Status of prooxidant and antioxidant systems in adolescents and experimental animals with hypoandrogenism

Abstract

Objective — to evaluate the indicators of free radical oxidation and the antioxidant system in adolescents and experimental animals under conditions of hypoandrogenism.Materials and methods. 57 adolescents aged 13 — 18 years with hypoandrogenism (HA) and functional disorders of the hepatobiliary system were examined as well. Experimental studies were performed on 16 male 2‑month‑old Wistar rats, in which the model of HA was reproduced by castration at 45 days of age. The level of total testosterone, free radical oxidation (FRO) and antioxidant system (AOS) were determined in homogenates of rat liver and in the blood of adolescents.Results. In the liver of experimental animals, androgen deficiency is accompanied by an increase in prooxidant processes (an increase in the content of diene conjugates) due to inhibition of the activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase), which leads to the development of oxidative stress. The revealed changes in the experimental conditions are confirmed by studies performed in adolescents with an impaired hepatobiliary system in HA. Due to the increased content of FRO products (TBA‑reactive substances and diene conjugates) and inhibition of the AOS enzymatic link (glutathione peroxidase and catalase), adolescents with androgen deficiency and pathology of the hepatobiliary system were in a state of severe oxidative stress.Conclusions. Androgen deficiency affects the balance of the FRO and AOS processes both in the liver of gonadectomized animals and in the blood of adolescents with HA and functional disorders of the hepatobiliary system. The occurrence of oxidative stress in conditions of hypoandrogenism is apparently one of the triggering mechanisms for the dysfunctional state of the hepatobiliary system in adolescents with a lack of androgens.