Regulation of brain androgen receptor immunoreactivity by androgen in prepubertal male ferrets

During pubertal maturation, there is an increase in the number of androgen receptor-immunoreactive (AR-IR) cells in the preoptic area (POA), arcuate nucleus (ARC), medial amygdala (mAMY), and ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) of the male ferret brain. In contrast, the number of AR-IR cells in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) or lateral septum (ISEP) does not change with pubertal development. This experiment tested the hypothesis that the pubertal increase in AR-IR cells in certain brain regions is the result of the pubertal increase in circulating androgens. Prepubertal male ferrets were left intact or were castrated and treated daily (10 days) with s.c. injections of either oil, testosterone (T; 5 mg/kg), dihydrotestosterone (DHT; 5 mg/kg), or estradiol (E; 10 micrograms/kg). Brains were processed for AR immunocytochemistry, and the number of immunopositive cells was quantified in POA, ARC, mAMY, VMH, BNST, and ISEP. Overall, castration reduced the number of AR-IR cells below that seen in intact animals, and E administration did not restore AR-IR cell number. Treatment of castrates with androgens restored numbers of AR-IR cells to those of intact animals in the BNST, ISEP, and VMH. However, AR-IR cell numbers were significantly greater in androgen-treated castrates than in intact animals in POA, mAMY, and ARC. These data show that AR-IR cells in prepubertal male ferrets are sensitive to circulating levels of androgens, supporting the hypothesis that the pubertal rise in T is responsible for the pubertal increase in the number of AR-IR cells in the POA, mAMY, and ARC.