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Chronic immobilization-induced stress increases plasma testosterone and delays testicular maturation in pubertal rats
S A Almeida1, S O Petenusci, J A Franci
1Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
We investigated whether chronic stress, applied from prepuberty to early puberty, interferes with the spermatogenic and androgenic testicular functions. Male pubertal rats (40 days old) were immobilized 6 h per day for 15 days. Plasma concentrations of corticosterone, prolactin and testosterone were significantly augmented following immobilization, whereas plasma luteinizing hormone decreased and follicle-stimulating hormone was not altered. Acute immobilization (5 min) increased prolactin and testosterone levels in control rats but caused a significantly higher increase in these hormones when superimposed on chronic stress. A lower extent of testicular maturation was observed in pubertal rats immobilized from prepuberty.