Abstract
Male Lewis rats were made arthritic by injecting 1 mg Mycobacterium butyricum suspended in Freund's incomplete adjuvant into their right hind footpad. Arthritic and non-arthritic animals were sacrificed on days 18, 21, 24 or 27 after the injection of the adjuvant. Body weight, left and right hind paw volume, thymus weight, and serum luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone concentrations were determined on each day. Adjuvant injection resulted in a significant enlargement in the left and right hind paws on days 18 through 27. In contrast, body and thymus weights were reduced significantly in the arthritic rats compared to the non-arthritic animals. Serum concentrations of testosterone were also reduced significantly in arthritic rats on days 18, 21 and 24 after the injection of the adjuvant. However, by day 27 serum testosterone concentrations recovered to near control values. Serum concentrations of LH in the arthritic animals were elevated on days 18 through 27. These results demonstrate that serum testosterone concentrations were reduced in rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis. The reduction in serum testosterone is probably not the result of an impaired hypothalamic-pituitary axis.
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