Effect of active immunisation against testosterone-3-bsa on circulating levels of testosterone,lh,prolactin and testosterone antibody titre in the male rat.

Abstract

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were actively immunised against testosterone-3-bovine serum albumin (T-3-BSA) and on appearance of detectable anti-testosterone antibodies, elevated serum testosterone and LH concentrations were observed. These concentrations reached values of >28 μg/100ml testosterone and 16 μg/100ml LH in some animals after 5 months of immunisation. The corresponding prolactin values did not appear to differ significantly from controls. The circulating bound testosterone fraction as determined by equilibrium dialysis, rose from 65.0 ± 2.75% before immunisation to 98.7 ± 0.75% in those animals possessing high titre antisera. This entailed a nett decrease in the concentration of unbound steroid from 144 ± 49 ng/100 ml to 78 ± 25 ng/100ml.