Sustained delivery of androgens triggers the induction of intracardiac interleukin‐6 in adult male rats (547.13)

Abstract

It is well documented that Inflammatory cytokines such as IL‐6 are thought to be mediators in the initiation of several organ injuries by inducing apoptosis and necrosis. Several reports have indicated that IL‐6 was elevated upon the exposure to supraphysiological levels of androgens. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of sustained delivery of testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and androstenedione (AED) on the induction of inracardiac IL‐6 in male rats. A total of 60 adults male rats were randomly divided into three equal groups and implanted with tricalcium phosphate delivery system by following standard aseptic surgical techniques. Group 1 animals were implanted with empty devices (sham) and groups 2, 3 and 4 were implanted with devices loaded with 40 mg of T, DHT and AED, respectively. At the end of 2, 4, and 8 weeks 5 animals from each group were sacrificed following lab protocols and vital, as well as, reproductive organs were retrieved for histopathological evaluation. Results of this study revealed: (1) the wet weights of retrieved hearts from experimental groups were significantly higher (P<0.05) than control animals, (2) conventional morphological screening (H&E) showed occasional myocardial hypertrophy in all experimental groups, (3) immunohistochemical evaluation demonstrated an expression of IL‐6 in all experimental animals with the following ease: AED.DHT>T. In conclusion, results of this study suggest that IL‐6 family plays a central role in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases, and exposure to androgen may contribute to the progression of myocardial damage and dysfunction through the induction of intracardiac IL‐6.