals given supraphysiological doses of DHT or T in comparison to sham animals. | lld:pubmed |
